BOUNTIFUL — Brighton walked into Viewmont Stadium on Friday night with a 1-4 record and a chip on its shoulder. The Bengals left no doubt about who owned the night, overpowering the Vikings 42-14 in front of a packed homecoming crowd.
Senior running back Staton Gutierrez turned in the performance of the season, scoring five touchdowns and running through the Vikings defense like a wrecking ball.
"We take what we have and we make the best of it," said Brighton coach Casey Sutera. "Tonight, our guys played disciplined and did exactly what we asked."
The Bengals struck first when Gutierrez pushed in a 1-yard score early in the first quarter, then followed it up minutes later with another run to give Brighton a quick 14-0 lead.
Viewmont quarterback Jack Savage, who worked all offseason on speeding up his release through VR training, tested the Bengals secondary early with heavy passing, but Brighton's defense was relentless.
Trey Harper picked off Savage late in the first quarter, setting up another Bengals drive. Although Viewmont's Jackson Nuttall responded with his own interception, the Bengals still closed the quarter up 14-0. From there, Brighton's defense and Gutierrez took over.
Brighton quarterback Ryce Palepoi showed poise and command, dropping a 52-yard touchdown dime to Jayce Evans in the second quarter.
The Palepoi-to-Gutierrez duo kept clicking as Gutierrez punched in his third and fourth scores before halftime. The Bengals entered the break with a 35-0 lead.
Harper made his presence felt all over the field with two interceptions, while Brighton lineman Samuel Tauvao recovered a key fumble that kept Viewmont off balance.
Brighton's secondary added one more interception from Lihai Tauteoli before halftime, and Oakley McKnight sealed things late with another pick in the fourth.
By the time Gutierrez scored his fifth touchdown midway through the third quarter, the game clock went to a running mercy rule. Still, Savage and the Vikings showed fight, connecting with Jayson Dunroe on a 10-yard touchdown late in the third and Brady Clegg on another strike in the fourth. But the deficit was too great to overcome.
"We have a great balance of offense in both rushing and receiving," said Viewmont coach Andru Jones before the game. "We love the plan and we're going to stick to it."
But without execution, especially against a defense with Brighton's size, the Vikings had no answer.
The energy at Viewmont was undeniable. Still, Brighton silenced the crowd with each touchdown, turning the home atmosphere into a showcase for their turnaround.
The Bengals (2-4) will try to build momentum at home next week against a surging Olympus Titans squad. Viewmont (4-2), after suffering just its second loss of the season, will need to regroup quickly before heading into a tough matchup with rival Bountiful.
