San Juan concludes regular season with tough road loss to 4A Tigers

by Rhett Sifford
Sports Editor
The San Juan High School football team knew when they headed to Hurricane this past Wednesday, October 16 that they were in for a tough challenge against the 4A Tigers.
It was a “bonus” game that ultimately did not affect the 2A standings, but it most definitely served as an excellent state tournament preparation game against a challenging foe.
The Broncos have gotten used to running roughshod over their opponents this season, but right from the opening moments of the game it was evident that would not be the case in Hurricane.
The teams traded scoreless first possessions – San Juan on a turnover on downs and Hurricane on a punt. On the Broncos’ second possession quarterback Jaiten Knight found Owen Adams open for a 28-yard pass down to the Hurricane 20.
San Juan didn’t punch the ball into the end zone until Jagger Nieves took a handoff on fourth down and barreled over the goal line for the game’s first score.
But Hurricane quarterback Dylyn Gabriel guided his team downfield with ease on their second possession and the Tigers had the ball inside the San Juan five yard line as the first quarter ended.
It was looking like the Broncos would get a big goal-line stop when they forced a fourth and goal on the Tigers after a couple of nice tackles.
But just like San Juan, Hurricane converted fourth down when Gabriel found Brody Jacobs on a quick out-route and hit him for the Tigers’ first TD, tying the game at 7-7.
The Broncos drove all the way down to the Hurricane 16 on their next possession, but the drive ended when Knight threw an interception on the goal line, giving the ball back to the Tigers.
The home team made quick work of the turnover when, on third down from his own 18, Gabriel completed a pass to running back Austyn McRoberts. The play looked harmless with McRoberts in the left flat and three San Juan defenders closing in on him.
But McRoberts made all three Broncos miss as he proceeded to take the ball to the house for an 82-yard touchdown catch, giving Hurricane their first lead of the game 13-7.
San Juan answered with a nice 80-yard scoring drive on their next possession, using the running of JD Palmer to set themselves up in the Hurricane red zone.
They used most of the time remaining in the first half and, with 1:10 left, Jagger Nieves weaved his way through the Tiger defense into the end zone on a nine-yard touchdown run, his second of the night.
Tripp Palmer, who has been Mr. Steady for the Broncos, added the extra point and San Juan was back in the lead 14-13 as the first half came to an end.
Hurricane got the ball to start the second half, but the San Juan defense forced them to punt, giving the ball back to the Bronco offense.
Working from his own 42 Jaiten Knight hit Jake Ivins on a beautiful 38-yard pass down to the Tiger 20. Knight hit Ivins again, pushing the Broncos down to the Hurricane one yard line.
After a couple Palmer and Nieves tries to run the ball in failed, Nieves finally forced the ball across the goal line on San Juan’s third try for the first touchdown of the second half. With the Tripp Palmer extra point the Broncos led 21-13 midway through the third quarter.
But, starting from their own 33, Hurricane got a nice drive on their next possession and had the ball at the San Juan seven looking to cut into the Bronco lead.
They did just that with a beautiful trick play when Gabriel handed the ball off to McRoberts who pitched it to a reversing Brody Jacobs. Jacobs threw complete to a wide open Dylyn Gabriel for an improbable quarterback touchdown reception.
The San Juan lead was trimmed to 21-19 with 1:22 left in the third quarter as the Broncos got the ball back. But with possession at their own 24, one of the game’s deciding moments occurred when Jaiten Knight threw his second interception in the game.
Austyn McRoberts snagged the ball and returned it 30 yards for a touchdown, giving the Tigers a 25-21 lead. They added to their lead when, after a San Juan turnover on downs, they drove to the San Juan 14 where Gabriel hit CJ Trump on a beautiful touchdown pass in the corner of the end zone.
With 8:22 left in the game San Juan found themselves down 32-21. But the Broncos don’t understand the meaning of the word “quit,” so they went back to work immediately.
Knight once again hit Jake Ivins for a big pass, 42 yards from his own 30 down to the Hurricane 28. From there Knight targeted Owen Adams in the back of the end zone. Adams made a great catch in coverage for a 28-yard touchdown, pulling the Broncos back to within four points.
Injuries to both of Hurricane’s star players – quarterback Dylyn Gabriel and running back Austyn McRoberts – had the Tigers scrambling a bit, and it looked like the Broncos would get a stop and force a punt with five minutes left in the game.
But the second key moment of the game occurred when San Juan was whistled for a late hit on freshman quarterback Kannon Cowan. That extended the Hurricane drive, and a lengthy delay as they discussed the play allowed McRoberts to come back into the game.
Another San Juan penalty on the very next play extended the Tigers’ drive even further. Then, with just two minutes left in the game and facing fourth down at the Bronco 30, Hurricane ran their trick play again.
This time Cowan handed to McRoberts, who pitched to Jacobs, who threw the ball to Cowan for a first down at the San Juan 14, securing a 32-28 final.
The loss dropped the Broncos to 8-2 on the year and it is of course a hard pill to swallow. But San Juan knows their only priority now is to get back to work preparing for the 2A state tournament.
Head Coach Barkley Christensen said after the game, “When we play good teams, bigger teams, your windows for mistakes are so small. They’ll only give you so much and if you don’t take advantage of opportunities it kills you.”
While he expressed that everyone from the coaches to the players could have performed better against Hurricane, he also has full confidence that the loss will make them better heading into the postseason.
He also said he was proud of his players, the effort they brought, and how hard they battled in the game. “These kids are warriors and I have nothing but the utmost respect and love to any kid who dares play a man’s game,” he stated.
Despite the loss, Jaiten Knight still threw for 309 yards and one touchdown on the night. Jake Ivins had 134 yards receiving and was a huge part of setting the team up to score touchdowns. Owen Adams had 87 receiving yards and the one TD.
JD Palmer led the team with 58 rushing yards on ten carries, but Jagger Nieves scored all three rushing touchdowns and finished with 51 yards on 14 carries.
Palmer, Ivins, and Nieves led the San Juan defense with 13, 11, and nine tackles respectively. Tripp Palmer was a perfect 4-for-4 in point-after kicks.
The Broncos will enjoy a bye in the first round of the Utah 2A State Tournament which begins this week. They’ll host the winner of the Judge Memorial vs Grand County matchup that’s being played on Friday, October 25.
The quarterfinal game is tentatively scheduled for Friday, November 1 at 6 p.m. in Blanding. It will be broadcast on Redrock 92 Radio with video on StreamUtah.Live. Tune in to Redrock 92 for updates and an official schedule as it’s decided.