Broncos dominate Wildcats to win fifth straight 2A state championship

by Rhett Sifford
Sports Editor
The San Juan High School football team accomplished what only three other Utah teams before them have this past Saturday at Zions Bank Stadium in Herriman.
They won their fifth straight Utah State football championship with a convincing 57-10 victory over the South Summit Wildcats in the 2A state title game.
For the Broncos it was no different than any other game against a 2A opponent this season – an utter domination that left no question who would come out on top very early in the contest.
Like some other games this season their opponents gave them a battle in the first quarter, but were then left in the dust along the side of the road.
San Juan won the opening coin toss and elected to receive the ball in an effort to get the offense rolling early. They wasted no time, opening with a 17-yard pass from sophomore quarterback Beau Yeomans to Jagger Nieves who had lined up in a wide receiver slot.
The Broncos proceeded to march down the field using only seven more plays to open the scoring. Yeomans scampered up the middle for a 27-yard run, taking the ball from the 33 down to the Wildcat six.
From there Nieves ran the ball in for his 38th rushing touchdown of the season just 1:15 into the game which temporarily placed him in a three-way tie for most single-season rushing touchdowns in Utah State history. That tie would be short-lived.
South Summit answered with a nice slow but steady drive down the field starting from their own 33. They took the ball all the way down to the San Juan 23 but an incomplete pass into the end zone and a near fumble forced the Wildcats into a fourth-and-ten situation.
They elected to bring senior kicker Will Neff onto the field to attempt a 44-yard field goal. But he sliced the kick to the left, leaving South Summit with nothing to show for their 44-yard drive which had taken 7:04 off the clock.
With the defensive stop San Juan took the ball at their own 20 and picked up right where they left off, marching down the field into the Wildcat red zone again. This time it was a 38-yard pass from Yeomans to Tripp Palmer that got them into scoring position at the 15 yard line.
But this time the Broncos couldn’t add to their lead. After a South Summit timeout the Wildcat defense stiffened up and brought the San Juan drive to an end in four straight plays. They knocked two Yeomans passes away to close out the defensive stop, regaining possession at their own 11.
It was a golden opportunity for South Summit to establish some momentum at a key moment in the game. But the Bronco defense was having none of it, forcing a punt after allowing just one first down.
San Juan started their first drive of the second quarter from their own 27 and on second down Yeomans found Tripp Palmer open deep down the middle of the field and hit him for a stunning 70-yard touchdown.
Nieves added the Broncos’ second successful two-point try of the evening and they were up 16-0 with 10:15 left in the half.
Tripp Palmer registered his third sack of the season on the Wildcats’ next possession when he screamed in from the right edge to crush South Summit quarterback Ian Mair, forcing a third down and long.
The San Juan defense stopped a run on the next play forcing another punt and got the ball back at their own 27 with 8:21 to go in the half.
Again the Broncos wasted no time. Yeomans ran for 13 on first down, then Jayce Raisor rattled off a 27-yard run on his first touch to move San Juan to the Wildcat 33.
Yeomans handed to Nieves for the next several plays, and after a nifty 13-yard run from the senior the Broncos found themselves inside the South Summit five yard line.
Nieves ran in his second touchdown of the game just two plays later, increasing the San Juan lead to 24-0. It was also his 39th rushing TD of the season, setting a new Utah State record for most rushing touchdowns in a season.
On their next possession South Summit drove steadily down the field to inside the San Juan ten. But the Bronco defense bowed up to hold the Wildcats out of the end zone.
This time Neff was successful on a 27-yard field goal, getting South Summit on the board with 1:16 left in the half. But the next 56 seconds sealed the Wildcats’ fate.
Starting from his own 20 Yeomans hit Nache Young on the right sideline with a beautiful 15-yard pass. Young was in open space and proceeded to take the ball the remaining 65 yards to the house, eluding three South Summit defenders along the way.
Just two plays later Andrew Nielson intercepted an Ian Mair pass, giving the Broncos the ball back at their own 38 with 32 seconds left in the half.
It took San Juan just one play to get into the end zone again. Yeomans hit Jagger Nieves at the Wildcat 40, he juked a South Summit defender, then cruised in for a 62-yard touchdown catch.
With the score 38-3 in favor of San Juan with 20 seconds left in the half, the Wildcats had one last desperate shot to prevent a running clock to start the second half.
But they conceded with a lackluster run up the middle for just three yards, allowing the first half to expire and ensuring the clock would run via mercy rule to start the third quarter.
The Wildcats did explode out of the locker room to start the second half, scoring on a 37-yard pass from Mair to Blake Osguthorpe to make the score 38-10.
San Juan tacked on two more touchdowns to close out their fifth straight state title as the clock ran for the majority of the second half.
Jagger Nieves collected his 40th rushing touchdown of the season, a one-yarder with 5:59 left in the third.
He actually tucked the ball inside the pylon after an impressive 36-yard run for what would have been his 41st of the season a minute into the fourth quarter, but the refs ruled him out of bounds at the one.
The one that officially appears on the stat sheet came one play later when Cole Duke came in to take a handoff and carry his one and only rushing touchdown of the season, making the score 57-10.
From there San Juan began to cycle in lots of underclassmen as the teams combined to run out the remainder of the time in scoreless fashion.
With just over two minutes remaining in the game Beau Yeomans closed out his amazing sophomore season with a perfect punt that very appropriately rolled to a stop at the one yard line.
Yeomans threw for a very impressive 329 yards and three touchdowns in the state championship game. He ran for 71 yards and another touchdown.
