Football Preview: Ralston Valley Mustangs vs. Chatfield Chargers
Ralston Valley is 5-0 against Chatfield since September of 2014, and they'll have a chance to extend that success on Thursday. The Ralston Valley Mustangs will head out to challenge the Chatfield Chargers at 7:00 p.m. Ralston Valley's defense has only allowed 16.6 points per game this season, so Chatfield's offense will have their work cut out for them.
Ralston Valley is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of Colorado's top teams: Valor Christian, who was ranked second in their home state at the time (Ralston Valley was ranked seventh). Ralston Valley took a 34-17 bruising from Valor Christian on Friday. The Mustangs' loss signaled the end of their four-game winning streak.
Ralston Valley's defeat shouldn't obscure the performances of Zeke Andrews, who threw for 258 yards and a touchdown, and Nico Benallo, who gained 104 total yards and two touchdowns. The dominant performance also gave Andrews a new career-high in rushing yards. Ralston Valley also got a significant boost from Colton Stratman, who ran away from the competition to the tune of 84 yards.
Meanwhile, Chatfield put another one in the bag on Friday to keep their perfect season alive. They sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with a 27-24 win over Douglas County.
It was another big night for Cash Williams, who threw for 165 yards and three touchdowns, and also rushed for 120 yards on only 15 carries. Another player making a difference was Roni Rohlman, who picked up 87 receiving yards and two touchdowns.
Chatfield was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 227 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 171 rushing yards in five consecutive matches.
Having lost for the first time this season, Ralston Valley fell to 4-1. As for Chatfield, their victory bumped their record up to 5-0.
Thursday's contest will pit two of the most dominant signal callers against one another: Andrews and Williams. Andrews has put up some stellar numbers this year, and currently owns excellent season averages 249.8 passing yards and has 8 passing touchdowns on the season. For his part, Williams has averaged 154 passing yards and has 9 passing touchdowns on the season.
Ralston Valley strolled past Chatfield in their previous matchup back in October of 2023 by a score of 42-28. One of the biggest obstacles trying to stand in the way of that victory was Chatfield's Jake Jones, who threw for 290 yards and two touchdowns, and also rushed for 110 yards and a touchdown on only 12 carries. Now that he won't be playing on Thursday, will it be easier for Ralston Valley to walk away with another win? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
