Football Preview: Ralston Valley Mustangs vs. Northfield Nighthawks
Ralston Valley has been on the road for five straight, but on Wednesday they'll finally head home. They will welcome the Northfield Nighthawks at 7:00 p.m. The two teams might be coming in a bit winded given these two teams combined for 860 yards in their previous games.
Ralston Valley is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of Colorado's top teams: Mountain Vista, who was ranked first in their home state at the time (Ralston Valley was ranked 21st). Ralston Valley had to suffer through a 48-21 loss at the hands of Mountain Vista. Despite 58 more yards than the Golden Eagles, the Mustangs couldn't convert that extra yardage to scores.
Despite the loss, Ralston Valley got top-tier performance from Ashlyn Callahan, who rushed for 75 yards and a touchdown on only seven carries, and also picked up 64 receiving yards. Callahan also put in work on the defensive side of the ball, making three total tackles and defending two passes. Another player making a difference was Kailyn Korkus, who threw for 326 yards and two touchdowns.
Meanwhile, Northfield had already won two in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 15 points) and they went ahead and made it three on Saturday. They simply couldn't be stopped as they easily beat the Spartans 32-0 at home. The Nighthawks might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won five matchups by 24 points or more this season.
One reason for the win was Northfield's imposing defense, which managed to get into the backfield for four sacks. Leading the way was Freya Erickson with three. She is on a roll when it comes to sacks, as she's now sacked two or more in the last four games she's played.
Ralston Valley has traveled a rocky road recently having lost four of their last five matches, which put a noticeable dent in their 7-8 record this season. As for Northfield, their win bumped their record up to 10-4.
Everything came up roses for Ralston Valley against Northfield in their previous matchup back in August, as the team secured a 44-0 victory. Does Ralston Valley have another victory up their sleeve, or will Northfield turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
