San Juan High celebrates homecoming

THE ROUND-UP
by Tad Barton
San Juan High welcomed alumni back this past week with a variety of activities and events to celebrate Homecoming.
From the Mr. San Juan Pageant on Monday, September 25 to the girls volleyball team knocking off previously unbeaten Richfield on Saturday the 30th, there were things for just about everyone to enjoy.
The boys and girls cross country teams hosted the John Thornton Invitational on Wednesday, September 27.
The Broncos welcomed runners from all over southern Utah and the Four Corners area. Six boys teams and four girls teams competed on the varsity level with San Juan taking first in the girls division while the boys finished in fifth.
Jessica Walker paced the Lady Broncos, finishing second overall with a time of 20:04.
Just a few seconds behind Walker is Rachel Barton, who took third place running the course in 20:20.
Nizhoni Warren and Madison Palmer crossed the finish line in seventh and eighth, respectively, with times of 20:57 and 21:22.
Celeste Hillhouse rounded out the scoring runners for San Juan in tenth place with a time of 21:52.
Joy Parker (twelfth) and Lydia Pugh (17th) also finished strong for the Broncos.
The boys are paced by Kade Francom, who took seventh with a time of 17:15. He was followed by Lymir Benn (18:01), Grange Simpson (18:38), Lyle Palmer (19:34) and Levi Ward (19:38).
Soccer
The girls soccer team wrapped up their inaugural season this week, finishing the year with a 5-2 record after they lost to Manti 4-0 on Friday, September 29 and then beat North Sanpete on Saturday, 1-0.
Against Manti, the Broncos fell behind 3-0 after three quick first half goals. In the second half, San Juan held the Templars to just one goal but were unable to score themselves.
Goalie Emilie Palmer had a great game, finishing with 17 saves.
Against North Sanpete, Emily Jacobsen scored the lone goal of the game, while goalie Emilie Palmer recorded the first shutout in school history to secure the win.
Coach Jay Jones noted the girls did a great job not only learning the game of soccer, but learning to work together as a team. Congratulations girls soccer on a great season!
Volleyball
The Lady Bronco volleyball team picked up a couple of big wins this past week, improving their Region 15 record to 6-2 with wins over league-leading Richfield and with South Sevier.
The Broncos got off to a slow start on Friday, September 29 against South Sevier, falling behind 9-19 in the first set.
San Juan turned things up from that point on, coming from behind and winning the first set, 26-24.
The Broncos would go on to win the second and third sets as well, 25-18 and 25-19, to sweep the match 3-0.
On Saturday, the Broncos again got off to a bit of a slow start against Richfield, who entered the match undefeated in Region play and ranked number two in 3A.
Trailing by seven points in the first set, the Broncos dug down deep and turned the set around with a 25-17 win.
San Juan then earned a two set to none advantage, edging the Wildcats 25-22 in the second before putting Richfield away in the third, 25-15.
“The girls are showing perseverance at the most critical times, but most importantly, they’re just having a heck of a lot of fun being united and playing as a team,” said Coach Kellie Keyes.
The Broncos will be back in action Friday, October 6, when they travel to Bingham.
Football
The San Juan Bronco football team improved their season record to 3-4 and pulled within one game of .500 with a 32-13 homecoming win against the South Sevier Rams.
The Broncos got on the scoreboard first when Baylr Eldredge scored on a 44-yard run midway through the first quarter. The two-point conversion attempt was no good, and San Juan led 6-0.
Eldredge would find the end zone again in the second quarter, this time on a one-yard dive. Once again the two-point conversion failed, giving San Juan a 12-0 lead.
The Rams would cut into that lead just before halftime when they scored on a 13-yard run and added the PAT, making the score 12-7.
In the third quarter, the Broncos pushed their lead to eleven points when Eldredge found Dylan Ivins behind the South Sevier defense on an 80-yard pass for a touchdown. The two-point conversion failed, making the score 18-7 in favor of San Juan.
Three minutes into the fourth quarter, Eldredge again hooked up with one of his receivers for the score, this time with Jaden Torgerson on an 18-yard pitch and catch.
The two would connect on the two-point conversion as well, giving the Broncos a 26-7 lead.
After that score, it took less than two minutes for the Broncos to pick up their final score of the night on a two-yard run by Ethan Vess. The PAT attempt sailed wide right, and San Juan led 32-7.
The Rams would find the end zone one more time late in the fourth quarter on a 24-yard pass play. The PAT was no good, resulting in a 32-13 final score.
The Broncos will hit the road Friday, October 6 to take on the North Sevier Wolves in Salina, UT. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.