Brighton had 'a dude' at backup QB in win over Dearborn Fordson at Big House

ANN ARBOR — A football team can never have enough good quarterbacks.

Junior Grant Hetherton went from being a luxury to a necessity for Brighton during its season opener Thursday afternoon at Michigan Stadium.

After battling for the starting job the past two preseasons, Hetherton was summoned from the sidelines when second-year starter Colin McKernan was injured while being sacked with 9:39 left in the second quarter.

Hetherton performed as well as his coaches and teammates expected, throwing for one touchdown and running for another in a 35-14 victory over Dearborn Fordson.

The image of a starting quarterback getting helped off the field would be demoralizing for most football teams, but the Bulldogs were confident there wouldn’t be a drop-off when Hetherton went behind center.

“We knew we had a dude back there,” senior offensive tackle Jack Storey said. “It’s not like it’s some JV guy. Grant’s a really competitive guy, giving Colin a run for his money. He performed really well and did a great job stepping up.”

Hetherton threw a 6-yard touchdown pass to Ashton Tomassi on his second series at quarterback with 43 seconds left in the first half to give Brighton a 14-7 halftime lead. His 23-yard touchdown run with 4:27 left in the third quarter gave the Bulldogs a 28-14 lead just three plays after a Fordson touchdown.

“Happy I can come out and execute the plan,” said Hetherton, who threw 21 passes as a backup quarterback last season. “Happy we came out with the win at the end.”

Hetherton has been waiting for his time to shine at quarterback, but these weren’t the circumstances under which he hoped to get the opportunity.

“It’s tough that Colin went down,” he said. “He’s been working so hard and putting in the effort. Hopefully he gets back soon.”

Hetherton started the game at safety. Although McKernan emerged as QB1, Hetherton still spends half of his practice time working at quarterback.

“Everybody was really on point with what he was going to be like when he got in there,” Brighton coach Brian Lemons said. “Not the way we wanted him to get his reps today, but still effective. He came in and did a great job.”

McKernan injured his right foot when he was sacked by Fordson lineman Hussein Albarkat. The extent of his injury was unknown after the game, but it isn’t expected to be a long-term issue.

“Honestly, I don’t know if it’s a sprain or a bruise or what,” Lemons said. “The luxury of having a quarterback like Grant is we can rest someone who gets dinged up like that. We’re super fortunate. In a normal situation, you wouldn’t be able to let a kid set out.”

McKernan got off to a fast start, completing his first seven passes. On the first Brighton possession, McKernan dumped off a third-and-six pass to running back Carson Shrader, who took it 56 yards down the left sideline with 8:02 left in the first quarter.

“That’s just work in the offseason,” Shrader said. “My wide receivers were blocking for me, too. I saw an opening and took it, took it down the sidelines and scored.”

Shrader also had a 38-yard touchdown run on Brighton’s first play of the second half.

“Our line, they were on it today,” Shrader said. “Lots of film, lots of preparation for the game. They came out there and got the job done.”

Hussein Beydoun got Fordson back in the game by returning an interception 53 yards and scoring on a 2-yard run on the next play to make it 21-14 with 5:45 left in the third.

Hetherton’s 23-yard touchdown run up the middle came on the third play of the next Brighton drive.

Carter Gregg made it 35-14 by scoring on a 20-yard run on his first carry of the game with 1:58 remaining in the third.

“Offensively, what we were doing is we kept getting inside the red zone and not finishing,” Lemons said. “That was the biggest heartache at halftime. We came out after halftime and we started finishing drives.”

A momentum-changing play came on a punt late in the first half when Brighton’s Myles McGuire recovered a fumbled punt to set up the go-ahead touchdown pass to Tomassi.

It was the third time in the last seven seasons that Brighton opened the season at Michigan Stadium, but the first time for the current players.

“It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” Storey said. “No other better place to be. It’s the closest you get to a pro stadium. Huge, definitely eye-opening when you get out there.”

The vast majority of the spectators were from Brighton, which didn’t go unnoticed by the players.

“It’s amazing, just playing in this stadium,” Shrader said. “Great stadium, the city came out to support us. We got the job done. On to the next one.”

Contact Bill Khan at wkhan@gannett.com.  Follow him on Twitter @BillKhan.

This article originally appeared on Livingston Daily: Brighton had 'a dude' at backup QB in win over Fordson at Big House