He gave credit to his teammates after leading the Broncos to their fifth straight state championship. “I feel like everyone had a great game,” Yeomans said, “but I gotta shout out our linemen though.
“They’re dogs, they’re working their butts off down in the trenches doing everything they can to make us look good.”
Yeomans said the team came into the game believing they were the best team in the 2A without a doubt. “You just have to play your best and good things will happen,” he stated.
Jagger Nieves carried the ball 24 times for 150 yards and the three touchdowns in his final game as a Bronco. He said he was very emotional as the clock counted down on his fourth state championship in a row.
“I was already crying with five minutes left in the fourth quarter,” the senior running back explained. “It’s just awesome to see; all our hard work coming down to this.” Nieves said winning the championship again means a lot and it’s an “awesome feeling.”
He explained that the Broncos’ success comes from hard work in the weight room throughout the year, coming out with energy and intimidating their opponents on game day, strong line play, and having one of the best coaching staffs in the state.
Nieves also had two pass receptions for 80 yards and a touchdown in the win, scored 30 of the Broncos’ 57 points, and co-led the defense along with Brigg Palmer with eight tackles.
Fellow senior Tripp Palmer had four catches in his final game for 117 yards, including the 70-yard touchdown catch. He had a sack and six tackles on defense.
“It’s a really good feeling to see all the hard work and everything you put in pay off,” said Palmer after the game. “[South Summit] is a really good team and they came to play hard.
“It was a good battle, super competitive, and I wouldn’t want it any way else, a little chippy and that’s the way it should be played. It was super fun.”
Nache Young was the other main target for Yeomans in the title game. He had four catches for 104 yards and a touchdown.
Cole Duke got in on the fun with three receptions for 28 yards and he also had the rushing touchdown to close out the scoring. In the running game, Jayce Raisor had four carries for 38 yards.
Defensively, along with the already-mentioned Brigg Palmer, Jagger Nieves, and Tripp Palmer, George McNaughtan had seven tackles.
Andrew Nielson had six stops and snagged the interception that was one of two Bronco takeaways in the game. Nache Young and Jonas Jeppesen had five tackles apiece and Cole Duke recovered a Wildcat fumble.
Cash Palmer ended the night with a couple tackles, but his real glory all season long was the glory he never really received.
He and his fellow offensive linemen Remy Whatcott, Gaige Palmer, Trey Bradford, and Trai Bass were a huge part of the state championship as they protected quarterback Beau Yeomans and created the holes Jagger Nieves ran through.
Palmer said of the state championship, “It’s a weight off my shoulders to finally carry on that legacy. All the hard work’s paying off right now and it’s awesome.
“We came in confident but humble,” he explained. “South Summit’s a good ball team. We had a game plan for them but we knew we couldn’t overlook them.
Palmer said he has mixed feelings about the win. “I’m super stoked to get that fifth straight championship. That’s the way you wanna end for sure, but it’s a little sad playing your last high school football game.
Talking with the Deseret News after the state championship win, San Juan Head Coach Barkley Christensen said, “It just speaks volumes to the hard work these kids put in.
“The kids have worked extremely hard and this is what it’s all for. It’s just a testament to our kids, how hard they work and how much the community supports us,” stated Christensen.
Redrock 92 will have an opportunity to talk with Coach Christensen and Defensive Coordinator Bobby Bowring when they appear as guests on the Redrock Morning Show at 9:15 a.m. on Wednesday, November 19.
Jagger Nieves ended the season with 2,088 rushing yards on 219 carries and an astounding 40 touchdowns.
He also caught 45 passes this season for 731 yards and seven more touchdowns. He currently leads the state in all those rushing categories and set new single-season all-time Utah records this season in points scored (320), total touchdowns (48), and rushing touchdowns (40).
Nieves closes out his high school career second all-time in the state of Utah with 554 points and 86 total touchdowns. He is third all-time with 66 rushing touchdowns in his career.
Beau Yeomans ends his sophomore year with 3,515 yards passing (seventh in the state), an average of over 270 yards per game. He was 215-for-325 with 34 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. 
Yeomans also carried the ball 54 times for 276 yards and eight touchdowns. Jayce Raisor had 50 carries this season for 437 yards and five touchdowns.
Tripp Palmer led the receiver corps with 72 catches for 1,473 yards. His yardage ranks third in the state following the end of the 2A season while his 116 points scored is fifth.
Brigg Palmer had 33 catches for 429 yards and three touchdowns. Nache Young had 25 catches for 380 yards and three TDs. And Cole Duke received 24 passes for 357 yards and five touchdowns.
As if it wasn’t enough to set a bunch of new offensive records in Utah this season, Jagger Nieves also led the San Juan defense with 93 total tackles, including ten for loss.
Jonas Jeppeson tallied 89 stops this season. George McNaughtan weighs in with 79 tackles and 24 for loss. He led the team with 15 sacks and 49 quarterback hurries.
Tripp Palmer had 77 tackles with seven for loss, three sacks, and eight hurries.  Brigg Palmer had 74 stops this season with four for loss.
Thomas Hardin ended the season with 72 tackles, five for loss. And Max Stearns, though he missed the championship game due to injury, finishes with 62 tackles, 12 for loss, six sacks, and 20 hurries.
Brigg Palmer and Andrew Nielson led San Juan with four interceptions apiece this year. McNaughtan, Brigg Palmer, Stearns, and Tyler Jacobsen all had two fumble recoveries each.
With this victory the Broncos joined some very elite company, becoming just the fourth team in Utah history to win five or more consecutive state football championships.
This is their 11th football title in school history which ties them with Bingham and Judge Memorial for eighth in that category.