Young lacrosse team seeks to make its mark at Brighton

By Jerry Christensen | [email protected]

As one of the more recent UHSAA (Utah High School Activities Association) sports, boys lacrosse has become all the rage at Brighton High School. The sport attracts student-athletes with foot speed, agility, hand-eye coordination and just plain physical toughness.

The growing sport also attracts dedicated coaches willing to teach the strategy and finer points of the net game. Coach Chris O’Donnell brings his East Coast talents from Virginia where he played attack for Radford University. O’Donnell has gathered a coaching staff that includes Dave O’Day, who played for Utah State, and two Bengal alumni coming back to serve their alma mater—Cody Chase, who played for Southern Virginia and Cam Folkerson who played for Colorado Mesa.

The boys team was senior rich last year and pushed deep into the playoffs falling only to the state campion Park City Miners. Natalie Harris, a team super fan, noted, “We lost 20 seniors from last year and have a young, but talented, team with only seven returning varsity players and four seniors.” O’Donnell added, “The next couple of years will be transformational as the individuals grow, improve and hone their lacrosse skills.”

Ranked third in Region 6, the team has already outperformed that preseason forecast. In a mid- December battle with 6A Pleasant Grove, Brighton fell early to a 3-0 deficit. O’Donnell rallied the troops and the young team proceeded to outscore the mighty Vikings 12-2 over the final 12 minutes of the game to remain unbeaten at home on Freestone Field. The newly appointed team captains are Mitch Dolato, Slader Stonestreet, Isaac Hanson, Porter Boyce and Grayson Harris.

An unnamed Viking coach remarked as he left the media booth that night, “You have a resilient bunch of players here at Brighton. They are something special.” The lacrosse season continues through May 13 when the state tournament begins.