This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2015, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Cottonwood Heights • Blame it on first-game jitters. Blame it on the officials. Blame it on the new artificial turf. Blame it on anything, it won't change the fact Friday night was plain ugly.
Penalties, poor execution and turnovers occurred in flurries — not exactly how Brighton envisioned opening the 2015 campaign, but regardless of falling short of flashy, the end result was exactly what the Bengals desired: a 23-14 victory over the sixth-ranked Herriman Mustangs on their home field.
Both teams advertised personnel returning from high-octane offenses last season, leading to the opinion the two clubs would exchange blow for blow throughout four quarters. That was hardly the case.
"I kind of thought it would be the other way, I thought both teams would have trouble stopping each other. It was a defensive slugout," said Brighton coach Ryan Bullet. "Coming down to the fourth quarter, we were hoping we were in better shape. I don't know if we were or not, but we made one or two more plays."
Bullet preached physicality in the offseason, even going as far as labeling his team as soft. Herriman, notorious for its aggressive style, exposed some of those concerns, but to Bullet's praise, the Bengals didn't back down defensively, despite being outsized in the trenches.
"My offensive line got manhandled, I'm not very happy with their performance," Bullet said. "I'm pleasantly surprised that my linebackers played as well as they did. I was real happy with the defensive performance."
Neither team manufactured an offensive touchdown in the first half, with multiple drives stalling from turnovers — including Brighton coughing up a fumble after hauling in a 48-yard pass on the opening drive — but the majority of promising opportunities failed from miscues. The programs combined for 21 penalties.
Following a scoreless first quarter, Brighton's Andrew Covey jumped a telegraphed pass and returned it to the house, putting his team up 6-0 (PAT). But Herriman's Jake Jutkins scampered 98 yards on the ensuing touchdown to swing the lead back in the Mustangs' favor, 7-6.
The first half would have ended that way, but a would-be interception was negated by another Herriman penalty, which allowed Brighton's Ezias Bigelow to connect on a 37-yard field goal, pushing the Bengals in front 9-7 at intermission.
The Bengals' first touchdown came courtesy of Simi Fehoko, who outleaped two defenders on an end zone fade to establish a 16-7 cushion with 5:03 remaining in the third quarter.
"We knew the [Herriman] safety got hurt the play before, we knew we were going to take advantage of that," Fehoko said. "We called a jump ball, and Drew [Jensen] put it in a perfect spot, where I could go up and make a play."
Fehoko finished with seven receptions for 145 yards, including a 57-yard dagger on the final drive, which occurred moments after the possession was preserved on Herriman's blatant personal foul on third and long. Kimball Reece added the finishing touches with a 6-yard run later in the drive.
The Mustangs pulled to within 16-14 when Brig Rush punctuated a 12-play drive with a 3-yard burst with 6:28 remaining in the fourth quarter. Herriman was in business shortly thereafter, too, when Noah Vaea snagged an interception at the Brighton 40-yard line. But three conservative rushing plays produced no results.
"Overall, our defense stepped up. Our defense was a big factor," Fehoko said. "Our offense, we got clicking after awhile, but it took us a few."
Twitter: @trevorphibbs —
Brighton 23, Herriman 14
• Brighton's Simi Fehoko finishes with seven receptions for 145 yards and one touchdown.
• Brig Rush scores the lone touchdown for Herriman in the fourth quarter.
• The teams combine for 21 penalties.