All four county football teams set for state quarterfinals this Friday

by Rhett Sifford
Sports Editor
High school football state tournament time is always a fun time of year, and this weekend we’ll get into it in earnest in San Juan County. For the first time in a long while all four of the teams in San Juan County will be in action as state quarterfinals get underway in two classifications.
2A #2 San Juan
The San Juan Broncos are riding a state-leading 22-game winning streak as they enter the 2022 2A Utah State Football Tournament as defending champions. Their win over Grand County on October 14 secured their first undefeated regular season since 2014.
The Broncos have dominated their opponents this year despite losing 20 seniors to graduation from their state-title-winning team of 2021.
They’ve outscored their opponents 452-152 on the season, averaging 45 points per game. They have amassed a staggering 4,197 offensive yards, an average of almost 420 per game.
But none of that will matter when they kick it off against the #10 South Sevier Rams this Friday, October 28 on the San Juan High School Football Field. They’ll be right back to work, needing three more victories to become repeat champs.
The Broncos’ quarterfinal matchup on Friday is a rematch of their game with the Rams in Monroe, UT on September 16, which they won handily 53-7.
Quarterback Parker Snyder threw for 237 yards and two touchdowns in that game while Zack Conway rushed for 142 yards and three TDs. The Bronco JV saw significant time also, with the clock running in the second half.
Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. this Friday, October 28 in Blanding and you can catch all the action live on Redrock 92 Radio with streaming video on PictureItPalmer.com starting with the pregame at 5:30 p.m.

8-Man #3 Monticello
The Buckaroos closed their regular season 6-3 with an easy win over the Altamont Longhorns on Wednesday, October 12.
It was Monticello’s second win over the Longhorns this season, and the two teams are going to meet one final time in the inaugural 8-Man Utah Football State Tournament starting this Friday.
In their previous two meetings the Bucks outscored Altamont 85-8, collecting 300 rushing yards and 260 passing yards against them in the process.
It’s a home game for Monticello and the second trip in a row to southeastern Utah for the Longhorns. Kickoff is set for 4 p.m. and you can catch it live on Redrock 92 Radio until the San Juan broadcast begins at 5:30. The entire game will stream on PictureItPalmer.com.

8-Man #5 Whitehorse
The Whitehorse Raiders put together a solid first season in 8-man football, collecting four wins while losing four. They are ranked fifth in the RPI standings headed into their state tournament this Friday.
They’ll travel to take on Water Canyon, who are somehow ranked fourth in the classification with a 2-8 record. It will be the first time the two teams have ever played each other.
It seems this may be the most even matchup of the 8-man quarterfinals since the teams have played one of their common opponents similarly.
They both beat Monument Valley handily, Water Canyon 76-0 and Whitehorse 70-0 and 74-28. However, Whitehorse lost to Altamont 50-6 but Water Canyon beat the Longhorns 28-8.
It will be the final game of the night in the 8-man bracket, set to kick off at 6 p.m. in Hildale.

8-Man #7 Monument Valley
Monument Valley will have the biggest challenge in their first postseason game when they kick off the 2022 8-Man Utah State Football Tournament this Friday.
By virtue of their 1-7 record the Cougars are ranked seventh headed into the postseason and they’ll have to travel all the way up to Randolph to take on the #2 Rich Rebels.
It will mark the first time Monument Valley has faced Rich since the 2014 1A state tournament. The Cougars will be looking for a huge upset, and a win would move them into the 8-man semifinals to face either Monticello or Altamont.
It will be the first game of the day this Friday, October 28 when the Cougars and Rebels kick it off at 1 p.m.