Fremont turns back Brighton

PLAIN CITY — Fremont football coach Blaine Monkres had his back turned during what ended up being the biggest play of his team's 18-14 5A playoff win over Brighton. He was so busy discussing Xs and Os with his offense on the bench that he didn't see his defense record a game-saving safety. He only heard the cheering.

Brighton coach Ryan Bullett probably wishes he would've missed seeing the play, too.

After trailing for two quarters, third-ranked Fremont's stifling defense came up with a momentum-changing fourth-quarter sack of Brighton quarterback Winston Harris in the end zone. That pivotal play helped the Silver Wolves escape with a scary victory.

In this strange showdown — which had two turnover-based touchdowns by Brighton, one missed PAT and the safety from the 8-yard line that turned a one-point deficit into a one-point lead for Fremont — it was better to be lucky and good.

"I feel fortunate to win this game," said Monkres, whose squad faces Spanish Fork next week in the 5A quarterfinals. "I'm happy for our kids. We win, but we didn't play well."

The 9-1 Silver Wolves started off like the heavy favorites they were against this 4-6 Brighton squad, which recorded the school's first losing season in 29 years while ending its seven-year first-round winning streak. Fremont's first drive resulted in a 15-yard touchdown run by Dalton Aiken.

Then things got wacky. A fumbled snap by Fremont quarterback Greydn Morin ended up getting gobbled up by Brighton on the 4-yard-line, setting up Cody Parsons' 1-yard touchdown run. The Bengals then grabbed a surprising 14-7 lead when defensive back Tyler Grant picked off Morin and bolted 48 yards to paydirt.

Fremont also scored in the happening second quarter — on a Morin-to-Derek Monkres 15-yard TD toss — but the extra point was wide.

Brighton held that 14-13 edge despite a lack of offensive production until linebacker Mitch Newey dropped the Bengals' playmaker in the end zone with 10:42 left in the fourth. The Silver Wolves' secondary blanketed the Brighton receivers and, for some reason, a well-protected Harris didn't throw the ball away before getting sacked. Bullett said that Harris would normally make that play "nine out of 10 times." But this one exception hurt.

"Going with the lead into the fourth quarter, I felt pretty good," Bullett said. "We had chances. The kids played hard. I'm proud of them."

After getting the safety kickoff, Fremont marched down and added a 27-yard field goal by Kevin Squires.

Fremont's defense, which held Brighton to just 118 yards and a paltry dozen yards after halftime, forced Harris into three incompletions before defensive lineman Brent Jenkins caught Brighton's QB for a turnover on downs on fourth down.

"They did a great job," coach Monkres said of his defense. "We had them pinned that whole second half."

Friday's scores

No. 4 Jordan 17, No. 12 Northridge 14

No. 3 Fremont 18, Brighton 14

No. 1 Bingham 44, Timpanogos 26

No. 2 Alta 17, No. 11 Viewmont 3

No. 5 Sky View 32, Payson 7

No. 6 Lone Peak 20, No. 20 Riverton 10

No. 7 Timpview 48, West 0

No. 9 Provo 37, Olympus 15

No. 13 Davis 16, No. 15 Skyline 6

No. 19 Sp. Fork 35, No. 18 Hunter 18

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