Broncos win home opener over Bayfield, 19-0

THE ROUND-UP
by Tad Barton
The San Juan Bronco football team came into their game on August 26 against Bayfield looking to rebound from a close loss last week against the South Summit Wildcats.
They did just that behind a bend but don’t break defense, some Special Teams fireworks and just enough offense to come out on the right side of a 19-0 score.
Zach Brown had a big day for the Broncos as they thwarted the Wolverine’s attempts to score.
Brown was responsible for or shared responsibility for three of San Juan’s five take aways, nabbing two fumble recoveries and pulling in an interception.
Bayfield started the game by receiving the opening kickoff. Three plays later, on a fourth and short, Connor Palmer logged the Broncos’ first turnover of the game when he jumped on the ball after a botched hand off by Bayfield.
Three plays after that, Jordan Blake found Jaxon Lee from 25 yards out for the duo’s first of two touchdowns on the night.
Aaron Mitchell booted the ball through the uprights on the PAT to give San Juan a 7-0 lead.
While both offenses had varying success, through the remainder of the half neither defense would allow the opponent to score.
Special teams set the tone for the Broncos in the second half when Dylan Ivins fielded the opening kickoff of the third quarter and raced 80 yards to the end zone. The score put San Juan up 13-0 after the PAT failed.
Both defenses then picked up right where they left off in the first half as they stymied drive after drive until late in the fourth quarter.
On their last drive of the night, the Broncos crossed the goal line one more time, this time on a touchdown pass from Blake to Lee from 20 yards out.
The PAT was blocked, but the damage was done as San Juan picked up their first win of the 2016 season, 19-0.
Next up, the Broncos will hit the road for their second road game of the year against the Richfield Wildcats in Richfield. The game will begin at 6 pm.
X-country
The SJH football team weren’t the only Broncos in action this past week.
Both the boys and the girls cross country teams ran in the Red Rocks Invitational hosted by the Grand County Red Devils.
Fourteen runners set personal bests at the race, including 11 on the boys team and three on the girls team.
The girls team finished in second place, only four points behind North Sevier, who is year in and year out one of the top cross country teams in 2A.
Many of the San Juan runners spent their summer running and training. It looks like that hard work is already starting to pay dividends for the Broncos.
Next up for the Bronco harriers will be the Loyds Lake Classic hosted by Monticello High School.
The race will be held on Friday, September 2 and begins at 3 p.m.