Brighton shows off formidable offense in win over Wilson to open Section V football season

Gavin Parks and the rest of the Brighton Bruins got the Section V football season rolling Thursday, before running off to a 40-13 win over Wilson/Early College.

The Bruins, a strong contender to win the Section V Class A championship, began unpacking its running game soon after arriving at Rochester Community Sports Complex.

Brighton also reached the end zone on a touchdown pass by Tyler Martinovich as the team pushed its lead to 14-0 after two possessions. Parks then made it three touchdowns for Brighton's offense on three possessions with his second scoring run of the first half.

The Bruins led 30-0 at halftime over Wilson/Early College, a Class A team playing its first game with a new coach this season, Victor Davidson, a former assistant at University Prep.

Section V football: An essential guide to the 2023 season

Player of the Game

Gavin Parks: Brighton running back opened his junior year season with 128 rushing yards with two touchdowns on 13 carries. Both of his touchdowns came during the first half, a 9-yard run in the first quarter and a 28-yard run in the second.

Play of the Game

The Bruins had a firm grip on the outcome when they extended their 20-point lead late in the second quarter.

Brighton quarterback Tyler Martinovich, after a faking a handoff and running to his left, turned a 4th down-and-goal at the Wilson/Early College two-yard line into a touchdown pass to Thomas Welker with 51 seconds remaining in the first half.

By the numbers

2 - Touchdown passes thrown by Martinovich, who completed 7 of 14 attempts for 72 yards. He also rushed for 38 yards on just four carries.

2 - Field goals kicked by Brighton senior Nikita Moiseiev, who made attempts from 33 and 30 yards.

1 - Touchdown catch each for Thomas Welker (two yards) and JT Snyder (15 yards).

3 - Jersey number of Wilson receiver turned quarterback Shamar Pittman, who threw a pass for a touchdown to El-Amin Ortiz-Price and ran 15 yards for a touchdown.

5 - Tackles made by Brighton sophomore linebacker Matthew Heininger

10 - Tackles by Wilson/Early College defensive tackle Da'quon Herring, including two sacks.

12 - Tackles by Wilson/Early College safety Chauncey Sherman

Wilson dealing with loss: Divine Calloway graduated from high school in June. He didn't live past the summer.

They said it

“The whole team was fired up. It was the most fired up I’ve seen everyone in a long time. We’ve been playing our own teammates the whole summer.” - Brighton running back Gavin Parks, a junior.

"He did a great job of controlling everything. He made plays with his arm and his legs. He covers so much ground, so fast." - Brighton coach Steve Lian talking about Martinovich's impact on the game.

"We have to learn how to win and learn how to be disciplined," Wilson/Early College coach Victor Davidson.

“Half of the time, I wasn’t even touched. Those guys (on the Brighton offensive line) played amazing today. They really did their half and made my job easy.” - Parks.

"Mental errors by a young team. I don’t use that as an excuse, we had a good camp (preseason). We're going to get there." - Davidson.

What's next

Game two of eight during the regular season for both teams. Wilson/Early College (0-1) tries to bounce back at Irondequoit on Sept. 8, another matchup on a Friday night.

Brighton plays its first home game of the new season the same evening against Brockport, a team that made a run to last season's Section V Class A semifinals.

This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Section V football: Brighton offense formidable in victory over Wilson