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COTTONWOOD HEIGHTS — Twenty-eight points through a quarter-and-a-half of play was impressive enough for Brighton, but the zero points on Riverton's side of the scoreboard was what really told the story Friday night.
In the end, Brighton came away with a 42-14 win at home.
The Bengals (3-0) marched down their home field to take a 7-0 lead after three minutes, and allowed the Silverwolves (1-2) to put together a nice drive of their own into the red zone just minutes later.
The Brighton defense accepted the "challenge," as 5A Coach of the Year Casey Sutera might put it, and picked off Riverton to cut the effort just short of the goal line.
"We want to get three (takeaways) a game — that's our goal," Sutera said. "One thing I really like about our defense: Even when our backs are against the wall, we're never out of it. Those guys are always up for the challenge."
Quarterback Ryce Palepoi immediately found Case "Laser Beams" Beames for back-to-back 70-yard touchdown passes, and the Bengals got out to a 28-point lead that Riverton only managed to achieve half of in the entire game.
The Silverwolves returned an interception of their own for their first score late in the second quarter, and scored again in the third quarter before being shut out in the fourth with another Brighton pick in the final minutes to bookend the dominant win.
Dax Matheson seals Brighton's third-straight win to start the season with an end zone pick for the Bengals, who lead Riverton 42-14 with under two minutes remaining and a running clock.
— Caleb Turner (@calebturner23) August 31, 2024
Brighton bookended the dominant win with interceptions in the first and fourth quarters. pic.twitter.com/ScKxlKSZFi
"I love the way the guys have prepared; and the work we've done in the offseason has kind of sparked us in these first three games," Sutera said. "I think we have potentially a really good team if we clean some things up, like penalties and just little lapses of focus. If we can clean that up I think we can keep (the streak) going."
The Bengals begin Region 6 play next week at home against Highland, while Riverton heads to Utah County for road games against American Fork and Pleasant Grove over the next two weeks.
