San Juan football team ranked 2A #2 to start year, Monticello joins new 1A North

The San Juan High School football team will begin the 2021 season ranked second in a newly realigned 2A classification.

The Broncos will face some tough competition as they move from 3A back to 2A and join a new 2A South region that includes preseason #1 Beaver, #5 Delta, Grand County, Millard, and South Sevier.

The Deseret News released their annual preseason football projections this past Wednesday, July 7 based on coaches’ votes. In the 2A top five, only Beaver did not play 3A football last season. The remaining top five are #3 South Summit and #4 Summit Academy.

The Beavers are looking for their third straight 2A state championship after winning the title in 2019 and 2020. They also won in 2015 and 2016 and own four of the last six 2A state titles. But with so many teams moving down from the 3A ranks this season, their competition will be a bit more stout.

San Juan is of course hoping to prevent a third-straight Beaver title. The teams are set to meet in the penultimate game of the regular season October 8 in Beaver. The Broncos begin the year against 4A Desert Hills in St. George on August 13.

It looks pretty familiar in the recreated 1A football ranks for 2021. Duchesne sits atop the 1A preseason rankings, followed by Kanab, Milford, Enterprise, and North Summit.

Like San Juan, the Monticello Buckaroos move down a classification this season, from 2A to 1A, and will play in the 1A North region against #1 Duchesne, #5 North Summit, Layton Christian, and Rich.

The Bucks begin their year in Moab against the rival Grand County Red Devils on August 13.

It’s hard to believe, but the start of the fall sports season is only four weeks away.

Stay tuned in the coming weeks for season previews of all our local teams. And we’ll feature live broadcasts of San Juan football every Friday this fall on Redrock Radio, 92.7 FM.