Nothing like hitting the ground running.
The Brighton football team is doing exactly that, playing host to Saline in the season opener t0night at Brighton.
The Bulldogs (8-3 last season) will face a Hornets squad that has two Division I commits in quarterback C.J. Carr and tight end Dylan Mesman.
The game will be broadcast live on The Livingston Post starting at 6:50 p.m. Click here for the link.
“They’re athletic and they’ve got some really strong kids,” said Brian Lemons, beginning his ninth season as Brighton’s coach. “I’m expecting to see a pretty good product from them.”
The Bulldogs are expecting to put a pretty good product on the field, too, while plugging a lot of holes in the starting lineup left by graduation.
But a hallmark of Lemons’ tenure is his reliance on not just a starting 11, but up to 18 players who can get first-string minutes on the field.
It should come in handy tonight, with game-time temperatures expected to be in the upper 80s, so players aren’t worn out by the temperatures. It also aids in development of reserves for this season and next.
“We’re starting to put it together,” Lemons said. “Right now, it’s just minutes under the lights, and there will be a difference (in conditions) from the first to the third quarters.
For players on both teams, those minutes after kickoff will be spent competing against the opponent as well as quelling nerves in the early going.
“Hopefully, sooner than later,” Lemons said, chuckling.
Carr, the grandson of former Michigan coach Lloyd Carr, is coming off a season that saw him throw for more than 2,600 yards and 26 touchdowns. Carr, whose father and maternal grandfather played at Michigan, has committed to Notre Dame. Mesman, whose father played football and mother played basketball at Michigan State, has committed to Louisville.
“I think everything involving C.J. is going to be a problem for us,” Lemons said “He’s a talented kid and I don’t expect that we’ll shut him down. The idea is to control the guys around him as best we can.”
Brighton quarterback Grant Hetherton is much less heralded, but does begin his senior season with experience. He stepped in when starter Colin McKernan was injured in the 2022 season opener, then started the next two games, all of them wins.
“I wouldn’t expect things to change too much from what he’s shown us in the past,” Lemons said of Hetherton. “He’s put a lot of work in and he’s made himself better.”
Tonight’s game is Brighton’s first against a non-KLAA opponent in the regular season since 2016, when the Bulldogs beat Detroit East English Village 14-8 at Michigan Stadium.
“I think it’s nice to be able to pick who you play, and choose from a group of teams you would like to compete with,” Lemons said.
