Broncos crush Milford Tigers 55-10, cruise to 4-0 record

by Rhett Sifford
Sports Editor
For the second straight week the San Juan High School football team dominated their opponent. This time however, it wasn’t exactly the expected result.
The Broncos’ matchup with the Milford Tigers this past Friday, September 2 in Blanding was billed as a duel between the top-ranked team in 2A and the top-ranked team in 1A. It was predicted to be an offensive battle.
It was definitely offensive, and definitely one-sided. San Juan exploded for their most points in a game this season, smacking the Tigers 55-10.
But it was actually closer than the score indicates, specifically near the end of the first half. San Juan had built a 35-3 lead midway through the second quarter but Milford answered with a touchdown with 4:48 left in the half.
After a defensive stop the Tigers got the ball back and used the momentum they had built to drive all the way down to the San Juan nine yard line.
On first and goal, Milford quarterback Kilo Tsosie threw to the end zone and his pass was promptly intercepted by Trace Bennett.
Without that goal line pick, it’s likely the Tigers would have made it an 18-point game and they were also getting the ball back to begin the second half.
Bennett’s interception fully turned the momentum back to the Broncos’ favor and they outscored Milford 20-0 in the second half to close out the Tigers with a running clock.
It was probably the best second half for San Juan so far this season. The defense was lights-out while the offense put up three touchdowns to finish the game.
Bronco Head Coach Barkley Christensen said of the complete effort, “I was excited how fast we started and then it was nice to come out in the third quarter, get a defensive stop, then establish the running game and score.”
And score they did. The offense was a well-oiled machine all night. Under the leadership of quarterback Parker Snyder, the Broncos have averaged over 46 points per game, and they stepped it up even more against Milford.
Snyder added five more touchdown passes to the ten he already had coming into the game. He was 23 of 35 on the night for 359 yards, his best performance of the season.
San Juan spread the passing attack around the field, wreaking havoc in the Milford secondary, with Jerzy Nieves, Anthony Done, and Garrett Young all collecting substantial receiving yardage.
Nieves ended the night with 146 yards and two touchdowns, Done had 98 yards, and Young caught for 88 yards and two TDs. Keaton Ivins caught the remaining touchdown and finished with 17 yards receiving.
Zack Conway continued to hold the fort very capably in the running game, with 165 yards on 20 carries and two touchdowns. Sophomore JD Palmer added the final touchdown for the Broncos late in the game.
San Juan intercepted Tsosie five times in the win, with Nieves, Young, Bennett, Deklan Helquist, and Branten Bethea all getting into the mix. Brad Duke recovered a Tiger fumble early in the game.
Bronco leading tackler Trace Bennett led in that department again with eight stops on the night. Hudson Whatcott had seven tackles, Duke got six, and sophomore Jaiten Knight collected five.
With the win San Juan is 4-0 for the first time since 2014 (everything from this point out is going to be “since 2014” since that’s the last time the Broncos went undefeated until the playoffs).
They’ll stay at home this week to face what should be a much-improved Canyon View team that plays in the 3A ranks.
The Falcons will come into the game sporting a 3-1 record with wins over Ogden, Providence Hall, and Millard. Their only loss is to their 4A rival Cedar City.
The kickoff is set for 7 p.m. this Friday, September 9 and it’s the Friday Night Lights matchup of the week on Redrock 92 and pictureitpalmer.com. Pregame begins at 6:30 p.m.