WOODS CROSS — All season Brighton and Alta were regarded as the two best teams in Utah, so it's only fitting the two will square off for the 5A state title.
Alta edged Davis 1-0 in one of Thursday's semifinals, and undefeated Brighton knocked off previously unbeaten Hunter, 3-0, setting up Friday's title game at Woods Cross High School at 4 p.m.
"We want Brighton," said Alta's George Grygar after his team's win. "We know we can beat them. We're not afraid of them."
The Hawks might not be afraid, but considering the Bengals won the two regular season meetings, they know what they're up against.
Before the Hawks could focus their sights on Brighton, however, Alta had its hands full with Davis, the Region 1 champs. The Darts prefer playing a controlled-style game, with crisp passes through the midfield, but the Hawks never let their opponent get comfortable.
"I honestly don't think they were prepared for our midfield," said Alta coach Lee Mitchell. "I think our midfield controlled the tempo of the game."
Some of that could be attributed to Preston Croxford's absence, a Davis senior midfielder who injured his MCL in Davis' quarterfinal win over Hillcrest Tuesday.
Even though Alta's midfield controlled the flow of the game, it was an unheralded midfield substitute who stole the spotlight. Following two golden opportunities by Alta earlier in the half, one of which was miraculously kick-saved by Davis keeper Justin Taylor, the Hawks finally found paydirt in the 26th minute.
Jeff Burt may get the glory for the game-winning assist, but he can only smile about it because it was an accident. Faced with a 10-yard shot and a charging keeper, Burt misshit the ball which slowly dribbled in front of the goal mouth and toward the end line. As the keeper tried recovering Alta junior Jacob Lingard came racing toward the goal and lunged at the ball just before Taylor could get there. Lingard's follow-through carried him into the goal where he was mobbed by teammates.
No one figured it would be the game's only goal, but solid defensive play and great keeping by Andy Hyer kept the Darts off the scoreboard.
It wasn't without some drama though.
Bryce Stevenson, the Darts' star striker who had scored 12 goals in Davis' last six games, hit the post in the 63rd minute on a free kick. Five minutes later, Ryan Harding's header off a corner kick bounced off the ground and over the crossbar.
BRIGHTON 3, HUNTER 0: The Bengals ended Hunter's Cinderella season in a game that proved that the Wolverines 16-0 record entering the game was no fluke. Jon Viehweg scored the game's first goal in the 16th minute, and Brighton maintained that one-goal lead until the 77th minute when Viehweg and Skyler Rohbock scored back-to-back goals spanning just 30 seconds.