“BHS won the lottery when coach (Casey) Sutera joined our football team. Parents love him, players respect him and other teams fear him,” notes the booster group that runs Brighton football’s Instagram account. The Utah High School Activities Association (UHSAA) agrees with that sentiment and awarded third-year Brighton football head coach its 5A Gold Star Coach award this year. This high honor is given to one 5A coach for all sports. 

UHSAA instituted this annual award to recognize coaches who lead by example in creating a positive and competitive environment throughout their programs while inspiring students to strive for success in all aspects of their lives. Such coaches model for their student-athletes how to work hard, be self-disciplined, be leaders and serve others.

Principal Marielle Rawle paused the first home game of the season on Freestone Field to honor Sutera. “I can’t say enough good about Casey Sutera. He embodies an all-around excellent coach who sees himself as not only a coach, but as a mentor to the young men in his program. He teaches them about hard work, learning from challenges, and most of all how to serve each other and our school community. We feel very lucky to have Casey as our head football coach at Brighton and look forward to an amazing future of Brighton.”

And of the hundreds of student-athletes that he has coached and inspired since coming from Corner Canyon to Brighton High, one gained the honor of being named Deseret News Athlete of the Week. Senior running back Mason Haertel earned this statewide honor in week two of the season after running for 174 yards and two touchdowns against 6A powerhouse Syracuse. He bested those numbers a week after receiving the award by rushing for 265 yards and two touchdowns versus 5A region rival Highland. Haertel ends his senior regular season with 1,185 rushing yards and 16 touchdowns.

“Mason is a very hard worker and great leader on our football team. He has done a great job improving his strength, size and speed this offseason and it is showing up in his play on the field,” Sutera said. “Whether it is on the field, in class, or in the weight room he is always representing our program in the most positive way.”

Haertel leads the top five ranked Brighton team with 841 yards of offense and 10 touchdowns after the first six games of the season. Of the coming postseason playoff prospects, Haertel says “we won’t take any days off. We will be prepared to go all the way to Rice Eccles Stadium.” 

Off the field Haertel lead the team to service on the 9/11 National Day of Service. While hauling gravel and shoveling dirt on the Brighton Bengal Beautification project, he happened upon a fellow worker who began his Brighton football career 50 years ago in 1974. George Swan, also a team captain for Brighton football in his 1976 senior year, was coincidentally also named a Deseret News Prep of the Week. “It was quite an honor to be recognized as one of the best in the state,” recalled Swan. Once a Bengal always a Bengal. 

Brighton football ended the 2024 regular season with a narrow 7-6 victory over the West Panthers to claim a stake in the region championship. Their record of 9-1 grants the team a bye in the first round of the state championship playoffs. It also puts them in the same bracket as the Olympus Titans who handed the Bengals their only loss in mid-September at Olympus. Should both teams win out in their first two postseasons games, they will be on Brighton’s home field for a rematch Nov. 8.