The Crimson Cliffs football team continued its path forward in the preseason with a convincing 36-13 win over Brighton on the road Friday night.
The Mustangs’ offense was as dangerous as ever, finding success on the ground and through the air, and its defense held the Bengals scoreless in the second half despite Brighton taking all the momentum into the locker room.
The spot Crimson Cliffs still needs to work on is its penalties and head coach Wayne Alofipo knows it, but it’s not all that surprising as the coach has a squad of all new starters minus one player across both sides of the ball.
“Our immaturity keeps showing up, and that’s part of growing up fast, right? We’re growing up physically, schematically, now we just got to get the discipline down,” Alofipo said. “If we can get that down, we can really come together in a different way.”
Brighton plays Crimson Cliffs in a varsity football game at Brighton High School in Cottonwood Heights on Friday, Sept. 4, 2026. | Kristin Murphy, Deseret News
Crimson Cliffs’ Slade Stevenson runs with the ball after making an interception during a varsity football game against Brighton at Brighton High School in Cottonwood Heights on Friday, Sept. 4, 2026. Crimson Cliffs won 36-13. | Kristin Murphy, Deseret News
Brighton plays Crimson Cliffs in a varsity football game at Brighton High School in Cottonwood Heights on Friday, Sept. 4, 2026. | Kristin Murphy, Deseret News
Crimson Cliffs’ Hu Alisa runs to the end zone to score a touchdown during a varsity football game against Brighton at Brighton High School in Cottonwood Heights on Friday, Sept. 4, 2026. Crimson Cliffs won 36-13. | Kristin Murphy, Deseret News
Brighton plays Crimson Cliffs in a varsity football game at Brighton High School in Cottonwood Heights on Friday, Sept. 4, 2026. Crimson Cliffs won 36-13. | Kristin Murphy, Deseret News
Brighton plays Crimson Cliffs in a varsity football game at Brighton High School in Cottonwood Heights on Friday, Sept. 4, 2026. Crimson Cliffs won 36-13. | Kristin Murphy, Deseret News
Brighton plays Crimson Cliffs in a varsity football game at Brighton High School in Cottonwood Heights on Friday, Sept. 4, 2026. | Kristin Murphy, Deseret News
Brighton plays Crimson Cliffs in a varsity football game at Brighton High School in Cottonwood Heights on Friday, Sept. 4, 2026. Crimson Cliffs won 36-13. | Kristin Murphy, Deseret News
Brighton plays Crimson Cliffs in a varsity football game at Brighton High School in Cottonwood Heights on Friday, Sept. 4, 2026. Crimson Cliffs won 36-13. | Kristin Murphy, Deseret News
Brighton plays Crimson Cliffs in a varsity football game at Brighton High School in Cottonwood Heights on Friday, Sept. 4, 2026. Crimson Cliffs won 36-13. | Kristin Murphy, Deseret News
Brighton plays Crimson Cliffs in a varsity football game at Brighton High School in Cottonwood Heights on Friday, Sept. 4, 2026. Crimson Cliffs won 36-13. | Kristin Murphy, Deseret News
Brighton plays Crimson Cliffs in a varsity football game at Brighton High School in Cottonwood Heights on Friday, Sept. 4, 2026. | Kristin Murphy, Deseret News
Brighton plays Crimson Cliffs in a varsity football game at Brighton High School in Cottonwood Heights on Friday, Sept. 4, 2026. | Kristin Murphy, Deseret News
Brighton plays Crimson Cliffs in a varsity football game at Brighton High School in Cottonwood Heights on Friday, Sept. 4, 2026. | Kristin Murphy, Deseret News
Brighton plays Crimson Cliffs in a varsity football game at Brighton High School in Cottonwood Heights on Friday, Sept. 4, 2026. | Kristin Murphy, Deseret News
Crimson Cliffs’ Ty Tarbett tackles Brighton quarterback Griffin Matsumori during a varsity football game at Brighton High School in Cottonwood Heights on Friday, Sept. 4, 2026. Crimson Cliffs won 36-13. | Kristin Murphy, Deseret News
Crimson Cliffs’ Hu Alisa jumps over Brighton’s Mason Barber (2) during a varsity football game at Brighton High School in Cottonwood Heights on Friday, Sept. 4, 2026. Crimson Cliffs won 36-13. | Kristin Murphy, Deseret News
Crimson Cliffs’ Jack Boyer tries to run past Brighton’s Easton Gustafson during a varsity football game at Brighton High School in Cottonwood Heights on Friday, Sept. 4, 2026. Crimson Cliffs won 36-13. | Kristin Murphy, Deseret News
For Crimson Cliffs, its first drive Friday was a mixture of passes, runs and two fourth down conversions that eventually ended with a 15-yard rushing touchdown from Ryder Tebbs and PAT from Jacob Sparks.
The drive ate up just over six minutes of the clock.
The 7-0 lead was short-lived though, as Brighton scored on the ensuing drive behind some passes, runs and penalties by the Mustangs that included three encroachment calls and one pass interference and roughing the passer penalty each.
The penalties helped move the chains for the Bengals and they ate up a bunch of clock before scoring in the first minute of the second quarter on a three-yard pass from Griffin Matsumori to Dax Matheson, with Evan Price good on the extra point to knot things up.
From there, the Mustangs seemed to settle in as they added another touchdown on a 16-yard run by Hu Alisa and a safety with 2:07 left in the first half.
That pushed the lead out to 16-7, but Brighton didn’t go quietly into the locker room in what Alofipo called an “unfortunate” play for his side that everyone on the Brighton side loved.
With the final seconds ticking away and the ball at midfield, Brighton went to the hook and ladder and completed a beautiful rendition that eventually saw Easton Gustafson race down his own sideline and into the end zone. The PAT was blocked but it cut the deficit to 16-13 and gave the Bengals life after the safety.
“That was an unfortunate play. It’s just one of those things,” said Alofipo. “We’ve got 11 new starters on defense this year and they’re all just trying to understand situational football.”
Things didn’t flip for Brighton though, with Crimson Cliffs’ defense dominating the second half. That domination allowed its offense multiple opportunities to move the ball all over the field and eat up the clock.
“We’ve got two freshmen and three sophomores on offense so we’re pretty young, but coach Kelan Weiss, our new offensive coordinator, is doing a phenomenal job just keeping things rolling,” said Alofipo. “He’s stepped into that OC job and done an incredible job.”
In the second half, quarterback Tanoai Andresen, the only returning starter, and receiver Jack Boyer connected for a pair of touchdowns, while Kammon Uluave added an 85-yard interception return to account for Crimson Cliffs’ 20 second-half points with two PATs from Sparks.
Combined with the runs from the first half, the Mustangs showcased they really are a threat from all over.
“We have a great quarterback and a great (offensive) line that can block on the pass and the run,” Alofipo said. “They also are really good at moving to the second level and blocking the linebackers. Our defense is fast, so they get pressure on the quarterback and our (defensive backs) make a lot of pass breakups.”
That team effort takes the load off any one player being the workhorse, but it won’t be enough next week against region favorite Hurricane if the young team doesn’t stop the penalties.
“That team is legit. People don’t realize how good Hurricane is,” Alofipo said. “They are fast, physical, well-coached. They’ve got a lot of great things going on and are the team to beat down south. We’ve got to be ready for a battle.”
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