High-School Football Preview: Brighton Bruins

ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WHEC) – News10NBC is previewing some of Section V’s football teams to get you ready for the 2022 season. Up next are the Brighton Bruins.

In 2021 the Brighton Bruins used a senior-heavy team to its advantage. They went undefeated in the regular season, making it all the way to the Section V Class A1 Finals, losing to UPrep, 40-8.

This year, it’s a much different look for the Bruins. They only return a handful of seniors and have one of the youngest teams in head coach Steve Lian’s career.

“Every team’s different. This team is a young team. We have more sophomores up on varsity than we’ve ever had,” said Lian.

Despite the youthfulness, Brighton still has its assets. The most glaring is the speed and quickness at every position, making this team’s identity something special.

“We’re very explosive this year. On the edge we got a lot of weapons. We got a lot of weapons on the interior. I think we have five plus guys that’s running 4.6’s. We’re all big in the weight room, so we’re definitely an explosive team,” said junior quarterback Tyler Martinovich.

That type of explosiveness is new to what Brighton’s used to. And they’re looking forward to using it to their advantage.

“We’ve predominately been a power team, running the ball hard, but this year we’re gonna mix it up a bit. I’m excited about that, said junior DE/TE Thomas Welker.

Even though this edition of Brighton Bruins football has some new attributes, it still boils down to a goal of winning games.

“We always want to be the best team out there and that’s what we practice for. We have a lot of discipline in practice, a lot of focus, so we’re just trying to be the best team we can be and beat everyone else,” said senior FB/LB Alex Miller.

Kickoff is right around the corner.

Brighton opens its 2022 football season at home against Webster Thomas on Friday at 7 p.m.