Southeastern Utah football teams gear up for 2A and 8-player state quarterfinals beginning this Friday
by Rhett Sifford
Sports Editor
The 2A and 8-player Utah State Football tournaments are set to get underway in earnest this Friday, November 1 and there are three teams vying for a state championship in southeastern Utah.
San Juan begins the quest for their fourth 2A title in a row as they open at home against Judge Memorial. The #1 Broncos cruised past the #8 Bulldogs in their regular season meeting 53-7 back on September 13.
Jaiten Knight threw for 306 yards and six touchdowns in that game. He also ran for 33 yards and an additional touchdown.
Running back Jagger Nieves led receivers with 109 yards and caught two of Knight’s TD passes. Branten Bethea, Owen Adams, Javin Montella, and Jake Ivins all caught one apiece. Nieves was also the leading rusher with 68 yards.
The offensive line dominated, opening huge running lanes for Bronco ballcarriers and giving Jaiten Knight all the time he needed to locate open receivers.
The defense dominated too, allowing a paltry 57 yards of total offense before they were replaced by the JV team in the second half.
Judge will be trying to do what no 2A team has done since San Juan re-entered the 2A ranks in 2021 – beat the Broncos.
Kickoff is set for 5 p.m. this Friday and you can catch all the action live on Redrock 92 Radio with video on StreamUtah.Live beginning at 4:30.
Monticello opens the 8-player state tournament ranked second and will host #7 Utah Military Academy Hill Field on Friday.
The Buckaroos whipped the Thunderbirds 60-12 in the first game of the season August 23. It was also UMAHF’s first-ever varsity football game.
Quarterback Jackson Keyes threw for 74 yards and three touchdowns, Tavon Black ran for 126 yards and two touchdowns, and the Monticello defense held the Thunderbirds to just 79 yards of total offense in the win.
The Buckaroos and Thunderbirds will kick it off at 4:30 p.m. and you’ll be able to watch that contest live on StreamUtah.Live starting at 4 p.m.
The Whitehorse Raiders are the sixth seed in the 8-player tournament and will be traveling to Hildale to take on #3 Water Canyon in their quarterfinal matchup at 6 p.m. on Friday.
Whitehorse suffered a 52-20 loss the first time the teams met on October 4 also in Hildale. The Raiders will be trying to avenge that loss and upset the Wildcats to advance to the state semifinals.