No. 6 Ralston Valley football a strong 4-0 out of the gates

ARVADA — It took a little bit, but eventually Ralston Valley got things rolling Thursday at the North Area Athletic Complex.

The Mustangs — No. 6 in this week’s Class 5A Colorado Preps Football Rankings — pulled away from ThunderRidge with a 39-2 victory after a scoreless first quarter.

“I take all the blame. I didn’t have them ready for a 4 p.m. game on a Thursday,” Ralston Valley coach Jared Yannacito said. “We didn’t come out with the intensity that we needed to, but that’s on me. However, I’m extremely happy how they came out in the second half.”

Ralston Valley (4-0 record) got on the board with a pair of rushing touchdowns by Colton Stratman of 6 and 3 yards. The sophomore has been thrusted into the making running back role with the season-ending injury to senior running back Bryson Diebel.

“You don’t replace Diebel. A unanimous captain on our team. A senior, a great kid who has been playing for three years for us,” Yannacito said of the Mustangs’ running back that was injured in Ralston Valley’s season opener against Erie. “But, I love Stratman’s vision and toughness. He is running really hard for us as a sophomore.”

In between the two Stratman touchdown runs, senior Josh Cannizzaro tackled ThunderRidge running back Evan Olds in the end zone for a safety to put the Mustangs up 15-0.

After giving up 38 points in Ralston Valley’s opener against Erie, the Mustangs’ defense has allowed just 11 points in victories against Grandview, Mullen and ThunderRidge

“I think we played great today,” Ralston Valley senior linebacker Matt Gates said. “We had a couple of mishaps here and there, but all around it was great.”

Junior Hunter Essenpreis and Gates both had interceptions in another strong defensive effort.

After Stratman’s second touchdown run, the Grizzlies managed to get their lone score of the game. ThunderRidge linebacker Luke Christensen tackled Stratman in the end zone with 2:26 left before halftime.

It was all Mustangs in the second half. Ralston Valley junior quarterback Zeke Andrews had an 8-yard touchdown run and 2-yard touchdown pass to junior Nico Benallo midway through the third quarter to push the lead to 29-2.

“He (Andrews) is making some great plays,” Yannacito said of his junior quarterback. “I’m not asking him to be perfect, but each game his is learning. I’m really happy with where he is at.”

Andrews replaced Ralston Valley’s 2-year starting quarterback Logan Madden, who was an all-state selection last year. Madden is currently playing football at Washburn University in Kansas.

“It is really intimidating,” Andrews said of taking over the starting quarterback job for Madden, who threw for nearly 3,000 yards last season. “It feels a lot better now getting some games under my belt and some wins. It feels really good.”

Ralston Valley added a field goal by sophomore Landon Plichta and 16-yard touchdown run by sophomore Sawyer Bloomquist in the fourth quarter to make the final score 39-0.

The Mustangs have one final test before diving into the 5A Metro League schedule in a few weeks. Ralston Valley travels to Highlands Ranch to face undefeated and No. 4 Valor Christian on Friday, Sept. 27.

“Since I’ve been at Ralston Valley the game against Valor have been classic,” said Yannacito, who is in his third season at the helm of the Mustangs’ football program. “We expect another battle. It’s going to be a fun one.”

Since the 2022 season, the Mustangs have lost only six games. The losses have come against historically the top teams in 5A — Cherry Creek (3 times), Valor Christian (twice) and Columbine (one) — over the past few years.

“We just have to keep knocking on the door,” Yannacito said about the losses to Creek, Valor and Columbine.