5A boys lacrosse: Brighton goes back-to-back by rallying by Park City

HERRIMAN — It's no secret that Brighton's Gabe Carrera has been a go-to scorer for the Bengals, with a team-high 63 goals on the season en route to Thursday's 5A boys' lacrosse championship match.

But when the junior needed a goal the most, he looked to pass.

Carrera had two goals and two assists, including feeding the match-winner to Colt McKean with 1:22 remaining to help Brighton rally by Park City for its second straight 5A championship 10-9 at Zions Bank Stadium.

Austin Taylor also had two goals and two assists for the top-rated Bengals (18-3), who took their first lead with 4:33 remaining and a second inside of 90 seconds to stun Park City for a second-straight season.

"I've had to change my game a little through this long season, and we've had a bunch of injuries," said Carrera, who has committed to Stony Brook. "It was just working our way around that, and then finding any way to win. That's what I was focused on."

Carrera has been a key focus of Brighton's offense — and arguably the first figure on every opponent's scouting report.

The 6-foot-2 junior who averages 3.5 goals per game can still do that — he had five in a 15-10 win over rival Alta in Wednesday's semifinals.

But adapting his game is what makes Carrera a Division I lacrosse prospect, and what made the Bengals dangerous down the stretch.

"He's known as a shooter. Everyone in the state knows that," Brighton coach Chris O'Donnell said. "We've talked a lot about opening up that part of his game, though. Everyone's going to fly when he steps in; just pass it to the open guy.

"That's the next step in his game, and that's why he's a D1 commit and is going to be a D1 player. He's going to be really dangerous next year, too, because he's only a junior."

None of those 63 goals — make it 65 now — compared to either pass, first to Cole Murray to equalize with 4:33 to go and then on the match-winner.

"A game-winner is what everyone dreams of," Carrera said. "But being able to provide that for your teammates and share that with your teammates is an unbelievable feeling. And to come out with a win."

Carrera scored his second goal to open the second half, a laser from Zac Anderson inside the left corner that pulled the Bengals within one after trailing 5-3 at halftime.

Still, the third-seeded Miners (15-6) kept momentum taking a 7-4 advantage into the final period through consecutive goals from Wade Birch and Becker Ruzek.

Brighton didn't go away, outscoring Park City 6-2 in the fourth quarter with a pair by Taylor before Carrera found McKean with 1:22 remaining for the final margin.

"We're not going to give up just because of a three-goal deficit," Taylor said. "We all banded together and kept the energy high when we were down. That's what got us up."

And there's more to come, says O'Donnell, whose team graduates more than a dozen players this year.

"This is a game we should be playing in every year. That's the mentality that we have," he said. "We didn't get there for the first three years of sanctioning, losing in the semis or the quarters to (Park City). Then we got them last year, and this year got them again.

"We know this is the standard for us. It's just a matter of maintaining it every year. Hopefully those kids know it; if they don't, they will."

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