San Juan football team cruises to region victory over Carbon

Coming into their Region 12 matchup with Carbon this past Friday, October 9 the San Juan High School football team had not lost back-to-back games this season.

Following the Broncos’ tough loss in Richfield on October 2, they were determined to keep that stat intact, much to the chagrin of the Dinos.

Carbon came into the October 9 matchup in Blanding ranked last in Utah 3A football. They never posed a threat to a San Juan squad that dominated from start to finish.

Just as he did in Richfield, Ladd Ivins got a huge return on the opening kickoff, this time taking the ball nearly to the Carbon red zone before the game had even truly begun.

San Juan scored four plays later when Jensen Grover carried the ball over the goal line from the two yard line.

The Broncos went on to score three more touchdowns in the first quarter and three in the second to build a 49-0 halftime lead and establish a running clock for the duration of the second half.

Even then, the Carbon defense was unable to slow the San Juan offense down. The Broncos rattled off two more TDs in the third quarter and one final score early in the fourth quarter to collect an impressive 65 points.

Only when the home team put their JV squad in were the Dinos able to erase the goose egg from their side of the scoreboard with a five-yard TD run by Davin Moss.

Jace Palmer passed for 114 yards and three touchdowns on the night and was 14 of 21. He also ran for 33 yards and a touchdown.

Jensen Grover ran the ball 13 times for 184 yards and two Bronco TDs. Freshman Parker Snyder replaced Palmer late in the game and carried the ball in from eight yards out for his first touchdown of the season.

Cooper Black caught four Palmer passes for 61 yards and a couple touchdowns on the night. Bronson Snyder made three receptions for 25 yards and one TD.

But the “tough night” award goes to Carbon quarterback Keaton Rich. In his first game since suffering an injury earlier in the season, he threw seven interceptions including a stretch of five in a row in the second and third quarters.

Rich’s best receiver was San Juan’s Collin Baker, who collected 77 yards on two pick-sixes for the Broncos. He also grabbed another interception on the night to record his first three of the season.

Ivins led the way defensively for San Juan with seven tackles on the night. Magnum Nielson, Baker, and Palmer all had six apiece. Grover and Easton Bethea both made four.

In addition to Baker’s three picks, Black, Ivins, Palmer, and Reo Fox all caught one interception apiece. Fox returned his for 52 yards. Tyler Bayles added a fumble recovery for the Bronco defense.

It’s a familiar story line for San Juan: they have simply dominated opponents they are favored against this year, outscoring them by a combined 294-42.

But other than a thrilling 26-19 win over Delta to open the season, they have been unable to upset a favored opponent.

With only one game remaining in the regular season, the Broncos are striving to change that. They close out the regular season in what should be a very even matchup on the road against Emery this Friday, October 16.

The Spartans are 5-4 on the year and 3-1 in Region 12, but are coming off a 31-23 loss in Richfield. The contest will decide second place in the region and set the stage for the first round of the state tournament.

It’s a 7 p.m. kickoff in Castle Dale and you can catch all the action live on Redrock 92 and streaming at redrock92.com and PictureItPalmer.com. The pregame begins at 6:30 p.m.

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