San Juan football team opens season with sights set on a sixth straight championship

by Rhett Sifford
Sports Editor
The standard for the San Juan High School football team has become almost impossible to raise. For the past five years the Broncos have finished their season the same way – as 2A Utah State Champions.
Now, with a new group of players stepping into prominent roles, San Juan begins another season with an opportunity to accomplish something only two other Utah football teams have – win a sixth consecutive title.
But this year’s team is not the same. “We’re a completely different look,” San Juan Head Coach Barkley Christensen said. “Identity-wise, offensively, and defensively I feel like we will look a lot different.”
The Broncos return several players with experience, including sophomores who started last season and are now juniors. But some of the seniors expected to lead this year’s squad are stepping into starting roles for the first time.
That leaves San Juan with a team that may be young in experience, even if it isn’t young in age.
And Coach Christensen, who’s entering his tenth year at the helm, knows there is only one way to find out how his players will respond when the stakes rise.
“You won’t really see what they have until you get into a battle week one,” he said.
San Juan’s returning players have grown accustomed to seeing their season end with a championship celebration. The last two senior classes left the program having never experienced anything else.
That success can be both a blessing and a challenge. The players expect to win. What they haven’t necessarily experienced is everything that goes into making winning possible.
As he has always said, Christensen reiterated that there is no secret formula behind San Juan’s relentless success of late.
“It’s just repetitive hard work that’s boring and it’s the same thing over and over and over again,” he explained.
For the coaching staff, that means continuing with the fundamentals and making sure the newest group of players understands that success is earned rather than inherited.
“You have to do that every single year and you have to fall in love with that process,” Christensen stated.
While San Juan has plenty of questions to answer, the Broncos believe they have the personnel to build another dangerous offense.
The line returns much of its core, with players such as Keilan Hutchins and Gaige Palmer providing experience. Easton Knight is expected to take over at center, while Pearce Holliday joins the group of players battling for significant playing time.
Coach Christensen says he feels comfortable with six or seven players in the offensive line rotation. Behind them, San Juan expects a committee approach at running back.
It goes without saying that Jagger Nieves was a major part of the Broncos’ offense last season and will be challenging to replace, but Christensen believes several players can help fill the void.
Thomas Hardin has impressed throughout the summer, while Jayce Raisor is expected to join the mix once he returns from injury. Brigg Palmer has also shown the athleticism and physical running style San Juan wants.
Rather than relying on one player, Christensen expects the running game to develop through competition.
“It’s just going to be kind of a revolving door of who’s hot, and we’re going to ride that until we figure out who we can rely on in certain situations,” he explained.
The Broncos’ receiving options took a hit with the loss of Max Stearns to injury, but the team still has a bevy of players to throw to as they look to fill the void left by a graduated Tripp Palmer.
Miken Keith, Andrew Nielson, and Quincy Singer give San Juan size and speed on the outside. Randall Black has been one of the summer’s standout performers at slot receiver, while Brigg Palmer and Cooper Laws provide additional options.
“There are even some sophomores we would feel comfortable with,” continued Christensen. “And this freshman group coming in also has some really good wide receivers.
“We like what we have on the outside. We run a spread offense; you have to have athletes all over the field; and that’s what we want to do is cover every blade of grass out there to make it work.”
At quarterback, San Juan returns a player who is hardly new to the spotlight. Beau Yeomans enters the season as one of the Broncos’ most experienced players after an outstanding sophomore campaign.
With his size and arm strength, Coach Christensen believes Yeomans has enormous potential. “The sky is the limit for him,” he stated.
But this season will require something different from the veteran quarterback. Last year’s offense could lean heavily on players such as Tripp Palmer and Jagger Nieves.
This year Christensen says Yeomans will have to take more responsibility for making plays and distributing the football to a new collection of weapons.
“He was able to rely on throwing it to Tripp or Jagger and they would go up and get it,” he explained. “So now it has to be more on his shoulders.”
One of San Juan’s biggest offensive goals during the offseason has been improving its traditional drop-back passing game.
Although the Broncos may appear to throw frequently on a stat sheet, Christensen says many of those attempts come from quick run-pass-options and relief throws. This season San Juan wants to push the ball farther downfield.
If there is one area where the Broncos face their biggest challenge, it may be on defense. The defensive line will have a different look, with bigger players up front than the program has traditionally used.
