Cottonwood Heights • With an iron-clad run defense, the Brighton Bengals stifled the usually potent rushing attack of the Hunter High Wolverines Friday night in a 7-3 victory.

Brighton held Hunter to a mere 60 yards of total offense, capitalizing on a game plan that Bengals coach Ryan Bullett said he prepped his team for all week.

"I'm just glad we played hard," he said. "We played with fire tonight."

Hunter, too, played stingy. And if it weren't for one big play by Brighton — a 90-yard touchdown pass to start the second quarter — the outcome might well have been reversed.

Brighton's lone score materialized when quarterback Andy Jones, working from the Brighton 10-yard line, aired a bullet-like pass to speedy tight end Zane Smith. Smith stumbled to catch the ball, but he recovered, outsprinting several defenders down field for the score.

"It was good that we had a big play and it decided the game," Smith said.

Brighton struggled mightily on special teams, racking up several penalties during punt attempts. And early in the fourth quarter, Brighton kicker Aaron Stoddard missed two field-goal attempts. The first, from 42 yards out, went wide.

Hunter took over on the Brighton 20-yard line, but fumbled on the first possession, allowing the Bengals to take over on the Hunter 22.

Three plays later, Stoddard missed his second attempt, from 30 yards out.

Wolverines' kicker Jake Jex notched Hunter's lone score on a 13-yard field goal, capping a 10-play drive that consumed much of the third quarter.

In the waning minutes of the game, Brighton quarterback Jones let go of a pass that landed in the arms of Hunter's Mason Hafen, who ran it 9 yards to the Brighton 33 yard line. But the Bengal defense came out swinging, forcing a loss on the first two plays, and then forcing a fumble.

With roughly a minute remaining, Brighton added to the slop with a botched snap that was fortuitously picked up by Bengals running back Brayden El Bakri, who rumbled for a 20-yard gain to seal the victory.

Hunter Coach Dustin Pearce seemed stunned as he spoke with a reporter.

"They did a great job," he said of Brighton. "They were a lot tougher than us. … They're game plan stunned us. They outplayed us in every aspect of the game. Hats off to Brighton."

The crowd observed a moment of silence at halftime for 15-year-old Taylor Pankow, a Hunter receiver who was stabbed to death Tuesday night in West Valley City.

Prosecutors have charged Jonathon Bustos, 16, a classmate of Pankow's, with homicide.