BRIGHTON — Three weeks into the season, it’s so far, so good for the Brighton football team.
The Bulldogs (3-0 overall, 2-0 KLAA West) have proven resourceful in the first third of the season, overcoming things like an injury to their starting quarterback in the season opener to fending off an upset bid by Hartland in a 9-7 squeaker last week.
“The best part is we’re still growing,” Brighton coach Brian Lemons said Thursday. “We haven’t peaked yet. I’m happy with the progress we’ve made and where we’re at from a production standpoint and a record standpoint, but we are still growing. We’re getting better every day at practice, abd as long as we keep taking care of business, good things will keep coming.”
Lemons will be looking for ore growth tonight when the Bulldogs play host to Novi in a game that will be broadcast on The Livingston Post at 6:50 p.m. Click here for the link.
Part of that growth is due to experience.
“We’ve come a long way as a group, and we’re all tight, close together,” Brighton senior defensive lineman Evan Blake-Thomas said. “We put in a lot of work, and that’s been our pride coming into the season. Last season, our guys were young and gained a lot of experience. We take a lot of pride in our defense and that contributes how well we perform.
That defense has been stalwart this season, clamping down hard on Hartland’s offense in the first half last week, while the Brighton offense has proven it isn’t all about running back Carson Shrader. Last week, quarterback Grant Hetherton threw for 162 yards, finding wide receiver Ashton Tomassi seven times for 126 yards.
“He’s a tough tackle, and teams are going to have to prepare for him,’ Lemons said. “We’ve got a couple other guys who are pretty darn go0d, too, and having to go to different receivers is not g0ing to be a struggle for us. We’ve got some talented kids.”
Those yards are created in part by an offensive line that has been dominant the first third of the season.
“It makes our job a lot easier having playmakers all around the field,” center Myles McGwire said.
“Every bit of success our kids have on the outside makes Carson that much better, and vice versa,” Lemons said. “When Carson is rolling and thumping up inside, that makes guys better on the outside. “
Novi (2-1, 2-0) is coming off a 37-0 win over Salem last week.
“I’m looking forward to a really good game,” Lemons said. “The things I’ve seen (from Novi) on film have been impressive and I’m looking forward to the challenge.”
