Brighton
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Top 10 after Week 9
Here's a look at the latest top 10 in rural West Tennessee
Week 9 takeaways
What to take away from each result in rural West Tennessee in Week 9
Week 9 Blitz
Your guide to this week's games across rural West Tennessee.
Early look at playoff races in each region
Who's in the playoffs, who's not, who's in contention for region championships
Top 10 teams after Week 8
Here's a look at the latest top 10 in rural West Tennessee
Week 8 Blitz
Your guide to this week's games across rural West Tennessee.
Week 7 Takeaways
What to take away from each result in rural West Tennessee in Week 7
Week 7 Blitz
Your guide to this week's games across rural West Tennessee.
Week 6 Takeaways
What to take away from each result in rural West Tennessee in Week 6
Week 6 Blitz
Your guide to this week's games across rural West Tennessee.
Week 5 Blitz
Your guide to this week's games across rural West Tennessee.
Week 4 Takeaways
What we took away from the results from Week 4
Quick hits
A graduate of Kirby and the University of Memphis, Setler has enjoyed his time coaching in Tipton County enough to jump at the chance three years ago to return to the area and lead the Cardinals.
Setler served as an assistant coach for a couple of programs at small colleges, but he enjoyed high school football enough to get back into it and live in Texas for a couple years before returning to Tennessee.
Setler said he gained a new level of respect for the players in the program in how they dealt with losing their teammate last year. He says he sees a level of commitment to the team from those older guys that hadn’t been there as much before this year.
Brighton has four road games, but since one of them is Covington, that means they leave Tipton County only once. All three of the other trips are south into Shelby County.
Because Region 8-5A only has five teams, the Cardinals could potentially reach their win total from last year and host a first-round playoff game if all three wins were in region play.
Position groups
Offensive line — Right tackle John Stanley and guard Christian Hines will be the experienced leaders for this group as they try to help develop younger guys grow into experienced veterans.
Backfield — Junior Cay’Den Young will return as the starting quarterback. Setler likes his athleticism as a three-sport athlete. Jacarion Burrell is a powerful running back that has the ability to change directions quickly for a guy his size. Jonathan Mathews is a tailback who can play a number of different positions. Kylan Jackson is another all-around athlete in the junior class that will also be a back-up quarterback.
Receivers — Timon Thompson is a returning starter that does a great job and has gotten stronger, which will help his perimeter blocking. Kymani Williams will be another threat on the edge. Brett Cothran is a 6-feet-2-inch, 245-pound tight end who had a quality camp at Austin Peay early in the summer. Elijah Cunningham is a wing back who could have a breakout year because of his speed.
Defensive line — Jayden Drafton is returning at defensive end. Ed Bowman is a strong guy playing at nose guard who’s also a two-time shot put and discus competitor at the state track meet and squats 500 pounds. Brett Cothran will also be a force up front and getting into the backfield too.
Linebackers — Andre Winn transferred into Brighton in the last year and is starting at outside linebacker with Timon. Isaiah Austin played a lot of middle linebacker as a sophomore and is taking the reins as a junior.
Secondary — Cortarius Puckett is a cornerback with lock-down abilities. Cunningham and Matthews return as safeties and will try to stop any plays from becoming over-the-top opportunities. Young may play some free safety too.
Special teams — All-state soccer player Jason Hicks will be the kicker and punter. Cunningham and Jackson will be the returners.
2026 stats
No stats yet this season. They appear here once a game's book has been read and checked.