Ralston Valley football gets defensive stop to win in OT against Columbine

LAKEWOOD — Fall weather finally started Friday night at Jeffco Stadium with temps in the 40s and a light rain.

What ended was Columbine’s football winning streak. Ralston Valley — No. 7 in the Class 5A Colorado Preps football rankings — took a dramatic 35-34 overtime victory against the defending 5A state champions.

“This was a huge win. Columbine is a tremendous program,” Ralston Valley coach Jared Yannacito said. “All week I was preaching to the kids, ‘Guarantee it is going to be a four-quarter fight.’ I’m so incredibly proud of their fight and belief. They believed that they were the team that was going to stop the streak.”

The No. 3 Rebels’ winning streak ends at 21 games dating back to last season.

It was a bit longer than a four-quarter fight. Columbine (7-1, 2-1 in 5A Metro League) scored 15 unanswered points to tie things up 28-28, sending the top-10 showdown into overtime.

Ralston Valley junior Nico Benallo scored on a 1-yard touchdown run during the first overtime period and the extra point gave the Mustangs a 35-28 lead. Columbine answered with a 1-yard touchdown run by senior James Basinger. Instead of kicking the extra-point, Columbine elected to go for a 2-point attempt from the 3-yard line.

“I have a tremendous defensive staff and defensive coordinator, he knew what he wanted on that 2-point play,” Yannacito said. “They did awesome.”

Columbine senior quarterback Brennan Goodwin attempted to get into the end zone over the right side of the Rebels’ offensive line, but Ralston Valley senior defensive end Carter Coorough and junior linebacker Brody Schaefer sniffed it out. Coorough and Schaefer combined to keep Goodwin from getting up field and into the end zone.

“I saw the tight end come down, do a down block and I got tight to his shoulder,” Coorough said. “I saw the quarterback fake the handoff and come right to me. I tried to punch the ball out, but I just ended up twirling him to the ground.”

Ralston Valley (7-1, 3-0) has had success against Columbine recently. The Mustangs took a league and playoff victory against the Rebels back in 2022.

The Mustangs bolted out to a 14-0 lead in the first quarter on a 7-yard touchdown strike from junior quarterback Zeke Andrews to senior Drew Gates and 53-yard touchdown run by junior Ethan Shirazi.

Columbine responded with a 63-yard touchdown run by junior Mark Snyder and 66-yard touchdown pass from Goodwin to Basinger on the final play of the first quarter, but a missed PAT allowed Ralston Valley to remain in the lead 14-13.

Sophomore Levi Rillos had a huge second quarter with a pair of touchdown catches — 24 and 2 yards — from Andrews to give Ralston Valley a 28-13 lead at halftime. Andrews hurt the Rebels’ defense with his arm and legs for the majority of the first half.

“He (Andrews) is a double-threat,” Rillos said. “He is 6-foot-5 and super athletic.”

Basinger had a 27-yard touchdown run on the Rebels’ opening drive of the second half to cut it to a 1-score game. Snyder scored on a 3-yard run late in the third quarter to tie things up.

Despite Columbine’s rally, the young Mustangs were shaken during crunch time.

“I was confident we were going to make plays to win,” Rillos said.

Ralston Valley host Denver East (5-3, 1-2) next Friday night at the North Area Athletic Complex. The Mustangs finish their regular season Halloween night against rival Arvada West (6-2, 2-1) at NAAC.

“We cannot take a breath,” Yannacito said after the Mustangs’ third straight win since a non-league loss to Valor Christian on Sept. 27. “We’ll enjoy this one this weekend, but East is a tremendous program and A-West is a great program.”

Columbine is on the road next week at All-City Stadium in Denver. The Rebels face Denver South (2-6, 0-3). Chatfield easily beat the Ravens 49-7 at All-City in a late-afternoon game Friday.

The Rebels wrap up their regular season Nov. 1 against cross-town rival Chatfield (6-2, 1-2).