The first meeting between Ralston Valley and Wheat Ridge on the gridiron this season was an instant classic.
No telling what’s in store when a berth to the Class 4A state football championship game is on the line (1 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 25) at the North Area Athletic Complex in Arvada.
It’s the rematch between Jeffco rivals from the Mountain Plains League that everyone wanted to see. Ralston Valley quarterback Cameron Wright hooked up with junior Brandon Ribble for an 11-yard touchdown as time expired to bring the Mustangs within a point at 7-6 Oct. 26 at Jeffco Stadium.
Ralston Valley coach Matt Loyd went “riverboat gambler style” and decided to go for the win with a 2-point conversion. Senior Payton McLachlan scored on a “student body right” run for an improbable 8-7 victory.
“I’ve just watched the game film once,” Wheat Ridge coach Reid Kahl said after the Farmers’ 40-9 quarterfinal victory Friday, Nov. 17, against Fountain-Fort Carson. “It just made me sick. It will be in the VCR regularly this week.”
Since the dramatic comeback victory in Week 9, Ralston Valley has keep its seven-game winning streak going. The Mustangs’ defense has been superb not allowing a point in Ralston Valley’s last six quarters of play.
Wheat Ridge has smoked its first two playoff opponents by a combined score of 73-15. The Farmers have a number of offensive weapons with Dylan and Parker Orms, Beau Stevens, Justin Long, Matt Wright and Connor Wright able to go the distance anytime they touch the football.
However, as almost every playoff game boils down to, whoever controls the line of scrimmage will get to play at Invesco Field at Mile High at 11:30 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 2.