The temperature was in the low 80s when Brighton finished off an impressive 42-6 home win versus Ridgeway Friday night, so it was pretty toasty.
Still, when a pair of Brighton players dumped a jug of ice water on first-year head coach Keith Setler, he wasn’t exactly refreshed.
“That was so cold,” Setler said with a laugh. “It’s been a while since I was doused like that. It was good, though. I’ll take it any day.”
It was Setler’s first win as Brighton’s head coach and the team’s first win of 2023 after two tough losses to begin the season.
“I’m proud of these guys. At no point this week did this team ever overlook Ridgeway. It’s a big game because it’s the next game. That’s our mentality, no matter who it is.”
The game was never really in doubt.
After Taylon Carpenter intercepted a Ridgeway pass midway through the first quarter, Brighton (1-2) put together seven-play drive that culminated with a four-yard touchdown run by Pierce Meacham.
Just before the first quarter ended, backup quarterback Bryan Bratcher hit Carpenter for a 32-yard touchdown and the lead was 14-0. Ridgeway (0-3) never recovered.
Bratcher hit Tay Bonner on a 53-yard scoring strike moments later to make the score 21-0 and Meacham (12 carries, 91 yards) scored on a 14-yard run to give the Cardinals a four-touchdown lead.
Cade Crowson (5-for-13 passing, 107 yards) found Hunter Lampley for a 52-yard TD pass just before halftime and the lead was 35-0.
Brighton’s final touchdown came early in the fourth quarter when J.T. Anthony scored on a seven-yard run.
“It feels great,” Boner said when asked about his team’s first win of the season. “Those first two games we came up short but we felt like this was the one. We executed really well.”
“Relief, for sure, because last week, that was a tough loss,” Crowson said about his mindset after win number one. “Going into halftime last week we felt really good, but it slipped out of our hands … It felt good to come out here and get all the kinks out.”
Brighton opens up region play Thursday night vs. Kingsbury at Cordova High School.
‘It’s a 1-0 mentality with us,” Setler said. “That’s just the way it is. That’s our goal every week. Let’s just go 1-0 this week. One step at a time. I know it sounds like coach-speak, I know it does, but if you don’t maintain that mentality, you get ahead of yourself. You get to looking ahead to rivalries and all this stuff. You’ve got to stay grounded. Our mentality right is to enjoy this win tonight, but by 6 o’clock tomorrow I want it forgotten and you move on.”
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