Heininger’s interception, Snowden’s TDs rally Brighton past Monroe in Class A semifinals

By KEVIN OKLOBZIJA

With under nine minutes remaining on the clock, junior linebacker Matthew Heininger was well aware that he and his Brighton Bruins teammates were in jeopardy of semifinal heartbreak on Saturday night.

The Monroe Red Jackets were already ahead 20-14 in the Section V Class A showdown at Brighton High School, and now they were marching toward what could very well have been the clinching touchdown.

Since the ground-and-pound attack employed by Brighton’s offense isn’t exactly designed for two-score, fourth-quarter comebacks, it was imperative that the defense make a stand.

Of course, these are the moments that Heininger relishes; game on the line, heroics required.

On second and goal from the Brighton 12, Monroe quarterback Terrell Cunningham Jr. fired over the middle and Heininger read the play perfectly, intercepting around the 10 and returning it 30 yards to the Brighton 40.

Brighton then went on an 11-play, 60-yard march to the winning touchdown – scoring on fourth down – to defeat Monroe 21-20 and earn a trip back to the Class A title game. The unbeaten Bruins, 10-0 for the first time in school history, will play Canandaigua (9-1) at 3 p.m. on Saturday at SUNY Brockport.

“This was the expectation, to go through everybody,” said junior running back Amari Snowden, who barreled across the goal line from a yard out on the fourth-down play to tie the score 20-20.

Grady Hopkin then kicked the extra point for the lead, and when the Bruins defense smothered Monroe on the ensuing possession, Brighton had a second consecutive berth in the championship game.

The next order of business: to finish the job. The Bruins lost to East/WOIS 25-8 a year ago.

“Last year after the East game we said we’ll be back,” Heininger said. “That’s been our motivation and fire all of the season.”

Heininger is a big reason they’ll play for the Section V title again. His interception brought to an abrupt end a 15-play Monroe march that had consumed nearly six minutes, a drive that had been kept alive seven plays in by the second fake-punt-and-dazzle first down run of the game by punter Luis Gabriel Falu.

Responsible for underneath coverage just beyond the line of scrimmage, Heininger read the play, picked off the pass and returned it 30 yards to give the Bruins great field position.

“I knew I had to make a play,” he said. “I got right under the slant it picked it off.”

The Red Jackets (7-3) were stunned by the abrupt turnaround, especially since an apparent 9-yard touchdown run by Tajmir Xavier Mullins three plays earlier was nullified by a holding penalty.

That Heininger had risen to the occasion was no surprise to Brighton coach Stephen Lian, though.

“He makes big plays,” Lian said.

With the ball back in their hands, it was then it was time for the Bruins offensive line along with running backs Gavin Parks, Zack Rossignol and Snowden to take center stage. The 11-play drive was comprised of 11 runs and four first downs.

Still, Monroe was in position to make the final stand as Brighton faced fourth-and-goal from the 1 yard line.

That’s when the Bruins went to a newly designed misdirection play to score the winning touchdown.

“We put the play in this week and I went to the sideline and said, ‘Let’s do it.’ ” Snowden said. “I trusted my big boys.”

Parks is always the workhorse, and was again Saturday, with 30 carries and a second-quarter touchdown. But this time Hopkin faked the handoff to Parks up the middle and instead gave it to Snowden, who powered across behind the left side of the line.

“We take a lot of pride in our offensive line and our run game and people know what we’re about,” Lian said. “Any little bit of misdirection we can create to slow up the rush is important. They were bringing more guys on the rush than we could block.”

Snowden also scored Brighton’s second TD, a three-yard run that provided a 14-12 lead 4:19 into the third quarter.

The junior was slowed earlier in the season by pneumonia but is making up for lost time in a big way.

“We went into the season believing that’s the guy you better watch,” Lian said. “This was his coming out party.”

Until the game’s final moments, Monroe had been the team making big plays. They went ahead 6-0 on the game’s first possession when Cunningham threw a 27-yard strike to Nasir Sahmon Siuol Kelly on fourth-and-14.

Parks’ touchdown run put Brighton ahead 7-6 with 5:55 left in the first half but the Red Jackets immediately retaliated. They used Falu’s gutsy 15-yard fake-punt run on fourth-and-13 from their own 15 to keep the drive alive before a 56-yard catch-and-run TD pass to Styhles McKenzie-Baker put Monroe back on top 12-7.

Snowden’s first TD run capped a 62-yard Brighton drive for a 14-12 lead 7:41 into the third quarter but Monroe went back on top when Messiah Amare Hampton caught a Cunningham pass in the left flat, broke a tackle and sprinted 34 yards to the end zone. The PAT pass to Hampton made it 20-14.

But Brighton’s defense made the stop when necessary and the Bruins rallied for the victory.

“That’s what we always say, bend but don’t break; leave it all out there because you never know when it will be your last game with your boys,” said Snowden, who plays linebacker on defense.