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SANDY — Alta's defense came up with several takeaways and pitched a second-half shutout to take down No. 8 Brighton 24-10, and spice up the Region 6 standings late in the regular season.
"That definitely helps our RPI, so we got to finish out strong," head coach Alema Teo said. "Going into October, the team who plays the best and is the healthiest, you're gonna have a shot. Hopefully, that's going to be us."
Teo called it a "wake up" game for the Hawks, who had lost three of their four region matchups coming into Friday. A fumble recovery and interception in the second half helped Alta come back from a 10-3 halftime deficit to hand Brighton just its second loss of the season.
The first Hawks touchdown came on a 38-yard pass from Kepa Niumeitolu to Nolan Lohness with 4:54 left in the third quarter to tie the game at 10-all. Alternate quarterback Matt McKea then came in for a pair of goal-line sneaks to secure the win in the fourth quarter.
Matt McKea QB sneak puts Alta up 17-10 over No. 8 Brighton with 9:10 left pic.twitter.com/SZsCyRgFsY
— Caleb Turner (@calebturner23) September 30, 2023
An interception from Kalvin Liavaa with 1:49 to go probably should've sealed it, but the Hawks were forced to punt and defend a last-second end zone attempt by the Bengals.
"For the most part, our defense has been pretty solid most of the year," Teo said. "It was just great to see those guys all come together and band together. They knew that when push came to shove, we had to step up and make plays — and we did. So I'm proud of those guys."
Alta travels to Skyline for its region finale next week before ending the regular season at Cedar Valley, while Brighton welcomes Queen Creek from Arizona, and then finishes the season at Region 6 leader West.