Christensen believes that size could make the Broncos tougher against the run, provided they can contain the edges. That is one of the team’s primary concerns heading into the season.
Thomas Hardin and Cameron Adair are expected to handle the middle linebacker positions while Raisor is out. Danny Price and Brigg Palmer are among the players expected to contribute on the outside.
Beyond them, several sophomores could be asked to play significant roles. “We are a little more inexperienced on the defensive side of the ball than we are offensively,” Christensen said. “So we have to grow up quicker.”
The Broncos know they have a target on their backs and opposing teams will test that inexperience. Christensen joked that San Juan could find itself in a few “60-50 shootouts” if the defense doesn’t improve its edge containment.
But he likes the players’ attitude. “They’re very coachable,” he explained. “That’s what I love about this group.”
San Juan won’t enjoy the pleasure of easing into the season. The Broncos open with three straight road trips beginning this Friday, August 14 against Grantsville, a larger 3A program with athletic players and plenty of physical ability.
The Cowboys have a brand new offensive coordinator and a brand new defensive coordinator, making it more difficult for San Juan to predict exactly what they will see.
The Grantsville quarterback situation has also changed, with sophomore Krue Allred expected to take over under center.
Coach Christensen expects the opener to provide an immediate test. “It will be one of the better teams we play this season in terms of personnel and athletic ability,” he said.
And Grantsville is only the beginning. San Juan will face Beaver, Kanab, Summit Academy, and South Summit before entering region play. Delta, Manti, Emery, and South Sevier are also on the schedule.
Several games carry an extra emotional edge. San Juan led longtime rival Beaver 14-0 last season before allowing the game to slip away.
Christensen says the Broncos are eager for another opportunity when they travel to Beaver on August 21. A trip to Kanab on August 28 will provide an intriguing matchup against a second straight top-tier 1A opponent.
Among San Juan’s non-region 2A foes this season, Summit Academy has undergone a massive roster and coaching staff overhaul that now includes some NFL experience.
South Summit returns significant talent and is motivated to take down the five-time defending champs after suffering a blowout loss to them in the championship game nine months ago.
Then there is Manti, who defeated San Juan last year and which Coach Christensen has already circled as a revenge game in Blanding September 25.
But despite all the talk about a new-look roster and a challenging schedule, San Juan’s ultimate goal hasn’t changed. The Broncos expect to compete for a championship.
Christensen acknowledges that anything less than a state title is now considered a disappointing season for the program – an enormous expectation for players who haven’t yet experienced the pressure of a championship game.
But he doesn’t believe that pressure is crushing them. “I think it’s a pressure that motivates them to keep working because you don’t want to be the class that lets it slip,” he said.
That standard is part of the culture San Juan has built over the past nine years of Christensen’s tenure, and specifically the most recent five years.
The players who will suit up in the Blue and Gold this Friday night have watched championship teams come before them. Now it’s their turn to carry the tradition forward.
The Broncos spent the summer competing at camps and 7-on-7 events, winning two of three 7-on-7 competitions and performing well against larger programs.
After weeks of practicing against teammates who know every play, every formation, and every tendency, the players are eager to finally compete against an opponent they don’t see every day.
“These kids are chomping at the bit,” said Christensen. And perhaps more than anything he wants his players to enjoy the experience.
He knows the responsibility of coaching a program with San Juan’s expectations. He also knows these players have worked for the opportunity.
“I just don’t want to let these kids down,” he said. “That’s a big responsibility on me, and I hope they just go out and have fun and play San Juan football.”
For Christensen, the measure of the season ultimately goes beyond wins and losses. If his players can walk away knowing they gave everything they had, he will be proud.
Still, there is one goal sitting above everything else – six championships in a row. “That’s what we’re chasing,” Christensen said. “Let’s go get number six.”
The Broncos kick off the 2026 football season this Friday, August 14 at the Rural Utah Preview at Snow College in Ephraim against the Grantsville Cowboys.
Kickoff is set for 8 p.m. and you can catch all the action live in the first Friday Night Lights video stream and radio broadcast of the season on StreamUtah.Live and Redrock 92 respectively.
Tune in at 7:30 for the pregame, which will open with the entire preseason conversation between Coach Barkley Christensen and Rhett Sifford.