Bronco football 7-0

by Rhett Sifford
Sports Editor
This past Friday, September 23 the San Juan High School football team traveled to Fillmore, UT to take on the Millard Eagles in the second 2A South Region game of the season.
For the second straight week the final result was never in question. One thing that’s in question however is the accuracy of the RPI standings. More on that in a moment.
Coming into the contest this past Friday the Eagles were 1-5 on the year. But until they met San Juan all their losses had been within one touchdown, even against teams of such caliber as Kanab, Enterprise, Canyon View, and Summit Academy.
But that changed when the Broncos rolled into town. San Juan blew open the gate with 26 first quarter points and added 13 in the second to lead 39-0 at halftime.
Millard did manage to score one touchdown on the Broncos’ second-team defense in the third quarter, but San Juan closed out the game easily 39-6.
The 2A defending champs are now 7-0 on the season, but here’s where it gets weird. They dropped from #1 to #2 in the RPI standings following the blowout win.
I guess it ultimately doesn’t matter, and I’m sure that’s what Bronco head coach Barkley Christensen would say too, but it’s just…silly.
Christensen did truly say following his team’s win, “I’m super pumped about our quick start. That’s a good defense over there.”
Before and after the game (all season long for that matter) Christensen has touted his junior quarterback, Parker Snyder’s ability to read the play and always make the right adjustment.
“I gotta give credit to Parker, he’s just a football genius,” he pined. “Overall I’m happy. That’s a physical football team and we just took it to ’em from the get-go.”
Speaking of Parker Snyder, he passed for 199 yards and three touchdowns, bringing his season totals to 2,066 and 25 respectively. That’s the fifth-most passing yards in the nation and a tie for the ninth-most TD passes.
He spread the targets around against Millard, hitting Anthony Done, Garrett Young, and Jerzy Nieves for a touchdown apiece. Done finished the night with four catches for 73 yards, Young went six for 65, and Nieves had 39 yards on five receptions.
In the ground game Zack Conway carried the ball 15 times for 106 yards and two touchdowns. Snyder ran the other touchdown in for the Broncos.
The San Juan defense allowed just 153 yards of offense to the Eagles (120 on the ground and a paltry 33 through the air).
The Millard coaching staff didn’t seem to trust their sophomore quarterback, Kaden Turner, and he was only allowed three passing attempts in the game. His replacement, junior Sam Rasmussen produced most of the passing yards on the night in the second half.
In addition, the San Juan defense forced two fumbles with Brigham Nielson and Taylor Black snagging a recovery each.
Though they’re the unbeaten defending champs, there’s only a slim chance the Broncos are going to be able to get back to #1 in the 2A classification this season due to the dubious RPI.
Their final three regular season opponents Delta, Beaver, and Grand County sport a 7-14 combined record. In the 2A North, unbeaten South Summit’s last three opponents are rocking a sweltering 6-14 combined record so there is a chance.
The Broncos are back in Blanding for a two-game homestand against Delta and Beaver. They take on the Rabbits in the 2022 homecoming game this Friday, September 30.
San Juan has made a habit of not looking past any opponents, regardless of their record. That’s good advice against a Delta squad that gave them a bit of a scare last season on the road.
The kickoff is set for 7 p.m. and you can hear the game live on Redrock 92 with streaming video on PictureItPalmer.com. Join us starting at 6:30 p.m. for pregame interviews, stats, and such.