BRIGHTON, N.Y. — Brighton football is coming off back-to-back Section Five Class A championships, but the Bruins aren’t dwelling on past success as they prepare for the 2026 season.
EXTENDED STORY: Brighton football boasts strong returning class one season after finishing as state runner-upsLast year, the Brighton Bruins took their year as far as any high school football season can go.
“You can prepare all you want, but playing in the dome is different,” head coach Stephen Lian said.
Brighton played Rye in the NYSPHSAA, Class A title game with two fewer days of rest and injuries for the Bruins piled up throughout the game, ultimately falling 28-14.
“I think that we can take away the discipline it took to get there,” said senior running back and linebacker Zack Rossignol. “The process to get there, and I think we can try and implement that back into this season and build off of what we had last year.”
Brighton then lost a solid class of seniors, including stars in Amari Snowden and Matthew Heininger, who’ll both be playing linebacker at Division I Buffalo this year.
“Those two in particular are legendary players, guys that will go down in history at this school, in this program,” Lian said. “So we’re definitely not going to just plug and play with those guys. But we think we have a lot of guys returning and we have a lot of guys around them that can do some great things.”
Rossignol and fellow senior Justin Medina are among those key returners who’ll continue to play major roles for the Lian’s Bruins, but how do you fill the shoes of guys like Snowden and Heininger?
“To be honest, you have to learn from them and just look at things that they did and just apply it to your game,” Medina answered. “But we set a new standard. And the best way to achieve a new standard is to make a better standard this year than did last year.”
Rossignol and Medina will continue to be the main ballcarriers on offense too, while junior quarterback Ethan Bialaszewski is expected to take another step forward as the team’s signal caller.
“The growth he made throughout the playoff run was really awesome,” Lian said. “You go back and put on the film against Rye. He was on another level.”
Lian noted that the junior grew about three inches and added 15-to-20 pounds.
“Started throwing and started working,” Bialaszewski said. “And that really helped our offense push through during that late games.”
The list of returners is topped by Florida commit Zahmar Tookes on the line. So it’s clear the cupboards are far from bear, something Lian has known about for a long time.
“When I moved to Brighton with my family back in 2019, these were the kids that were on the team and I started coaching them in youth when they were in fourth and fifth grade,” Lian said. “So I’ve been with this group of kids for a really long time together, and getting to see them grow up in football. So for me, if you’re ever talking about measuring success, it’s like getting to extend my time with them and getting to see them finish this run in as positive a way as possible, whatever that means. Just really treasuring every second I have with them.”
Senior wide receiver and defensive back Leo Hopkins said playing with teammates he’s grown up with makes the experience special.
“It’s really fun,” Hopkins said. “You’re playing the game you love with all the kids. You’ve grown up with your brothers. You know, I mean these coaches, they care for you like no other. So it’s just the most fun experience you could ask for.”
Before this group of seniors arrived, Brighton had never won a Section Five championship. Now, they’re focused on maintaining the same standard that got them to the state championship game.
“This year, we’re just working on discipline and hard work and just becoming better each week,” Bialaszewski said.
“Have the same standard and stay where your feet are, where your feet are,” Hopkins said. “Take it day by day.”
So what’s a successful year?
“I think a successful end of the season is us showing the way to all the younger guys and setting a new standard to what they have to live up to and what they have to carry over to next year,” Rossignol said.
Brighton will open its season on the road against Spencerport on Friday, Sept. 4.
Brighton football boasts strong returning class one season after finishing as state runner-ups WHEC.com.
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