Broncos leave football win streak record in the dust with 53-13 shellacking of Emery

by Rhett Sifford
Sports Editor
When the 2023 San Juan football season was released everyone marked one game on their calendars as the one to watch. This past Friday, September 15 – the Broncos’ Homecoming game – was that game.
It was a rematch of last year’s 2A Utah State Semifinal contest with Emery, a game San Juan barely survived in an exciting offensive shootout with the Spartans 56-48.
It was supposed to be the one game in the 2023 regular season where a team had a legitimate opportunity to halt the Broncos’ bid to set a new school record for consecutive wins.
It was not. In fact it was the exact opposite as Emery became the most recent in a long line of opponents that have been completely demolished by the team that has become the best in San Juan High School history.
And it’s official now. With their 53-13 beatdown of the Spartans on Friday the San Juan Broncos won their 31st game in a row, the most in school history. They show no sign of slowing down this season, nor do they have any desire to do so.
The streak began with a 48-29 win over Summit Academy on August 20, 2021. In all but two games during the streak the Broncos have scored at least 34 points. Most games they’ve scored many more than 34.
They say defense wins championships. This San Juan team doesn’t believe that. Sure, they play championship-level defense. But it’s the offense that’s simply destroying the opposition.
On Friday in front of the big Homecoming crowd that San Juan offense scored every time they had the ball. They led 27-0 after the first quarter, 40-6 at the half, and added two more touchdowns in the third quarter with a running clock for good measure.
Quarterback Parker Snyder dissected the Spartan defense with 362 passing yards and five touchdowns. He was an outstanding 21 of 26 for 81 percent on the night.
His main target was Jake Ivins who caught nine passes for 151 yards and two touchdowns. Brigham Nielson was right there too, with five catches, 78 yards, and a TD.
The lethal combo from the September 8 game at Judge Memorial – Snyder to Javin Montella – was revived early in the game with Montella catching two passes for 54 yards and a touchdown in the first quarter.
Zack Conway caught the remaining touchdown and finished the night with 48 yards on three receptions. He also carried the ball 12 times for 106 yards and two touchdowns to pace the rushing attack. Snyder added 66 yards on nine carries and a rushing TD.
The San Juan defense was also firing on all cylinders, holding Emery to a paltry 15 unofficial rushing yards. Almost a fourth of the Spartans’ 195 passing yards came on a questionable 45-yard completion in the fourth quarter, which set up their second touchdown of the game.
Following the win Bronco Head Coach Barkley Christensen agreed it was the best game for his team so far this season. “This one feels good,” he stated in a postgame interview with Redrock 92 and StreamUtah.live.
Despite all the pomp and circumstance of Homecoming week, Christensen said the team “was able to lock in and focus,” and they also enjoyed debuting their “throwback” uniforms, which were a striking combination of yellow jerseys and yellow pants with the traditional yellow helmets with blue numbers.
“It was a very satisfying win and the kids just played hard,” Christensen continued. “If they play hard, give effort, and execute, what else can I say?”
When asked how his team continues to succeed no matter what adversity they face he said, “I credit it to summer workouts, [the players] grinding and working out all year long. They never stop and it’s just what we do.
“Little setbacks don’t hurt them because they know what we’re capable of. Every battle is won before it’s fought. They’re ultra confident because they’re ultra prepared and that happened six to eight months ago.”
Despite the exciting milestone, which the coaches and team took at least one night to celebrate, Christensen remained focused. “We can lose this just as fast as we got it,” he explained, “so we gotta keep looking forward and keep doing our thing.”
That mentality is a big part of what has made the current San Juan High School football team and the current San Juan High School football program so successful.
With this most recent win Coach Christensen’s record as head coach is now 57-19, including the two state championships in the past two seasons. But it’s nowhere near enough.
They’re gunning for their 32nd win in a row this week as they get back to work, and ultimately they’re gunning for their third straight 2A state championship, and more continuing into next season – all one game at a time.
The 2A #1 Broncos are headed back out on the road this Friday, September 22 in a travel-heavy season to face #9 South Sevier in a 2A South showdown in Monroe, UT.
San Juan has dominated the Rams in the all-time series 32-4. They’ve won ten straight against the Rams, including last year’s 54-6 drubbing.
Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. on Friday, and as always you can catch all the action live on Redrock 92 and StreamUtah.live starting with the pregame at 6:30 p.m.