Ralston Valley senior Andrew Wingard sprints his way to a 52-yard touchdown run in the first quarter Friday night at the North Area Athletic Complex. Wingard found the end zone six times as the Mustangs defeated Fairview 71-29 in the 5A state quarterfinal game. (Dennis Pleuss)
ARVADA — Ralston Valley senior Andrew Wingard hasn’t seen an end zone he doesn’t like.
The University of Wyoming-bound senior scored six touchdowns Friday night at the North Area Athletic Complex in a 71-29 Class 5A football state quarterfinal victory against last year’s state runner-up Fairview.
“He (Wingard) is a heck of a player, but he also understands that the guys have to do their job blocking and everything else,” Ralston Valley coach Matt Loyd said of Wingard who has 37 touchdowns on the season. “It was a team effort, but when you have a guy like that who can do special things it really helps you.”
Ralston Valley senior Collin Root hauls in an 18-yard touchdown catch in the second quarter Friday night at the North Area Athletic Complex. Root, who kicked a 56-yard field goal last week to advance the Mustangs into the next round, also had a safety against Fairview in the 71-29 victory over Fairview. (Dennis Pleuss)
The win kept the Mustangs (12-0) undefeated on the season and more importantly put Ralston Valley into next week’s Class 5A state football semifinals. Ralston Valley faces Cherry Creek — both were No. 1 seeds in their regions — in the state semifinals next week. The game will be played at the NAAC either Friday or Saturday.
“It’s a fairytale season,” Ralston Valley senior Collin Root said of the Mustangs’ first ever 12-win season. “Next week we’ll try to get another win. Creek has a lot of talent and a lot of speed. We’ll prepare well and be ready to go.”
Both Fairview (11-1) and Ralston Valley had their offenses ready to go Friday night. Fairview quarterback Johnny Feauto had touchdown passes to David McWilliams and Tim Ryan, along with a 1-yard touchdown run by Jason Harvey in the first quarter for the Knights.
Ralston Valley had a big first quarter of its own with a 95-yard kickoff return by Wingard to begin his scoring barrage.
“I’m speechless with that. If we don’t have that it’s a whole different ball game,” Root said of Wingard’s kickoff return following the Knights’ first touchdown. “It showed we could put points on the board without our offense out there.”
Wingard had a 52-yard touchdown run and senior quarterback Cooper Loyd tossed an 18-yard touchdown to Dalton Pribble in the first 12 minutes. The game was tied 21-21 after the first quarter.
Ralston Valley took a 28-21 lead on an 18-yard touchdown pass from Chase Heffley to Root with 10:50 left in the second quarter. The Mustangs extended their lead to 35-21 with a 3-yard touchdown run by Wingard following the second Fairview turnover of the first half.
Turnovers really determined the outcome. Fairview turned the football over five times and Root sacked Feauto in the end zone in the final minute of the third quarter to make the score 50-29. Ralston Valley outscored Fairview 36-0 in the second half.
“Fairview had some turnovers and our offense just kept rolling,” Matt Loyd said. “I didn’t plan on putting up 71 points against a really good team. They had some turnovers and that kills you.”
By ground or by air was a major question raised in the undefeated quarterfinal match-up. Ralston Valley racked up more than 3,000 yards rushing coming into its showdown with Fairview. While the Knights has relied on a passing attack that has accumulated nearly 4,000 yards prior to their date with the Mustangs.
Fairview senior Steve D’Epagnier (48) goes airborne after taking a hit from Ralston Valley senior Andrew Wingard (28) during the Class 5A state quarterfinal Friday in Arvada. (Dennis Pleuss)
Wingard finished with 24 carries for 162 yards and five touchdowns on the ground to go along with his 95-yard kickoff return. Junior Kyle Rush had a solid night with 16 carries for 117 yards rushing and senior Anthony Falbo pitched in 46 yards on eight carries for the Mustangs.
“We knew we had to come out with ground and pound,” Rush said. “We knew it would be a little slippery with it being icy. Dewey (Wingard) and I talked about it being just a one cut night and get downhill. It worked out for us.”
Feauto had a big first half with going 17-for-23 for 265 yards and three touchdowns through the air at halftime. He had a much tougher second half while being sacked four times.
“Our defense stepped up really big this game,” Root said. “We gave up 29 points at halftime. We came in and calmed down. If we play our kind of defense we can beat anybody in the state.”
Cherry Creek (9-3) will be riding a five-game winning streak after downing Regis Jesuit 49-21 in another quarterfinal Friday night. It will be the first regular season or playoff meeting between Creek and Ralston Valley. However, the two programs has scrimmaged each other the last three years.
Fairview senior Connor May (24) is grabbed by Ralston Valley senior Parker Gregston (4) during the first half Friday night at the North Area Athletic Complex. (Dennis Pleuss)
Fairview senior Jason Harvey (21) is forced out of bounds by Ralston Valley senior Logan Wiemers on Friday night. (Dennis Pleuss)