TOOELE — In a rare encounter between 5A Brighton and 3A Tooele, a slippery rain-soaked field dominated the action early on.
Playing their homecoming game, Tooele took advantage of two turnovers, a kickoff recovery and a strong running game to beat Brighton 24-17. Tooele's Justin Brady had two key interceptions. Both of the picks led to Tooele touchdowns and a big swing in momentum.
"They were big, but it was a team effort," Brady said.
Field conditions were dicey from the start. On the opening kickoff, Tooele's Eddie Herrera lost his footing and shanked the ball out of bounds, giving Brighton great field position at their own 35-yard line but Brighton failed to take advantage of the gift.
Both offenses couldn't hold onto the ball or maintain their footing on the soggy turf. Players and fans could almost smell the potential turnovers in the air, and it didn't take long for the miscues to come. Brady picked off Bengals' quarterback Winston Harris, returning the ball to Brighton's 18-yard line.
That set up senior running back Zac Clausing who scored two plays later on a 10-yard reverse. Clausing had a big night, scoring two touchdowns for Tooele's big ground attack.
Following Clausing's first score, Herrera squib-kicked the ball off a Bengals player's leg and the Buffaloes sophomore Jordan Biorge recovered it on the 39-yard line. Tooele's offense quickly drove the short field to the Brighton 1-yard line where Dorian Cochran easily scored.
The Tooele senior beat the Bengals defenders to endzone, opening up a two-touchdown lead midway through the second quarter.
Brighton's offense got jumped started just before the half. The team drove some 60 yards, culminating with an 11-yard touchdown run from running back Mike Hanna.
Trailing 14-10 in the quarter, Brighton had a chance to make a game of it when defensive lineman Chase Wallin intercepted an errant Mikesell pass. But Tooele's defense turned them back them when Porter Hunt sacked Harris on fourth down. Brighton got a late touchdown from Wade Eldrige but it was too little, too late for the Bengals.