Broncos suffer tough loss in Manti, look for a bounce back in homecoming game this week

by Rhett Sifford
Sports Editor
The San Juan High School football team cruised past South Summit and Delta on September 12 and 19, but September 26 was a date that was always circled on the calendar since before the season began as a game that would be one of the Broncos’ biggest tests of the season.
It was a battle with the Manti Templars in Manti in what ended up being a matchup between the top-ranked 2A team in Utah and the fourth-ranked 3A team. Two of Manti’s three losses on the season coming into the game were against the #1 and #3 teams in the 3A.
The Broncos got a nice start – and what has become a standard start for them for 4.5 seasons now – when quarterback Beau Yeomans connected with Tripp Palmer on a play that has worked very well for San Juan lately.
It’s a bubble screen with Palmer strafing the line of scrimmage from outside to inside while he gets blocking from his fellow receivers and the linemen seal the rest of the defenders off.
It usually opens the middle of the field for Palmer and immediately gives him a lane into the opposition’s secondary. Once Tripp Palmer gets up to full speed in the open field he’s tough to catch, much less tackle.
That’s what happened in this case, and once he caught the ball on the line of scrimmage he cut upfield and carried the ball very swiftly 60 yards to the house.
The Broncos failed on their two-point conversion try following the TD, but still had a 6-0 lead just 3:19 into the game. But it didn’t take long for the hosts to answer – just 2:41 in fact.
Templar quarterback Carter Mason hit receiver Isaiah Wright in the back of the end zone for a 21-yard touchdown pass, tying the game. Manti took a 7-6 lead when sophomore Tyler Steinfeldt tacked on the extra point.
Sadly for San Juan, it was a lead the Templars would never relinquish. Their defense began to string together stops and the offense built on the momentum they had established as they scored two more unanswered touchdowns to increase their lead to 21-6 midway through the second quarter.
The Broncos rallied to score a key touchdown when Beau Yeomans ran the ball in from the two yard line to cap a nice scoring drive. A Jagger Nieves two-point conversion run made the score 21-14 with 2:58 left in the half.
But again Manti answered just 1:40 later to regain a two-score lead when Mason hit running back Tala Taulapapa with a screen pass that turned into a 20-yard touchdown.
So the Templars held a 28-14 lead heading into the second half and they were set to receive the ball to start the third quarter.
The Bronco defense bowed up though, and earned a very quick three-and-out. Starting at midfield Yeomans just began to hand the ball off to Nieves who marched it down the field quickly.
After a 14 yard run to the Manti 36 Nieves bounced outside and streaked down the sideline all the way to the three. He took another handoff and rumbled into the end zone for a touchdown, making the score 28-20 just 1:49 into the second half.
The teams traded scoreless possessions that included turnovers until, 1:37 into the fourth quarter, the Bronco defense stopped Manti at the San Juan 24.
The Templars sent their field goal team onto the field and they performed flawlessly as Steinfeldt stroked a 41-yard field goal to give Manti a 31-20 lead. This ultimately became the game-winning score.
San Juan made it a game when they scored on another Nieves touchdown run just 1:51 after the field goal, a beautiful 22-yarder with the running back weaving his way through the Manti defense.
The Templars took four minutes off the clock, driving the ball down to the San Juan 14, but the Bronco defense earned a huge stop, forcing a turnover on downs.
San Juan took over possession down by three points, poised to drive the field and take their first lead since the first quarter. But it was not to be. The Broncos just could not move the ball on the Manti defense and were forced to punt it away.
Unfortunately that was the death knell for San Juan. Manti took over at midfield and drove to the San Juan 39 where Taulapapa weaved his way through the Bronco defense for an impressive game-closing touchdown.
The 38-28 loss dropped San Juan to 5-2 on the year. The Templar defense did a great job slowing down a Bronco passing game that had begun to gather steam over the course of the previous two games.
Beau Yeomans was held to 170 yards passing and one touchdown in the loss. He had not thrown an interception in two games, but threw three in the Manti game.
Jagger Nieves had 27 carries for 182 yards and two touchdowns. He also had six receptions for 45 yards. Tripp Palmer caught nine Yeomans passes for 117 yards and a touchdown.
The loss was tough, and now the Broncos are looking to not only rebound this week but rebuild the momentum they had established against South Summit and Delta and get back into a solid rhythm for the closing three games of the regular season.
They are finally back home this week and will host 0-7 Grand County in the 2025 homecoming game on Friday, October 3. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. Join Redrock 92 and StreamUtah.Live for all the action starting at 6:30 p.m.