Bruins will play Rye of Section I in the NYSPHSAA Class A championship game on Friday.
By PAUL GOTHAM
CICERO, N.Y. — A year ago, Matthew Heininger’s season ended with a first-quarter injury in a state semifinal loss.
Sunday night back on that same stage, the Brighton senior grabbed the spotlight early and didn’t stray far from it for the rest of the game.
Heininger scored the first touchdown of the game, and the Bruins (11-2) went on to clinch a spot in Friday’s New York State Public High School Athletic Association (NYSPHSAA) Class A championship game with a convincing 47-14 victory over Union-Endicott (9-3) of Section IV in semifinal action from the Michael J. Bragman Athletic Complex on the Cicero-North Syracuse campus.
Heininger’s plunge from two yards out capped a nine-play, 66-yard drive to give Brighton a lead it did not surrender.
“It was a really good feeling,” the University at Buffalo commit said of the opening touchdown. “The coaches trusted me. I trusted my line, and all I got to do is secure the ball and run towards the opening.”
It was his only touchdown of the game, but every time the Bruins needed a big play they turned to the 6-foot-2 tight end/linebacker.
NYS Class A: @Brighton_FB strikes first. Matthew Heininger from two yards out. PAT is good. 7-0 @SecVFootball pic.twitter.com/TKPH0u4UPa
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) November 30, 2025
His catch and run on second and six from the 36 set up the Bruins at first and goal for that opening score.
Later in the half he converted on third and seven with a 23-yard run to put Brighton at the U-E 40-yard line. Teammate Justin Medina capped that drive with a score from three yards out for a 21-0 lead.
Then in the third quarter with Brighton looking to salt the game away, his number was called on fourth and one. He didn’t disappoint.
“I’ve told everybody for weeks he’s the greatest player I’ve ever coached, arguably the greatest player in Brighton (football) history,” said Brighton head coach, Stephen Lian. “When you get to this level of football, everybody’s good. Every team is really well-coached. Every coach is good. Every team is disciplined.
“What’s going to give you the edge? When you’ve got Matt Heininger, you got to feed that guy the ball because he’s that X-factor.”
Heininger’s score ignited a Brighton that converted four times in the first half to take a 28-0 lead into the break before scoring twice more to start the third quarter.
And like the NFL team 60 miles or so west of the Brighton campus that has used the rally cry of “Everybody Eats,” Lian’s offense made sure that each player had a fork, knife and seat at the table.
Ethan Bialaszewski and Clarence Bell combined on a 25-yard passing play for the Bruins’ second touchdown. Then Medina found paydirt. Patrick Rohr made it a 28-0 game with less than a minute remaining in the first half.
NYS Class A: Ethan Bialaszewski drops back to pass. Clarence Bell does the rest. 9:01 left in the half: @Brighton_FB 14 @UECSDTigers 0 pic.twitter.com/7Nv71z5wg3
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) November 30, 2025
Brighton took the kickoff to start the third quarter. On the second play from scrimmage, Medina rumbled 47 yards into the end zone.
After the defense stopped U-E on a three-and-out, Zach Rissignol put the finishing touches on a 13-play, 60-yard drive.
By the final count, the Bruins scored the first six times they touched the ball and by the end of the game six different players carried the ball into the end zone.
NYS Class A: Justin Medina from 3 yards out. 3:15 remaining in the half. @Brighton_FB 21-0. pic.twitter.com/SrMTzUb9nO
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) November 30, 2025
NYS Class: @Brighton_FB takes possession with under 2 to go in the half and wastes no time. Four drives, fours TDs. Patrick Rohr gets the honor this time. Bruins 28-0. @SecVFootball pic.twitter.com/KK9IVjJeS2
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) November 30, 2025
“Our run game was consistent,” Heininger said. “That just helped open up the pass game.”
That effort came against a U-E team that defeated Whitesboro (46-22) which ended Brighton’s season a year ago.
“We felt good about the gameplan we had going in,” Lian said. “It’s really hard. You have limited film on Union-Endicott. And when you do, it’s not common opponents. You just don’t know.
“You see what they did against Whitesboro, and that made us a little bit nervous for sure. When you have these great players, you just try to put them in position to do their thing. It worked out pretty well.”
A year ago, Brighton took a 12-and-O record into the state semifinal.
Earlier this season on September 20th, the Bruins were in a one-score battle with Spencerport – a game in which the Rangers had the ball with a chance to take the lead in the second half. Brighton went on to win that game 28-13, but stumbled down the stretch dropping two of its last four regular season games. They went into sectionals as the No. 4 seed in Class A1.
Sunday’s win was the sixth for Lian’s squad.
The difference between this year and last?
“We ran into a buzz saw in Whitesboro,” Lian said. “Matt got hurt early. Amari Snowden was injured in our sectional championship game. Zach was hurt going into that game. Last year, we knew we were kinda up against it.
“Coming into this game, these guys were healthy. If they’re healthy, I always feel like we’ve got a shot.”
Lian’s message to his team after the game was straightforward: “You earned tomorrow. Now on Friday, you’ve got a chance at forever.”
Brighton, which won its first sectional title in program history a year ago, now has a chance to add a state title to the trophy case.
The Bruins will face Rye of Section I on Friday. A 6 p.m. kickoff is scheduled at the JMA Wireless Dome on the campus of Syracuse University.
“This has been my dream ever since I was a little kid,” Heininger said. “Ever since elementary school, we’ve just been working for this day in and day out. We’re going to give it all we got this week. Just try to bring it home to the city.”
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