Broncos punch ticket to fourth straight state championship game with 54-14 win over Delta

by Rhett Sifford
Sports Editor
The top-ranked San Juan High School football team was well-prepared and eager to take care of business in the 2A Utah State Semifinals when they disembarked their bus at Zions Bank Stadium in Herriman this past Saturday, November 9.
The Broncos had beaten the team they were up against, #4 Delta, 63-10 just four weeks earlier in Blanding. A win against the Rabbits in the semifinals would put San Juan in the 2A state championship game for the fourth straight season.
The Broncos won the coin toss and elected to receive the ball, which is standard operating procedure for the team known for their quick starts and first-half offensive outbursts.
So it was a bit of a surprise when two dropped passes and a penalty resulted in their first drive ending with a turnover on downs, giving the ball to Delta on the San Juan 35 yard line.
The Bronco defense has picked up the slack all season long though any time the offense has stuttered, and that’s exactly what they did early in the semifinal matchup.
They stuffed the Rabbits on four straight plays and took the ball right back at their own 31. The big stop allowed the San Juan offense to get in gear and begin to take control of the game.
They employed their patented no-huddle, hurry-up attack to march down the field with solid running from JD Palmer and Jagger Nieves.
Quarterback Jaiten Knight also connected on a couple of key passes to Jake Ivins and Branten Bethea, but it was ultimately Knight himself who scampered into the endzone from five yards out to open the scoring 5:30 into the game.
Delta got a nice return on the ensuing kickoff, but a penalty erased it and brought the ball all the way back inside the Rabbit 15. Again the San Juan defense stood strong, forcing a three-and-out and getting the ball back at their own 32.
On first down Jaiten Knight ran the ball off the right guard for ten yards. Then Jagger Nieves nearly broke free for a touchdown up the middle, but Delta’s Kaden Kolste snagged his toe, halting his run at 18 yards to the Rabbit 40.
Nieves rattled off another 13-yard run as the Broncos continued to march down the field with ease. Two plays later Knight hit a wide open Branten Bethea who walked into the endzone with a 28-yard touchdown reception.
Tripp Palmer added his second extra point of the day and San Juan was up 14-0 with 3:51 left in the first quarter.
But on Delta’s next possession the Broncos got their first taste of Rabbit running back Jett Rawlinson, who was absent in the teams’ first meeting this season in Blanding. He would prove to be a handful all game long.
On first down from the Delta 14 Rawlinson cut through the bodies and slid down the sideline for 15 yards and the first Rabbit first down of the game. A couple plays later he rattled off a 20-yard run to push Delta back into San Juan territory.
The Rabbits got a huge conversion on fourth and three at the San Juan 36 when quarterback Hunt Robinson found Jaytn Brough wide open for a pass in the middle of the field. He took the ball all the way down to the two.
The San Juan defense held the Rabbits out of the endzone until the end of the opening quarter, but on the first play in the second frame Rawlinson punched the ball across the line to cut the Bronco lead to 14-6.
San Juan answered just 47 seconds later when Jaiten Knight hit Javin Montella for a 56-yard pass to the Delta ten. Nieves bounced to the outside on the next play, tucking the ball inside the pylon to make the score 20-6.
Nieves thought he had an interception on the ensuing Delta possession, but a defensive holding penalty negated the play. The Rabbits took advantage of the gift when Rawlinson got a 25-yard run to the Bronco 32.
He was shaken up on the play and didn’t return during the possession. San Juan took advantage of Rawlinson’s absence, forcing another turnover on downs at the Bronco 38 yard line.
On second and six at their own 42 Nieves answered Rawlinson with a 23-yard run of his own, setting the Broncos up at the Delta 35. A penalty pushed San Juan backward, but Knight hit Jake Ivins with a nice 21 yard pass, earning a first down at the Delta 23.
Knight then hit Bethea for a 20-yard pass, but as Bethea was falling into the endzone the ball popped free at the one yard line and was recovered by Delta for a touchback.
On the very next play, however, Robinson made a poor decision to throw back into traffic on a busted screen play. This time Tripp Palmer snagged the interception and returned it to the one.
It took three plays, but JD Palmer finally punched the ball in for San Juan’s fourth touchdown of the day, increasing the Bronco lead to 28-6 following a successful two-point conversion.
The game got even more interesting at that point when San Juan kicked an onside attempt on the ensuing kickoff. Though it didn’t travel the required ten yards, a Delta player came up and booted the ball, allowing the Broncos to recover.
Knight then hit a wide open Jagger Nieves for a 23-yard pass to the Rabbit 41. Knight took the ball himself on the next play, lowering his shoulder to run over a Delta defender on a tough 14-yard run.
