Football Preview: Arvada West Wildcats vs. Ralston Valley Mustangs
Arvada West is 1-9 against Ralston Valley since October of 2016 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Friday. The Wildcats will head out on the road to square off against the Mustangs at 7:30 p.m. Both teams are still undefeated after nine games, but that won't be the case come Friday.
Arvada West proved they can win big last Friday (they won by 48) and on Friday they proved they can win the close ones too. They won a game that couldn't have been any closer, slipping by Chatfield 28-27. Given the Wildcats' advantage in MaxPreps' Colorado football rankings (they are ranked seventh, while the Chargers are ranked 43rd) , the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Arvada West had a senior duo take command as Caleb Gomez rushed for 81 yards and one TD and Logan Duhachek threw for 192 yards and one touchdown.
Meanwhile, Ralston Valley blew past Denver East, posting a 48-7 win. That 41 point margin sets a new team best for the Mustangs this season.
Arvada West better keep an eye on Logan Gabler. He was instrumental in Ralston Valley's win, throwing for 238 yards and five touchdowns while completing 76.9% of his passes, and also rushing for 88 yards on only nine carries. Those 88 rushing yards gave Gabler a new career-high. Nico Benallo was in the mix as well, providing Ralston Valley with three scores.
Ralston Valley was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 201 rushing yards. The team's really been improving in that area: they've now improved their rushing yard total in three consecutive contests.
Arvada West's record is now 9-0. As for Ralston Valley, their record now sits at an identical 9-0.
Arvada West couldn't quite get it done against Ralston Valley in their previous meeting back in November of 2024 as they fell 24-12. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of the Mustangs' Zeke Andrews, who rushed for 92 yards and three TDs, and also threw for 154 yards on ten of 17 attempts. Now that the Wildcats know the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps