Pickin' Splinters

Rochester's Independent Sports Source

Brighton falls to Rye in state championship game

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Brighton quarterback Ethan Bialaszewski (24) hands the ball off to teammate Justin Medina (4) during the NYSPHSAA Class A championship game, Friday, December 5, 2025 at the JMA WIreless Dome on the campus of Syracuse University. (Photo: STEVEN TWARDZIK)

By PAUL GOTHAM

SYRACUSE, N.Y. — The scene was eerily reminiscent of a year ago.

Brighton’s Zach Rossignol broke through the line for a short gain. After the whistle blew, though, the junior running back remained on the turf.

Time was called. The training staff and head coach Stephen Lian came out on to the field.

Rossignol left the game with 1:45 remaining in the first quarter and did not return.

He took with him to the bench more than 950 rushing yards and 11 touchdowns on the season.

Losing those contributions to the rushing attack coupled with an illness to a starter and some challenging logistics led to uncharacteristic mistakes that proved too much for Lian’s squad.

“We were ready,” Lian said after the Bruins’ (10-3) loss to Section I champion Rye, 28-14 in the NYSPHSAA Class A championship game, Friday night at the JMA Wireless Dome on the campus of Syracuse University. “We came in with a good game plan. You saw it. Our kids were ready to fight. We just ran up against a really great team.”

VIEW MORE PHOTOS FROM STEVEN TWARDZIK.

Justin Medina capped a 90-yard drive with a touchdown from five yards out and after a successful point-after attempt, the Bruins led 7-6 with 11:21 remaining in the second quarter.

Eventually, they went into the locker room at halftime trailing 20-7.

“That’s the way it is,” he said. “You play a team this good, you can’t afford to make mistakes, and we just made a couple too many.”

Rye (14-0) responded with a 60-yard drive capped by the first of three touchdown passes from Carson Miller to Henry Shoemaker. Three plays after the ensuing kickoff, the Garnets recovered a fumble inside the Brighton 15-yard line. Less than 90 seconds later, they were in the end zone again and had all the offense needed on this night.

Brighton’s Justin Medina (4) capped a 17-play drive with a touchdown as the Bruins took a 7-6 lead in the second quarter. (Photo: GREGORY KAPLOWITZ)

The Bruins, who converted six first downs during that 17-play scoring drive, moved the chains four times over their next three drives.

Rossignol’s absence played a role and contributed to Brighton’s challenges.

So too did the scenario leading up to Friday’s game.

Weather forced a schedule change for the Bruins’ semifinal matchup against Owego Free Academy. Originally scheduled for Friday, November 28th, the game was moved back two days to Sunday. The Bruins went from clinching a spot in the state final Sunday evening at Cicero-North Syracuse High School to getting ready for the biggest game of the season on the fewest days of preparation that they’ve had.

“The short turnaround, is what it is,” Lian said. “Experience is a big deal. We felt like we had a lot of experience coming up through, but we’ve never been to the finals. All the logistics, all the paperwork, handling that on a short week was hard. It was a challenge to also game plan.”

Then 13 plays into the opening drive, Rossignol is lost for the game. In the 2024 state semis defeat, it was Matt Heininger who left the game in the first quarter and didn’t return.

“One of our best lineman came in and was really sick,” Lian said. “He was just trying to gut it out. We knew that was going to hurt us a little bit. Then you lose Zach, early. He’s that power back that we go to. You’re up against it.”

Brighton’s Zahmar Tookes (75) chases Rye quarterback Carson Miller (4). (Photo: STEVEN TWARDZIK)

Despite all of that, the Bruins had the ball deep in Rye territory with a chance to make it a one-score game late in the third quarter.

A roughing the punter call against Rye gave Brighton the ball at its own 49-yard line. Then on a fourth and one, Heininger took a direct snap and rushed for 17 yards. The Bruins eventually had the ball at the 15-yard line but could not get another fourth-down conversion when it was needed.

Rye clinched the win on its next drive when Miller hit Shoemaker for a 68-yard touchdown pass on a third-and-16 play.

The Bruins, who a year ago claimed their first sectional championship in program history, had their six-game winning streak come to an end.

“They should be really proud of what they’ve done,” Lian said. “To be a part of back-to-back sectional championships when we’ve never done it, to get the state semis last year and go even further this year, no one’s ever accomplished (in Brighton history) what they’ve accomplished. They’ve set a standard that hopefully all the younger kids coming up behind them want to accomplish. I just can’t thank them enough.”

Brighton’s second touchdown came with 1:28 remaining in the game. Ethan Bialaszewski connected with Clarence Bell on a 17-yard completion.

Rye’s Miller and Shoemaker are both committed to play at Harvard University next year.

Brighton’s Matthew Heininger (22) finds a hole in the line and rushes for a first down. (Photo: STEVEN TWARDZIK)

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