High school football: Birthday boy helps Bengals stun Alta

COTTONWOOD HEIGHTS — Ricky Heimuli celebrated his 18th birthday Friday night, and every Brighton High School fan celebrated with him.

Heimuli led a resurgent defense, and an impressive offensive line, as the Bengals ended four years of futility against their biggest rival with a 21-10 win over the Alta Hawks in a Region 4 game.

"I can't believe it actually happened," said Heimuli amidst a swarm of Brighton fans on the field afterward. "All my wishes came true today."

Brighton celebrated 40 years of existence with a standing-room-only crowd and the 6-foot-4, 295-pound Heimuli was tabbed the homecoming king.

But it was his play on the field, as well as every other Brighton player, that was the difference in this game. The Bengals improved to 4-1 overall and 1-1 in region.

More importantly, Brighton announced it's back.

After opening the season with three impressive shutout victories, the Bengals were beaten by Lone Peak last week in their region opener, and the odds were against them with Alta on tap.

"They've been pumping us pretty good the last few years," said Brighton coach Ryan Bullett. "I'm just glad we competed with them. We had to play extra special to beat them."

Running back Sosaki Takai rushed for 160 yards and 29 carries to help Brighton keep Alta's talented offense off the field. Quarterback Derek Newell also had a decent night, completing 5-of-12 passes for 114 yards, including a beautiful 57-yard touchdown toss to Stephen Robinson that gave the Bengals a 14-3 lead in the second quarter.

When Newell left the game briefly with an injury in the third quarter, sophomore Andy Jones came in and led the Bengals on a scoring drive, running eight yards for a touchdown himself.

"Our team stepped up," said Newell. "We looked at it as more than just a game. This is the top game I've ever played in."

The Bengals took advantage of three Alta turnovers, including two fumbles in the first quarter that stopped drives in Brighton territory. Alta also had almost 100 yards in penalties and had one player ejected for a pair of unsportsmanlike conduct fouls.

"We got it handed to us," said Alta coach Les Hamilton, whose team is now 3-2 overall and 1-1 in region. "We didn't match their physicality. It doesn't happen to us very often, but it did tonight."