- Game is Brighton (2-4) at Hilton (5-1)
- LIVE on Spectrum News with coverage starting at 7 p.m.
- Hilton lost their opener against Fairport then went on to win five straight, Brighton is currently on the outside looking into the playoff picture in a tough Class A
The Brighton Barons started their 2018 campaign out slow, with three straight losses to begin the regular season.
"We had a pretty young team and some injuries with some of our veteran guys, so early on we were just trying to find our way," said head coach Stephen Lian.
One of those veteran players out of the lineup was senior Sam Julian, who had been sidelined by a cancer diagnosis. Julian returned Week Three against Brockport, helping Brighton pick up their first win over Gates-Chili the following week.
"We all had a team talk, just us and the players. Everyone just bought into what we were supposed to from the beginning of the season," said Brighton senior Ammon Jordan.
Players have plenty of opportunity to buy into the team’s culture early on in Brighton. Between the youth program and sideline jobs, the Barons make sure that players grow up knowing their family values.
"They start out as ball boys, water boys, we try to build that right away," Lian said. "As soon as they enter the program we tell them all the time, once you enter the program you're a part of the family."
"At one point I was a little kid on Junior Barons, coming to the games, watching the older players play, having them talk to me," said Jordan. "I know when they get older they're going to do the same things with those kids."
The Brighton experience has really come full circle for starting quarterback Ryan Watson: He used to be a Baron water boy.
"It gets a little intimidating because you have all these big varsity players, 'I need water.' I remember getting yelled at a couple times," Watson said.
"If you're just playing this for those seven regular season opportunities and whatever it is in the postseason, it really isn't worth all the time you put in," Lian said.