That set the Broncos up for the play of the year. From the Delta 27 Knight threw the ball to the sideline just inside the pylon where Javin Montella leaped skyward, snagging the ball with one hand as he fell backwards.
Miraculously, he tapped his toe on the turf inbounds and maintained the catch all the way to the ground, scoring one of the most tremendous touchdowns you’ll see at the high school level – or any level for that matter. It set the Bronco sideline on fire and increased their lead to 34-6.
Delta answered with a big play of their own when Hunt Robinson connected with Kaden Kolste in the middle of the field. Kolste slipped a tackle and proceeded to streak down the sideline to the San Juan ten, completing a 72-yard pass reception.
Four plays later the Rabbits converted another fourth-down attempt, striking paydirt when Robinson located Connor Pruit with a pass in the corner of the endzone for Delta’s second touchdown.
Following a successful two-point try the score was 34-14 in favor of San Juan with 53 seconds left in the half.
Anyone who has watched the San Juan football team in the past two seasons knows 53 seconds is more than enough time for the Broncos to go a hundred yards and score if they need to.
But this time, as Knight rolled out to his right looking for an open receiver, a Delta defender hit him from behind, forcing a fumble. The Rabbits recovered the loose ball, taking over at the San Juan 29 with 13 seconds to go in the half.
Delta drove to the Bronco 14 where they elected to go for a 31-yard field goal with two seconds remaining. But Patrick Harrison’s attempt sailed wide and San Juan’s 34-14 lead remained intact at the half.
For all the drama in the first half, the second was not nearly as exciting as the Broncos asserted their dominance. The defense shut Delta down on all five of their second-half possessions, collecting another interception, a fumble, and three turnovers on downs.
The San Juan offense added three touchdowns in the second half, beginning with an eight-yard run from JD Palmer late in the third quarter that followed a Jagger Nieves interception deep in Delta territory.
Nieves slipped into the endzone from seven yards out with 4:55 left in the game. And Knight hit Tripp Palmer with a 27-yard TD pass three minutes later to close out a 54-14 win.
Knight threw for a very impressive 345 yards in the game, well over his per-game average. He was 19-for-25 with three touchdowns. Six different Broncos scored touchdowns in the game.
Javin Montella led receivers with 114 yards on four catches and a touchdown. Jake Ivins had 85 yards on seven receptions. Branten Bethea caught three passes for 59 yards and a TD.
Owen Adams had three catches for 45 yards. Tripp Palmer caught the one 27-yard touchdown. And Jagger Nieves had a 15-yard catch.
Nieves led the running game with 141 yards on 23 carries and two touchdowns. JD Palmer had 11 carries for 59 yards and two TDs. And Knight collected 46 yards on eight carries with a touchdown.
Bethea led the defense with 16 tackles. Nieves had 11 and JD Palmer had ten. The Broncos weren’t credited with a sack in the win but they hurried Robinson 11 times.
Not surprisingly, George McNaughtan led with four hurries. Jaiten Knight had three. Jake Ivins, Cash Palmer, Brad Skow, and Bethea all had one apiece.
Tripp Palmer and Jagger Nieves got an interception apiece. Jonas Jeppeson and Stetson Black both had a fumble recovery each.
San Juan is indeed heading to their fourth straight 2A Utah State Football Championship Game where they’ll try to become the eighth team in the state to win at least four titles in a row.
Following the semifinal win Bronco Head Coach Barkley Christensen told the Deseret News, “It feels really good to make…the final game again. I just love our kids so much. We work so hard for it, and to see them rewarded with it again is a great feeling.”
Christensen knows there is still a lot of work to be done. “It’s a big challenge…keeping the kids focused and not overconfident,” he explained. “As freshmen they have been part of three state championships and for some of them this is their first year as big-time contributors.
“I feel like it has been good that we took a couple of lumps this year against Grantsville and Hurricane. I think that has helped us settle down, too.”
It’s a rematch with #2 Emery in the state title game for the top-ranked Broncos. They beat the Spartans 61-20 in Castle Dale on September 20, but in all reality the score was 61-14 before a late touchdown against the JV defense.
Senior quarterback Treven Gilbert threw for 164 yards and two touchdowns in that game. Jaxon Johnson led the running game with 51 yards on 13 carries.
The Spartans beat #6 Summit Academy 31-20 in their semifinal matchup this past Saturday. San Juan and Emery will square off at Southern Utah University’s Eccles Coliseum this Saturday, November 16 to decide the 2024 2A Utah State Championship.
Kickoff is set for 4 p.m. and you can catch all the action live with the local broadcast on Redrock 92 Radio. You can also listen to live audio streams on StreamUtah.Live, Redrock92.com, and on the Picture It Palmer YouTube page beginning at 3:30 p.m.