Bronco football team picks up momentum

by Rhett Sifford
Sports Editor
The San Juan High School football team is hitting their stride and starting to look like the Broncos fans have gotten used to seeing on the field for the past four seasons.
On Friday, August 30 San Juan handled the #2 1A team in the state easily 49-14, earning their first running-clock second half of the season. That’s something Bronco fans became accustomed to seeing in 2023 and the team would like to continue the tradition.
It was a battle for the first 18 minutes of the game this past Friday. San Juan quarterback Jaiten Knight threw an interception on their first possession of the game, but the Bronco defense almost immediately forced a Kanab fumble and regained possession when George McNaughtan recovered the ball.
From that point San Juan drove 46 yards to the end zone for the first touchdown of the game. A 20-yard pass from Knight to Jake Ivins, who returned from a game-one injury, set the Broncos up at the one yard line.
Knight took the ball himself and jumped over fallen linemen to put San Juan up 6-0. Tripp Palmer added the extra point kick to make the score 7-0.
Palmer then made an additional, and more important, impact on the game. With Kanab facing a third down on their own 36, he anticipated a pass to the flat and jumped up to intercept it, then returned the ball all the way to the house. His own extra point stretched San Juan’s lead to 14-0.
The Cowboys rallied though, and had a nice drive underway when the first quarter came to a close. They scored on their first play of the second quarter, a nice 13-yard run by junior running back Hayden Gubler.
In response, the Broncos drove very convincingly down to the two yard line of Kanab, but failed to score on four tries, giving the ball back to the Cowboys with 8:22 left in the half.
But only a few plays later San Juan got their second takeaway of the game when Tripp Palmer once again climbed the ladder to pick off a Brogun Virostko pass.
This time the Broncos made no mistake. Starting from the Kanab 39 they took the ball to the 25 where Jagger Nieves grabbed a handoff and battled his way through Cowboy defenders into the end zone, giving San Juan a 20-7 lead.
From that point the Broncos began to take firm control of the game. Regaining possession at the Kanab 47, Jaiten Knight found Javin Montella, who made a nice run after the catch for 13 yards.
On the next play JD Palmer hit, wrestled, and drug Cowboy defenders down to the nine yard line on a passionate run. Two plays later San Juan was in the end zone again, on a short carry by Palmer.
Knight hit Branten Bethea for an 80-yard touchdown pass with 2:36 left in the half, increasing the lead to 35-7. The Broncos put together a huge goal line stand to prevent a Kanab touchdown and get the ball back midway through the third quarter.
After some strong, big-yardage catches from Bethea and Ivins, Jagger Nieves got his second touchdown run of the night from four yards out, increasing the San Juan lead to 42-7 and putting the game into a running-clock situation.
The teams closed out the game with a touchdown apiece in a 49-14 final. San Juan cycled in numerous underclassmen, who got the opportunity to play in a varsity game for the first time this season.
JD Palmer was a force for the Broncos in the win. He carried the ball 109 yards and scored a touchdown on the ground. But his defensive play was even more impressive.
He led the team with 19 tackles and was constantly in the backfield breaking up Kanab plays. Palmer’s 38 total tackles this season is currently tied for tenth-most in the nation.
Tripp Palmer’s two interceptions were huge in the first half, specifically the pick-six. He also had three tackles in the win. Jagger Nieves had 76 yards rushing and two touchdowns. He tackled Kanab ballcarriers 13 times.
Branten Bethea led the receivers with 131 yards and a touchdown. Jake Ivins showed that he’s a big piece of the puzzle, catching five passes for 74 yards on offense and making ten tackles on defense in his return from injury.
Jaiten Knight had his best passing game of the year so far, throwing for 251 yards and a touchdown. He was an impressive 14-for-20, a 70.0 completion percentage.
San Juan is returning home this week to host the Summit Academy Bears. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. and you can hear/see the live broadcast starting at 6:30 on Redrock 92 and StreamUtah.Live.