The Brighton Bengals will venture away from home to take on the Woods Cross Wildcats at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Both come into the contest bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
On Friday, even if it wasn't a dominant performance, Brighton beat Olympus 14-10. The win made it back-to-back victories for the Bengals.
Ryce Palepoi
| 09/26/25 vs Olympus | 86 |
| 09/05/25 @ Crimson Cliffs | 40 |
| 09/19/25 @ Viewmont | 22 |
| 09/12/25 @ Corner Canyon | 16 |
| 08/22/25 vs Weber | 1 |
Staton Gutierrez produced another solid performance rushing for 91 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Ryce Palepoi helped out on the ground, rushing for 86 yards.
On the other side of the ball, a lot of the credit has to go to Brighton's defense and their four sacks. The team can thank two different players for their defensive prowess: Jaxon Nettleton and Samuel Tauvao, who each picked up 1.5 sacks apiece. Brighton got some further help from Nettleton: he picked up 1.5 sacks and made three total tackles (3.0 for loss) in addition to snagging an interception.
Meanwhile, Woods Cross made easy work of Alta on Friday and carried off a 35-14 victory. The matchup was pretty much decided by the half, when the score had already reached 21-0.
Woods Cross' win came from a few key players Brighton will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Jesse Simmons, who threw for 221 yards and two TDs on only ten passes, and also punched in one score on the ground. His passing game has become a key predictor of Woods Cross' success: the team is undefeated when his passer rating is 100 or higher, but only 1-2 otherwise. Teiyon Halbasch helped Simmons out on the ground, picking up 104 receiving yards and a pair of touchdowns.
Woods Cross didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off two passes before the game was over. The picks came courtesy of Halbasch and Wyatt Hunter.
Brighton's record now sits at 3-4. As for Woods Cross, their record is now 5-2.
Everything came up roses for Brighton against Woods Cross in their previous meeting back in October of 2023, as the team secured a 44-7 win. In that game, the Bengals amassed a halftime lead of 24-0, an impressive feat they'll look to repeat on Friday.
