San Juan football team suffers first loss in three years in season opener at Grantsville

by Rhett Sifford
Sports Editor
Everything must eventually come to an end. In the 2024 season opener this past Friday in Grantsville the San Juan High School football team suffered a 36-30 loss, concluding their impressive three-year winning streak.
It was the Broncos’ first loss since they suffered defeat at the hands of Desert Hills on August 13, 2021 in St. George. Both of San Juan’s most recent losses came against opponents in higher classifications. Their run of 37 straight wins is the third-longest streak in Utah history.
The three-time defending 2A champs employed a very familiar strategy to open the game this past Friday, electing to receive the opening kickoff when they won the coin toss.
Junior Jagger Nieves returned the kick to near midfield, but flags flew (and that became a definitive regularity for the entirety of the game), pushing the Broncos back to the ten yard line.
San Juan got out of the gate quickly, driving 63 yards in just two minutes before Grantsville rose up to shut the Broncos down on the Cowboy 27.
But on the very next play Grantsville sophomore quarterback Dallan Van Vliet fumbled the ball at the line of scrimmage. JD Palmer pounced on it, giving the Broncos possession right where they’d lost it just a play earlier.
This time they took advantage as senior quarterback Jaiten Knight threw to the back corner of the end zone where fellow senior Owen Adams made a circus catch in tight coverage to put San Juan up 6-0.
The Cowboys tied the game three minutes later when wide receiver Jaxxon Jensen took a pitch, then threaded the needle on a 32-yard pass to Peyton Thornton at the ten.
On third and goal Van Vliet hit Jordan Fawson at the one, and he spun into the end zone on a strong second effort play.
Grantsville took the lead just a couple minutes later when Van Vliet hit Jensen with a nine-yard touchdown pass in the front corner of the end zone.
A couple miscues and a number of tough penalties conspired to keep San Juan off the board for the remainder of the first half and the Cowboys took a 12-6 lead into halftime.
To begin the third quarter Grantsville’s adjustments began to pay off as they found success sealing off the edges with strong blocking. Senior running back Jayden Atkinson, who had been held in check in the first half, began to start getting some yardage.
Halfway through the third quarter Atkinson pushed his way into the end zone for his first touchdown of the night, putting the Cowboys up 18-6.
The Broncos continued to struggle to find an offensive rhythm. Any time they did move the ball, plays were called back on penalties or catches were ruled incomplete.
Then Van Vliet began to hit his receivers with regularity, picking apart the San Juan secondary. With 3:02 left in the quarter he found a wide open Fawson for the Grantsville’s fourth touchdown of the night.
San Juan found themselves in uncharted territory, down three touchdowns to the 3A Cowboys. That’s when they dug deep and found something special.
Starting deep in his own territory Jaiten Knight converted a key third down with a nice 14-yard run to the San Juan 30. Then he hit a wide open Owen Adams for a 50-yard pass to the Grantsville 20.
On the next play Bronco senior running back JD Palmer used some ferocious second effort to battle his way inside the five yard line, setting up a four-yard touchdown run by Knight, cutting into the Cowboys’ lead.
Grantsville squashed the San Juan momentum just 1:40 later when Van Vliet hit Jensen in stride for a 40-yard touchdown pass. But the Broncos answered immediately with senior Javin Montella taking the ensuing kickoff 82 yards to the house, pulling them back to within two touchdowns 30-18.
As the game entered the fourth quarter, it began to look like San Juan was going to pull off a miracle comeback win. With Grantsville in Bronco territory not quite a minute into the quarter, JD Palmer scooped up his second fumble recovery of the game when Atkinson put it on the turf.
San Juan took just two minutes to drive the ball to the Grantsville 21 where Jaiten Knight found Owen Adams open for the pair’s second touchdown combo of the night, making the score 30-24.
Stunningly the Broncos tied the game when JD Palmer intercepted a Dallan Van Vliet pass at the San Juan 43 and returned it all the way to the end zone for a pick-six.
But Grantsville showed great poise after giving up a three-score lead not just once, but twice. They gathered themselves and steadily drove down the field on their ensuing possession, punching the ball into the end zone on a one-yard run by Atkinson to retake the lead.
In the remaining 3:49 of the game San Juan had two possessions, two drives into Cowboy territory, and two opportunities to tie or take the lead. Unfortunately both drives ended in interceptions and the Broncos’ bid for a 38th straight win and an improbable comeback fell short.
Following the game San Juan Head Coach Barkley Christensen said it was almost a relief to have the win streak end. The key to the rest of the season is how the team bounces back from the loss.
“That’s how we did it in 2021,” he explained. “We lost the first game of the season and then came back to win state.”
Christensen was very encouraging to his players after the game. “We’re going to learn a ton from [the game film]. The guys battled. I’m proud of them. They played really hard against a great team,” he explained.
Jaiten Knight threw for 302 yards and two touchdowns in the loss. He was 22 for 43 with four interceptions. Owen Adams was his most regular target with six catches for 148 yards and both TDs.
Tripp Palmer had three catches for 59 yards and Jake Ivins had 44 yards receiving, also on three catches. Unfortunately Ivins had to leave the game in the first half with an injury.
Branten Bethea caught five passes for 40 yards, Jagger Nieves had three catches for seven yards, Javin Montella had one catch for three yards, and JD Palmer got one yard on one catch.
The Broncos’ running game, which has enjoyed so much success over the last two seasons, struggled to find a rhythm.
Knight and Nieves earned 55 yards apiece and Knight scored the one rushing touchdown. Palmer ran for 45 yards for a team total of 155.
Tripp Palmer led the San Juan defense with 17 tackles. Nieves collected 11 and JD Palmer got ten. Junior Stetson Black got the only sack on the night.
The defense wasn’t perfect, but they came up with key plays in big moments to give the offense a chance. They forced an impressive four turnovers in the game with Montella and JD Palmer getting an interception apiece, and Palmer also getting the two fumble recoveries.
The Broncos are probably studying game film or on the practice field as you read these words, working to correct the shortcomings they suffered in the season opener.
They’ll be on their own turf this Friday, August 23 with Juan Diego Catholic coming to town. The Soaring Eagle gave up a 24-7 halftime lead in their season opener, allowing a touchdown in the final minute in a tough 35-31 loss.
Juan Diego has returned some solid experience this year and they sport a run-heavy offense with at least four players who can carry the ball effectively.
Senior quarterback Hayden Mezenen can also get it done through the air. He threw for 144 yards and a touchdown in the season opener.
Join us on Redrock 92 and StreamUtah.Live to see if the Broncos can get back in the win column against their second 3A North opponent in a row. The kickoff is at 7 p.m. The broadcast begins with the pregame at 6:30 p.m.