More photos. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)
ARVADA — Two first-quarter touchdowns and a 13-play, 70-yard scoring drive to open the second half helped Ralston Valley end rival Arvada West’s five-game winning streak Friday at the North Area Athletic Complex.
Senior Tyler Shannon scored on a 44-yard touchdown run on a fourth-down play in the opening quarter and senior quarterback Salvetti D’Ascoli tossed a 19-yard touchdown to senior Tyler Callaway to push the Mustangs (4-3, 2-0 in Class 5A Mt. Wilson League) to an early 14-0 lead.
“We just came out and played Mustang football,” Shannon said after a 27-14 victory over Ralston Valley’s Arvada-area rival. “We wanted to humble (A-West) a little bit. I’ve got buddies over there, but I wanted to come out here and do my job.”
A-West (5-2, 1-1) got a little momentum just before halftime with a 14-yard touchdown pass from sophomore quarterback Johnny Krutsch to senior Chase Dixon with less than 20 seconds before halftime. The scored cut the Mustangs’ lead to 14-7, but it was the two missed opportunities in the first half that bothered A-West coach Brad Pyatt.
The Wildcats drove twice inside Ralston Valley’s 20-yard line, but came up empty when it came to points, failing to convert on fourth-down plays twice.
Arvada West sophomore Cory Carignan (22) looks for running room Friday at NAAC. More photos. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)
“It’s a good test for us. We’ve got a group that doesn’t quit, so I’m proud of them for their effort all night,” Pyatt said. “When you play a team like RV that is very disciplined team and doesn’t make mistakes we have opportunities we’ve got to take them.”
Ralston Valley responded with a long scoring drive to open the second half and chewed up more than five and a half minutes. Callaway scored his second touchdown of the night on an 8-yard run to extend the lead to 21-7.
Senior Ben Raybon tacked on field goals of 27 and 33 yards to push the lead to 27-7 with 3:45 minutes to play. The Wildcats put together a nice final drive with Krutsch connecting with sophomore Tony Cass on a 28-yard touchdown in the final minutes to make the final score 27-14.
“Right now we are just trying to win every single game and improve,” Ralston Valley senior defensive end Henrik Barndt said. “We just treated it like any other team. We don’t want to lose anymore. We’ve already lost too much this year.”
Ralston Valley has won its first two conference games. The Mustangs appear to be headed to a showdown with undefeated Eaglecrest (7-0, 2-0) in two weeks on Oct. 27 that will like decided the conference champion and automatic bid to the 16-team state tournament.
“The main focus is just week-by-week and getting better and better,” Shannon said. “Hopefully we will win this league. We’ve got a couple of tough games coming up.”
The Mustangs hit the road next week to play Rangeview (2-5, 0-2) on Oct. 21 in Aurora.
“Those guys are doing a good job,” Ralston Valley coach Matt Loyd said of A-West that has already surpassed its win total from the pervious two seasons.
A-West try to get over its first loss since its season opener next week in Fort Collins. The Wildcats face winless Rocky Mountain (0-7, 0-2) in another conference game.
“Overall, it’s a good experience for our team. We can come out holding our heads high because for us it’s about building and continuing to build. Hats off to RV,” Pyatt said. “We’ll just keep fighting.”
Ralston Valley senior Tyler Shannon fights for yards on a carry against rival Arvada West. More photos. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)