San Juan football team wins sixth straight in back-and-forth battle with Manti

The San Juan High School football team rallied from a deficit for the second straight week to beat Manti 61-38 on Friday, September 25 in Blanding.

It was the second week in a row the Broncos trailed in the first half of the game and the second straight week they exploded offensively to take control of the game. This time it happened a bit earlier than it did against Delta on September 18.

San Juan received the ball to start the game, but a holding penalty pushed them back inside their own ten yard line. They were not able to overcome the negative yardage and were forced to punt.

Starting at midfield the Templars wasted no time getting on the scoreboard. Quarterback Kingston Wright pitched the ball to running back Ben Taulapapa, who threw to a wide open Hudson Crane for a 51-yard touchdown.

Tyler Steinfeldt added the extra point and Manti led 7-0 just 1:58 into the game. But the Broncos came up with a quick answer themselves.

San Juan took just two minutes to drive down the field to the Manti five where Beau Yeomans ran the ball in. Luke Jeppesen added the extra point and the game was tied 7-7.

The two-minute program continued when Manti took the ball and effectively drove down to the San Juan 29 where Wright hit Hudson Crane again, making the score 14-7 Templars with 6:07 still left in the first quarter.

San Juan finally broke the two-minute tradition when, on their next possession, Yeomans hit Randall Black running open down the right sideline.

He caught the ball at the Manti 40 and ran the rest of the way, eluding Crane for a 66-yard touchdown catch. With the Jeppesen extra point the game was tied once again at 14-14 only halfway through the first quarter.

The game calmed down a bit from there before Manti took one final lead with a 43-yard field goal from Steinfeldt with 1:56 left in the quarter.

That’s when San Juan flipped the table and took firm control of the game with a blistering second quarter. The Broncos scored just six seconds into the frame when Yeomans pitched to Brigg Palmer for a six-yard touchdown.

The San Juan defense smothered Manti on their next possession and forced a bad punt. Starting from the Templar 30, they scored immediately when Palmer ran the ball up the middle to the house.

The Broncos got to Wright on Manti’s ensuing possession and hit him, forcing a fumble that San Juan recovered on the Templar nine.

They scored their third touchdown in a row when Palmer ran it in from the three to make the score 34-17 with 7:13 left in the first half.

Manti wasn’t going to bow out quietly. They put together a nice scoring drive late in the half, scoring with 1:19 to go on a one-yard Taulapapa run. The Templars were within ten points at 34-24 and they would receive the ball to start the third quarter.

But the Broncos got a big defensive stop on Manti’s first possession of the second half and then steadily drove 50 yards for their sixth touchdown when Palmer ran the ball in from one yard out.

His 26-yard run on the previous play set San Juan up for the TD. That made the score 41-24 with 7:53 to go in the third quarter.

San Juan began hammering nails into the coffin when they scored again with 2:40 left in the frame. Yeomans hit Randall Black with a beautiful 22-yard touchdown pass to make the score 47-24.

Manti did score just a minute later on a ten-yard touchdown pass from Wright to Crane. That was as close as the Templars would get though, at 47-32.

The Broncos scored seven seconds into the fourth quarter to stretch their lead back to 22 points when Yeomans hit Miken Keith with another beautiful 32-yard touchdown pass.

They scored again when Yeomans threw his fourth touchdown pass of the game, this one to Randall Black from 36 yards out.

Manti scored one final touchdown to cap an exceptionally offensive night with an impressive 74-yard pass from Wright to Crane.

Amazingly, neither team found the end zone again in the final 8:40 of the game as San Juan secured their sixth win in a row 61-38.

Mant did an excellent job preparing for the San Juan run, so the Broncos were forced to adjust and it was the passing game that stood out in the victory.

Beau Yeomans passed for 370 yards and four touchdowns, completing 21 of his 33 attempts. Randall Black was the main target, as he caught ten passes for 210 yards and three of the touchdowns.

Miken Keith also had a great night with six catches for 92 yards and one touchdown. Brigg Palmer came out of the backfield to make four catches for 57 yards.

Though the running game didn’t produce the epic yardage it has in the past few games, Palmer still ran for 172 yards on 24 carries and scored four touchdowns. Yeomans had eight runs for 44 yards and one touchdown.

The Broncos are excited to have Jayce Raisor back after injury sidelined him for the first few games of the season. The senior led Bronco tackling with 11 on the night.

Thomas Hardin had nine tackles, Andrew Nielson had seven, and Liam Lacy six. San Juan only had three sacks coming into the game with Manti, but they sacked Wright six times.

Pearce Holliday collected two sacks while four Broncos got one apiece: Danny Price, Thomas Hardin, Cameron Adair, and Landon Turk. They also hurried Wright 13 times on the night.

San Juan has a rare week off this week. They’re next in action when they resume 2A South Region play at Emery on Friday, October 9.