Surprise! Surprise! Cottonwood stuns Brighton, reaches championship game

If the Red Sox can win a World Series, why can't Cottonwood win a state football championship?

With 34 years of past failures weighing them down, the Colts stunned the prep football world Thursday afternoon with a 19-14 victory over No. 1 Brighton — a team that couldn't shed history's evil grasp.

"This means everything in the world," said Cottonwood's Zach Wade, whose interception in the final minute preserved the victory virtually no one thought possible.

Cottonwood will face Davis in next Friday's state championship at Rice-Eccles Stadium at 1:30 p.m. Brighton, meanwhile, falls to 1-8 in semifinal games since 1986.

Football futility has plagued Cottonwood since the team's first season in 1970. Prior to this year, the Colts enjoyed just five winning seasons in 34 years, and none since 1988.

These aren't your mom's and dad's Colts anymore.

This year's Cottonwood team plays defense and mixes it up with an effective run and pass. But perhaps more than anything, this year's team believes.

With most people expecting Brighton to beat Cottonwood — as it did in a 34-20 victory in the season opener — the Colts marched down field on their opening possession and scored on a 17-yard touchdown pass from Alex Cate to Zach Wade.

Cottonwood then went ahead 13-0 midway through the second quarter on a 14-yard TD pass from Cate to Cliff Andersen.

Cate's first-half numbers (7-for-11 for 137) weren't surprising. What was surprising, however, was Brighton's miniscule 65 yards of total offense. The Bengals are one of the elite rushing teams in the state, and Cottonwood's sometimes inept run defense was well-documented.

"The front guys were amazing today," said Cottonwood coach Tom Jones.

The Colts' resolve got a big test in the second half. After Cottonwood stopped Brighton at midfield on the opening possession of the third quarter, Cate made a careless mistake, and the end result was a Brighton first and goal at the four-yard line following a Colby Barber interception.

Gleave punched the ball in on a one-yard plunge three plays later, cutting Cottonwood's lead to 13-7.

"No one was open, and I was just trying to throw it away," said Cate about his careless interception.

Brighton built on the momentum, forcing Cottonwood to a three and out. A crazy sequence of events played out in the next minute.