Football Preview: Bountiful RedHawks vs. Brighton Bengals
Two dominant backs in Siaki Fekitoa and Mason Haertel are getting ready to go toe-to-toe. The Bountiful RedHawks will face off against the Brighton Bengals at 2:30 p.m. on Friday. Both teams are coming into the match red-hot, with Bountiful sitting on eight straight wins and Brighton on seven.
Bountiful is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Friday. They walked away with a 42-35 victory over Maple Mountain. 42 seems to be a good number for the RedHawks as the squad scooped up a win with the same number of points in their previous game.
Fekitoa continued his habit of posting crazy stat lines, picking up 74 receiving yards and three touchdowns, while also rushing for 121 yards and two touchdowns while picking up 7.1 yards per carry. He is trending in the right direction considering he's improved his point production for three straight games. Another player making a difference was Emerson Geilman, who threw for 241 yards and four touchdowns while picking up 12.1 yards per attempt.
Meanwhile, Brighton faced Olympus in a battle between two of the state's top teams on Friday. Brighton skirted past Olympus 17-14. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest victory the Bengals have posted against the Titans since September 1, 2017.
It was another big night for Haertel, who rushed for 118 yards and a touchdown. His rushing production has been exceptional recently as that marked his third straight game with at least 118 rushing yards.
Brighton didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off two passes before the game was over. In fact, those interceptions all came courtesy of defensive juggernaut Dax Matheson.
Brighton's win was their 12th straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 11-1. Those victories were due in large part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 30.3 points per game. As for Bountiful, their victory bumped their record up to 11-1.
Friday's contest might be decided in the on the ground. Bountiful has been unstoppable on the ground this season, having averaged 209.6 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Brighton struggles in that department as they've been averaging 176.3. It's looking like Friday's game might have some serious battles in the trenches.
Bountiful lost to Brighton on the road by a decisive 36-17 margin when the teams last played back in September of 2020. Thankfully for Bountiful, Gabe Curtis (who rushed for 77 yards and two touchdowns, and also threw for 109 yards and a touchdown) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? There's only one way to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
