By PAUL GOTHAM
RIGA, N.Y — Six days ago, Steve Lian knew his team needed to have better starts.
On Friday night, the Brighton Bruins demonstrated that they understood their coach’s concerns.
Justin Medina finished with three touchdowns including a 44-yard jaunt to give Brighton a 14-0 lead after less than seven minutes of game time, and the Bruins (5-0) went on to defeat host Churchville-Chili, 35-13, Friday night.
“That was our emphasis the whole week of practice; we know we need to start better,” Lian said. “That’s all we talked about.”
The Bruins held Churchville to three and out on the first series of the game and then went 47 yards on eight plays to grab a lead they did not surrender.
Brighton stopped C-C’s fourth-down conversion attempt on the ensuing series then needed just two plays to double the advantage.
Last week they came up empty-handed on their first three series when they ran a total of nine plays over the first 12-plus minutes of game time.
On Friday, the Bruins used 10 plays to score 14 points in less than eight minutes.
“That pressure of having won so much in the past, but with young kids who maybe weren’t necessarily part of it, I think that gets to them a little bit,” Lian said referring to the program’s back-to-back sectionals including last season’s run to the state championship game. “We finally hit that midseason reset where guys have won games on their own now. So it’s time to relax and play and they did it. It was awesome.”
Though Churchville made it a one-score game midway through the second quarter, Brighton always looked in control on this night.
“It’s the small details when you’re playing a great team,” said Churchville-Chili head coach Dennis Pynn. “That’s a well-coached team. They’re a heck of a team. If you make small mistakes, a team like that’s not going to let you let you get out from under it.”
Medina rushed for 201 yards on 17 carries. He also scored on first-and-goal from inside the five-yard line and then from just inside the 10-yard line.
“He’s incredible,” Lian said of the senior running back. “His work ethic is amazing. He’s always had natural ability, even back when he was a little kid, running for us on Junior Bruins. But the work ethic, especially this off-season, there’s a whole different level of seriousness to his preparation.”
He strung together runs of eight and nine yards where he carried defenders with him. On another play, the 5-10, 214-pound back showed his ability to change directions at the line and go for 36 yards.
“I’ve just felt bad because the way games have played out over the first several weeks the most carries he had was like 11 or 10,” Lian said. “So I told him tonight, we’re going to feed you a little bit early and then go make the most of it. Obviously, he did.”
Churchville made it a 14-7 game after the Saints’ Zyon Beachum picked off a pass in the end zone and returned it to the Brighton 30-yard line.
Seven plays later, Mike McKeiver hit Beachum in the end zone.
C-C had a chance to keep the game at seven heading into halftime. After a roughing the punter call, the Saints drove the ball inside the Brighton 20. McKeiver and Beachum combined to set up the Saints at the Bruins’ one-yard line with :10 seconds remaining in the half.
Brighton recovered a fumble on the next play to stop the drive.
“We had opportunities,” Pynn said. “It just didn’t feel like there was a lot of windows to be able to get the ball to guys, or if we did have that window, the ball just wasn’t right or maybe they had pressure. But I felt like we were able to get some things moving there in the second quarter and kind of get some momentum going. Unfortunately, we just fell too far behind to be able to catch up. They’re a good team. Once they get a lead, it is real hard to catch them.”
Leo Hopkins took the kickoff to start the quarter and went 80 yards for his second touchdown of the game.
If the game wasn’t already out of reach, Brighton forced another three-and-out before putting together an 11-play, 61-yard drive to make it a 35-7 game.
“There’s no reason to go after the punt block like that,” Lian said of the decision in the second quarter. “My whole staff was trying to talk me out of it. It was all on me. Players played great. I made a couple bad decisions. If not for that, I don’t know. I think we get a couple more on the board.”
Zachary Rossignol finished with 81 yards on 12 carries in the win. Valerio Akujuobi led the defense with nine tackles. Collin Rossignol accounted for eight tackles. Zahmar Tookes had two tackles for a loss and five quarterback pressures.
Brighton will host Gates Chili next Friday for a 7:30 PM kickoff.
Churchville travels to Spencerport for a 7 PM game also on Friday.
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