Brighton operating again Kace Gurr rumbled for 4 touchdowns and the Bengals rallied for 30 unanswered second half factors to topple Park Metropolis in a 47-33 shootout Friday.
“I used to be actually pleased with the best way the youngsters responded within the second half. Defensively, we shut them out the place we actually struggled within the first half and offensively, they did an important job,” Brighton coach Casey Sutera stated. “We did an superior job responding and making performs after we needed to.”
Brighton scored on the opening snap from scrimmage after Gurr spun out of a Park Metropolis sort out and broke open a 63-yard landing to present the Bengals a 7-0 lead.
“I simply received the ball and I feel the bottom finish simply grabbed me and I twisted off, put my head down and ran,” Gurr stated. “Everybody else had their blocks and I simply completed it.”
Park Metropolis unfold the ball to a litany of weapons and methodically marched down the sector with a 16-play drive in response to arrange a 5-yard Mason Grover scoring scamper to make it 7-7 with 6:33 within the first quarter.
Brighton’s offense received caught peeking upfield on a fumbled toss and a Brian Walsh restoration gifted the Miners a brief area. Grover capitalized and barreled in for his second landing of the night time from a yard out and a landing benefit with 10:35 left within the opening quarter.
The Bengals kicked their passing offense into gear with a pair of huge connections between quarterback Jack Johnson and tight finish Miles Peters to key Gurr’s second rating of the night with an untouched 4-yard rating up the center — knotting the rating up at 14 all.
Grover broke open the following drive with a 79-yard achieve up the Brighton sideline, however the Miners wanted all 4 downs afterward and a keeper dive from quarterback Chase Beyer to get into the top zone from a yard out, 21-14.
Brighton stalled and Park Metropolis introduced out the trick play flea flicker with Beyer flinging it 62 yards for a Joseph Eldridge rating and a 27-14 lead with 3:02 left till halftime after a missed further level.
The Miners protection harried Johnson for 2 sacks to pressure one other punt and the Beyer-Eldridge connection paid off once more with a 9-yard again shoulder toss and commanding 33-14 benefit after a failed two-point conversion.
Brighton struggled all through the primary half with Park Metropolis’s pre-snap offensive movement in diagnosing the place the risk was coming from. Sutera received after his crew at halftime to awaken defensively and impose a sharper mentality.
“We knew that they have been going to do quite a lot of that,” Sutera stated. “They do it as a result of it will get your eyes undisciplined and our guys did so much higher job of being disciplined within the second half with their keys and assignments on protection.”
Brighton ate up yardage shortly on their ultimate possession of the primary half and Abinadi Bigelow despatched a 40-yard area aim by way of the uprights to get the Bengals inside two possessions on the break, 33-17.
After the groups traded interceptions, Brighton pieced collectively a 14-play, 85-yard drive capped with Gurr’s third scoring effort on a 7-yard toss that he stretched into the top zone alongside the Bengals sideline.
“Holy cow, he's enjoying nice soccer proper now for us,” Sutera stated. “He runs laborious and he set the tone there. I knew Kace got here to play after which everyone else adopted him within the second half.”
Kava Taufa rushed for a two-point conversion and the Bengals have been inside one rating on the finish of the third quarter.
Brighton’s protection bottled up Grover and compelled a punt, placing the ball in Johnson’s palms, who slung it 19 yards to hit Nash Matheson in scoring stride and adopted with one other toss to Quincy Covington for the transformed two-point attempt to tie the sport, 33-33, with 8:18 left.
Taufa got here up massive on the following Park Metropolis drive, recovering a fumble that teed up one other Johnson-Matheson landing from 11 yards out to present Brighton its first lead because the opening drive of the sport, 40-33.
The Bengals stood agency on a Park Metropolis fourth down try after jarring an almost accomplished cross free on the sideline and Gurr put the ultimate stamp on the outcome with a 32-yard scoring gash proper up the center for the 47-33 win.
“This has been the aim, it places us within the driver’s seat within the area and we nearly let that slip,” Sutera stated. “However at halftime, the youngsters banded collectively and I instructed them to be collectively and we’ll end this the best approach.”