Broncos cruise to quarterfinal win over South Sevier, advance to state semifinals for second straight year

by Rhett Sifford
Sports Editor
Following a bye week to get rested and geared up for the 2A Utah State Football Tournament the San Juan Broncos welcomed the South Sevier Rams to Blanding for a quarterfinal matchup this past Friday, October 28.
It was impressive that the Rams even made the trip from Monroe. In the days leading up to the game one of their players, freshman Dexton Obray, passed away.
But South Sevier nobly did make the trip, and despite heavy hearts they put forth a valiant fight on the San Juan High School football field. The defending 2A state champion Broncos were just too much to handle.
It’s amazing that teams continue to defer the decision to kick or receive to San Juan when they win the coin toss. The Broncos always choose to receive, and they almost always score the opening touchdown of the game, putting their opponents on their heels, usually for the remainder of the game.
This time South Sevier indeed deferred and San Juan wasted no time scoring that first touchdown when Zack Conway took the opening kick 91 yards to the house in the Broncos’ first kick return touchdown of the season.
They went on to score 34 points in the first quarter and added another TD in the second to lead 41-0 at the half. Zack Conway ran one in from the 22 on San Juan’s first possession of the second half, and with running clock rules in effect, the final minutes of the game zipped by.
Just before the end of the game with the Bronco JV on the field South Sevier did score one touchdown, a nice 40-yard run from Brock Bair. San Juan cruised to a 54-7 win, advancing to the state semifinals for the second year in a row.
The Broncos scored so quickly on most of their possessions they didn’t have many sustained drives, and not a huge amount of offense. They ran 41 plays on the night and 21 of them resulted in first downs. Seven resulted in TDs. That’s pretty efficient.
The most impressive weapon in San Juan’s arsenal was Zack Conway. He ran for 208 yards on ten carries and scored three touchdowns. He also had the kick return TD of course.
Quarterback Parker Snyder threw for three touchdowns, bringing his season total to 41, an average of almost four a game. He was 9 of 17 for 161 yards, but he did throw a couple interceptions in the win.
Jerzy Nieves, Garrett Young, and Collin Baker all caught a touchdown pass from Snyder. Tyler Pehrson got one from Jaiten Knight late in the game. Nieves was the leading receiver in the game with 67 yards. Most of that came on his 53-yard touchdown catch late in the first quarter.
Trace Bennett continues to be an absolute force on defense for the Broncos. He collected an epic 12 tackles in the game. Jake Ivins had seven and Brad Duke got six. Sophomore Brad Skow registered the only sack of the night.
The San Juan “D” forced three Ram turnovers in the win. Nieves and Ivins got one interception apiece and Deklan Helquist recovered a South Sevier fumble.
We haven’t really talked about Shawn Black a whole lot in the Record this year, but he continues to steadily get it done for the Broncos in the PAT department.
He was 6 of 7 in the win this past Friday and is averaging almost 80 percent on the season. You never know…one of these state tournament games may come down to an extra point and you like to have a guy on your squad who can get it done.
Following the win San Juan Head Coach Barkley Christensen said, “I’m proud of our guys. Anything can happen in the playoffs and one of our big keys was to come out on fire and attack.
“There’s nothing more exciting than late October, November football so we’re very grateful to be in the position we’re in and we’re going to enjoy every moment of it,” he explained.
Bronco coaches and players have a big advantage on all the remaining tourney teams. They’ve been there. They know what it takes to win in the pressure situations that arise in the state semifinals and, of course, finals.
This week San Juan will face an opponent they haven’t seen in a couple years – the #3-ranked Emery Spartans. Emery eked out a 36-31 win over Providence Hall in their quarterfinal matchup.
These two teams haven’t seen each other since October 16, 2020 when they were competing in the 3A ranks together. That game was a barn burner – a 38-35 win for the Broncos on the road.
So it should be a fun matchup between the #2 and #3 teams in the state (in the 2A RPI standings anyway). Emery is 7-3 on the year and they’ve won seven of their last eight games. Their only loss in that time is to the team at the top of the standings – South Summit.
And, like the Broncos, Emery has some offensive weapons.They have a young man who can throw the ball. Junior Wade Stilson is 60 percent on the year with 1,858 yards passing and 19 touchdowns.
They have a young man who can run the ball. Junior Dane Sitterud has 109 carries for 471 yards and five TDs.
But you can bet San Juan will be prepared. Coaches and players are poring over video and dissecting the Spartans’ game plan probably as you read these words.
It’s going to be a straight-up Friday Night Lights matchup too – a traditional 7 p.m. kickoff from Eccles Coliseum at Southern Utah University in Cedar City this Friday, November 4.
Yes, KSL Sports owns the video rights for the remainder of the playoffs. But join us for the local call on Redrock 92 with me – Rhett Sifford – and my trusty color man Art Adair. We’ll keep you entertained and informed. Pregame gets underway at 6:30 p.m.