Broncos enjoy Homecoming Week

THE ROUND-UP
by Tad Barton
The San Juan volleyball team got the athletic competitions held during Homecoming week started off on the right foot by defeating Grand in five sets, 21-25, 25-19, 18-25, 25-22, 15-13.
The win improves the Broncos Region 15 record to 3-1. The Lady Broncos have wins over Manti, Gunnison and Grand with their sole loss coming at the hands of North Sevier.
San Juan next hosts Gunnison on Saturday, October 3 with the Varsity match starting at 3:30 p.m.
X-Country
On Wednesday, September 23 the San Juan cross country teams hosted the John Thornton Invitational. The boys’ team placed third while the girls’ team claimed first place.
Pacing the boys’ team was Derek Francom, who finished with a time of 20:07 just seconds ahead of teammate Thomas Hook who crossed the finish line with a time of 20:26.
Garrett Chamberlain was the next Bronco to finish the course with a time of 20:40. Cole Montella and Grange Simpson were the next two Broncos to finish, Montella with a time of 21:07 and Simpson with a time of 21:13.
Rounding out the scoring positions for San Juan are Mason Brown, 22:14 and Luke Blake, 22:53.
Leading the girls’ team and finishing first overall is Jessica Walker who ran the course in 23:41.
The next four Broncos finished within just over a minute of each other. The first to finish is Alexis James with a time of 24:23 right in front of Ann Pugh at 24:28.
Nizhoni Warren and Laura Burke also finished just seconds apart with times of 25:33 and 25:36 respectively. Filling the final two scoring positions are Tallie Chamberlain, 26:49 and McKady Grover, 27:57.
Other runners who competed in the race include Lyandra Benn, Celeste Hillhouse, Ashley Begaye, Shannah Williams and Zoie Chamberlain.
Tennis
Senior Mary Royer took the first step of defending last year’s first singles 2A State title by bringing home the Region 15 first doubles title on Friday, September 25.
Teammate Jade Warren also qualified for this week’s state tournament by placing third in second singles.
They will be joined at the 2A state tournament by Hannah Brown and Jenaissa Warren who also took third in first doubles.
The 2A State Tournament will be held on Friday, October 2 at Liberty Park in Salt Lake City. Contestants will meet at 8:30 a.m. for instructions and court assignments and play will begin shortly after.
Good luck Lady Broncos!
Football
The San Juan football team capped off a week of homecoming competitions with a 35-7 win over Grand. Although they only had the ball three times in the opening half, the Broncos took a 21-0 lead at the half.
Nathan Nielson got San Juan on the board first when he fielded a Red Devil punt and returned it 80 yards for the score, his third punt return for a touchdown this season.
Kavika Su’eSu’e also picked up a first quarter touchdown on a 28-yard run to give the Broncos’ a 14-0 lead after one quarter of play.
San Juan’s final score of the first half came on a 33-yard pass from Payton Palmer to Max Slavens.
The second half was again limited to three offensive possessions and the Broncos again scored on two of them.
Su’eSu’e found the end zone for the second time of the night on a 10-yard run in third quarter, giving San Juan a 28-0 lead heading into the final period.
Grand scored the first touchdown of the fourth quarter, when they finally crossed the goal line, cutting the Bronco lead to 21 points with the score of 28-7.
San Juan would add one more touchdown on their next possession when Bronz Eldredge caught a screen pass from Palmer and rumbled 44 yards for the final score of the game, giving the Broncos their fourth win of the year, 35-7 over the Red Devils.
Offensively the Broncos racked up 317 yards of offense, 165 yards on the ground and 152 through the air.
The San Juan rushing attack was led by Bronz Eldredge, who packed the ball nine times for 74 yards.
Su’eSu’e added 49 yards and two touchdowns on five carries, while Payton Palmer chipped in 26 yards on three carries. Nate Nielson capped off the rushing with two carries for 16 yards.
The air attack was led by Palmer who found five different receivers for 152 yards and two touchdowns on 12 for 21 passing.
Catching those passes are Max Slavens who reeled in four catches for 63 yards and a touchdown. Eldredge also snagged four passes for 46 yards and a score, while Nielson logged two catches for 21 yards.
Baylr Eldredge finished with one catch for 19 yards and Jaxon Lee had one catch for three yards.
Defensively, Bronz Eldredge led the Broncos with 14 tackles and forced a fumble. Su’eSu’e was next in line with nine tackles.
Three Broncos recorded eight stops including Reilly Myrick, Payton Palmer and Jaxon Lee.
Mason Bethea, Brendon Pugh and Nielson each notched seven tackles and Palmer added a fumble recovery. Elliot Jones finished with six, including four for a loss.
Tallying five take-downs each are Dylan Ivins, Peter Shumway, Baylr Eldredge and Slavens, Shumway also recorded a forced fumble.
Paul Kyles finished the game with four tackles, just ahead of Adrian Bitsinnie who had three tackles. Coleman Black and Landon Pemberton finished the game with one tackle each.
The San Juan defense once again got after the opposing quarterback. Jones had 1.5 sacks, while Shumway, Myrick, Su’eSu’e each had .5 sacks.
San Juan takes their act on the road this weekend, traveling to Salina, UT to take on the North Sevier Wolves. The game is set to kickoff at 7 p.m.