Surging Broncos demolish defending 1A state champion Kanab to close out road swing

For the second week in a row the San Juan Broncos dominated one of the top 1A football programs in Utah, improving to 2-1 on the season with a 54-7 win in Kanab this past Friday, August 28.
San Juan blew it open early with three touchdowns against the 1A Utah State defending champions in the first quarter and two more in the second to lead 35-0 at halftime.
The Broncos opened the scoring just 1:19 into the game when quarterback Beau Yeomans hit Randall Black for a 74-yard touchdown pass.
Black caught the ball at the San Juan 39, sidestepped a Kanab defender, then beat two other members of the Cowboy secondary down the field for his first touchdown catch of the season.
That’s when the game got a little bit crazy. Kanab got a good return on the Broncos’ kickoff and started their first drive at their own 35.
Quarterback Grady Anderson connected with Brennan Orton for a 13-yard pass, but San Juan’s Quincy Singer got his mitt on the ball and knocked it out of Orton’s hands.
Following up the play with pursuit, Trai Bass fell on the loose ball and the Broncos had it back right near midfield.
But then the skies opened up as a storm rolled over Arlyn Hafen Stadium. Lightning also entered the area, and the game was brought to a sudden halt just 1:31 in.
When the game resumed after a 30-minute delay, San Juan picked up right where they had left off, driving down the field in just 1:36 for their second touchdown of the game.
Yeomans again hit Black, this time for a 16-yard strike and a circus catch for Black, who bobbled the ball and juggled it before finally securing it for the touchdown as he went to the turf.
The Broncos then took the ball away from Kanab for the second straight time when Grady Anderson fumbled the snap and Gaige Palmer fell on it.
San Juan took advantage, converting the turnover to points when Brigg Palmer scampered in from three yards out for the Broncos’ third touchdown of the game and Palmer’s sixth rushing touchdown of the season.
San Juan added to their lead early in the second quarter when Yeomans hit Miken Keith with a beautiful pass deep down the right sideline.
Keith eluded a Brennan Orton tackle attempt and ran the ball all the way into the end zone for a 75-yard touchdown catch.
The Broncos stretched the lead to 35-0 with five minutes left in the half on a goal line run from Brigg Palmer. Luke Jeppesen had nearly added an extra touchdown to the tally as he was a perfect 5-for-5 in the extra points department.
The second half began with a running clock but the Cowboys came out with some fire. They finally got on the board when quarterback Grady Lacy bootlegged to the left and ran the ball into the end zone from 29 yards out, making the score 35-7.
Though they were one touchdown and an extra point away from getting out of the running clock scenario, that was as close as they would get.
San Juan all but ended the game when Brigg Palmer took a handoff from Yeomans and ran 61 yards to the house.
Flags initially flew indicating that the play would be called back on a hurdle by Palmer, but it was ultimately ruled that Grady Anderson had dived in front of Palmer in an attempt to bring him down and Palmer legally jumped over him.
As the clock continued to run midway through the fourth quarter, the Kanab quarterback tried to hit Degan Swapp with a backward pass in the flat, but Swapp was unable to make the catch.
Thinking it was an incomplete forward pass, all the Cowboys stopped playing. But the whistle never sounded and San Juan junior Liam Lacy sliced into the Kanab backfield, scooped up the ball, and ran it 56 yards to the house.
The touchdown gave the Broncos a 54-7 lead and brought the game to a sudden end due to the new mercy rule instituted in Utah this season.
The rule states that if a team leads by 44 points or more when the fourth quarter begins or increases their lead to 44 points or more at any time during the fourth quarter, the game ends.
So it was a very convincing win for the second week in a row for a San Juan team that is truly surging.
It’s obvious that the offense has had their way in both Beaver and Kanab in the past two games, but the defense has been amazing also, and they were absolutely hungry from the opening kickoff through the end of the game this past Friday.
San Juan forced six turnovers against the Cowboys – four fumbles and two interceptions. One of the interceptions was a backbreaker for Kanab.
With San Juan up 28-0 midway through the second quarter, Kanab had gotten into the Bronco red zone for the first time and had a third-and-goal at the three. As Anderson rolled right he was pressured by Cam Adair and threw into the end zone.
Staley Dandy tiptoed along the sideline and intercepted the errant pass in bounds. San Juan then took the ball down the field and scored the touchdown that gave them a 35-point lead and resulted in the clock running to start the second half.
Bronco Head Coach Barkley Christensen said in his postgame interview on StreamUtah.Live that the defense, specifically forcing turnovers, had been a point of emphasis heading into the game.
“Last week we didn’t turn the ball over but we didn’t get any turnovers either, so we were still minus-five in the turnover department from Grantsville,” he explained.
“You could see kids ripping [at the ball] and the interception [in the end zone]. There were just so many big plays,” he said.
“That was fun. I’m just speechless. They did their thing, they just executed.”
Trai Bass, Liam Lacy, Gaige Palmer, and Keilan Hutchins all recovered fumbles in the game with Quincy Singer and Thomas Hardin responsible for causing one each.
Staley Dandy and Quincy Singer pulled in the two interceptions for San Juan. Though they didn’t sack Grady Anderson, the Bronco defense did hurry him ten times.
Trai Bass had four of those; Cam Adair had three; and Gaige Palmer, Brigg Palmer, and Trey Bradford all had one apiece.
Thomas Hardin collected an impressive nine tackles in the game. Kooper Laws and Quincy Singer both made eight stops apiece. Trai Bass had seven tackles and Cam Adair had six.
The offense continued to roll for San Juan also. Beau Yeomans completed 14 of his 19 pass attempts for 321 yards and three touchdowns. Brigg Palmer rushed for 145 yards and four touchdowns, bringing his season tally to nine.
The receivers spread the wealth. Randall Black had 99 yards on four catches and scored his first two touchdowns of the season. Miken Keith caught four passes for 98 yards and one TD. And Andrew Nielson had two receptions for 81 yards.
In the past two games we’ve clearly seen a group that hated the feeling of losing game one three weeks ago and they are determined to never feel that again.
Coach Christensen agreed. “Super proud of these kids, how they’ve bounced back after that week one loss that could have gutted us,” he said.
The Broncos will try to keep it rolling this Friday, September 4 when they finally return to Blanding for the 2026 home opener and the start of a four-game homestand.
They will host the Summit Academy Bears in what should be a fun matchup. Summit Academy is also 2-1 on the season and is coming off back-to-back wins over Jordan and Buckeye, AZ.
Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. on Friday and you can catch all the action live on Redrock 92 Radio and StreamUtah.Live/YouTube starting at 6:30 p.m.