Herriman faced off against Brighton in a key matchup in Utah’s Pioneer Trail League, which is the top-tier Single School league in Utah, and came away with a very well-taken 78-5 win.
Brighton is a solid team and plays hard but they were overwhelmed here. Herriman had outscored their first two league opponents 174-10, and they kept that momentum goes against a Brighton side with one of the state’s strongest forward packs.
And, in fact, Brighton's pack did shove Herriman around a bit. But both forward units were missing players—Barrett Herrscher is a key starter for Brighton and they missed him. Herriman were without, among others, GRR Gamebreaker Timote Kinikini, who was unwell.
Brighton got the first advantage when Herriman dropped the opening kickoff, but what was good field position to start ended with the big Brighton forwards going backward to the tune of 20 meters through several phases in to the teeth of a swarming and stifling Herriman defense.
The Mustangs got the turnover and wasted no time in attack following a TJ Tuia break in tight with a ball through the hands that put Cole Reagan away for an easy score down the sideline. Asher Coleman easily slotted the conversion for a 7-0 lead.
Brighton was able to flip field position with a huge 50-22 from Sofele Hansen that gave the Bengals a lineout from 10 meters out. The ball was stolen by the Mustangs but went into touch. On the second lineout Brighton won the throw and put on the pressure.
Again Herriman got out of trouble, forcing a turnover and Coleman smashed the ball down the field.
Coleman’s boot was a weapon all day, flipping field position and keeping Brighton pinned back. Herriman got the ball back and embarked on a series of dizzying attacks for most of the remainder of the half. A break by prop Rhett Parker saw 6-4, 240-lb lock Kemper Castro end up in the first receiver position. With the defense expecting him to run downhill, he instead unleashed a perfect skip pass out to captain MacRae Parker, who fed a streaking Troy Ellermeier for a score.
On the next possession, an overlap found Parker in stride and he hit an outside seam for another score. A center scrum sent the ball wide to Max Wilson, who had a long break down the sideline which he finished by flattening a defender. The ball came out to Castro who continued his flyhalf impersonation by sending a deft pass out to Ikaila Nau for another try.
A Coleman 50-22 gave them another chance and after Wilson got them close, Rhett Parker powered over for a score followed by a sideline conversion from Coleman. The score was now 33-0 with 10 minutes left in the half, and Brighton yet to break the gain line.
Brighton tried to get something going by kicking ahead, but Ellermeier–roaming the deep like the All-State Free Safety that he is in football—picked it up and found an outside gap and sprinted about 60 meters down the sideline.
Jesse Hillesheim, who provided admirable cover defense for Brighton on the day, went to get in front of Ellermeier and prevent the try, but Parker was in full sprint on an inside support line and took a perfect offload to touch down for his second on the day. A late Brighton push just before half was stopped with continued stout defense by the hosts and a one-sided half ended at 40-0.
The second half offered no reprieve for the guests. Cannon Brinton, Filisi Filipe, MacRae Parker, Nau, and Coleman all found their way in for scores before being subbed out. Herriman drove Brighton back in the scrum, and Kyler Holverson took ball from both offensive and defensive lineouts. The reserves got big play from Boston Hales, Sefo Taukeiaho, and Miah Fauolo and seemed to take great pride in the level of play staying high. Brighton put in a score late to finally get points on the board at 78-5.
