Ralston Valley gets late score to defeat No. 2 Columbine

LAKEWOOD — A late game-winning touchdown drive catapulted Ralston Valley into the driver’s seat of the Class 5A Jeffco League on Friday night.

The Mustangs — No. 5 in the CHSAANow.com 5A rankings — used a 70-yard, 12-play drive in the final five minutes to defeat No. 2 Columbine 16-13 at Jeffco Stadium.

“That final drive the guys just came together,” Ralston Valley coach Jared Yannacito said after the win gave the Mustangs (5-2, 2-0 in 5A Jeffco) the inside favorite to the conference title. “We executed the plays. It was awesome. The kids put together an amazing drive to close out that game.”

The drive was similar to what the Rebels (6-1, 1-1) normally does to teams late in games. The Mustangs had nine rushes with senior Diano Benallo carrying the load with seven carries for 35 yards. Junior quarterback Logan Madden also had two carries for 14 yards on the drive.

“We have been a pretty clutch team in the past,” said Madden, who had a 52-yard touchdown pass to junior Jackson Hansen on the Mustangs’ other touchdown that came late in the first half giving Ralston Valley a 7-6 halftime lead. “We had all the confidence in the world in our big guys up front and Diano did an amazing job getting us down the field. We kind of did what Columbine does and ran it down their throats.”

Madden connected with Hansen for a big 14-yard reception that put Ralston Valley in Columbine territory. The drive started from the Mustangs’ 30-yard line with 4:39 left in the game and the Rebels leading 13-9.

“There wasn’t any panic,” Yannacito said of Ralston Valley going down 4 points with less than five minutes to play. “We knew the plays were there. We just had to execute. Until the clock reads 0:00 you have a chance.”

Benallo finished off the drive with a 5-yard touchdown with 53 seconds left on the clock.

“Our offensive linemen down blocked and I make a cutback off of them,” Benallo said of his game-winning scoring run. “They made a huge hole for me to get into the end zone.”

Columbine had under a minute to try to get into field goal range, but senior quarterback Brayden Harvey was intercepted by Ralston Valley senior Jason Thome to seal the win for the Mustangs.

Ralston Valley’s defense forced two turnover on downs in the first half to keep the Rebels from scoring. The Mustangs also got a key special team score when senior Josh Rillos blocked a punt and the ball went out of the back of the end zone for a safety for the only score in the third quarter.

Columbine’s two touchdowns came on runs by junior Josh Snyder and senior Marquane Taylor.

“Anytime you play Columbine you don’t know how many times you’ll get the football,” Yannacito said. “Our defense played incredible and gave us a ton of stops that allowed us to get the ball back.”

Taylor’s touchdown capped off a 47-yard, 10-play drive that chewed up nearly six minutes of the fourth quarter before Ralston Valley answered with the drive of the night.

“After playing Regis and getting the win after being down a few scores with so little time left we knew we had this in us,” Benallo said. “We trusted each other and dug deep. I’m proud of everyone.”

Ralston Valley has played the best-of-the-best in 5A so far this year. The Mustangs’ schedule has included Cherry Creek, Grandview, Regis, Valor and Columbine. All those team are currently ranked in the top-6.

“I think it’s fair to say it’s the toughest schedule in the state of Colorado,” Yannacito said. “Our kids bought in from this summer that you fight every play.”

Both Columbine and Ralston Valley will be playing up at the North Area Athletic Complex next week. The Rebels face Arvada West (3-4, 1-1) on Thursday night.

The Mustangs face Pomona (1-6, 0-2) on Friday, Oct. 14, at the NAAC. The young Panthers will be hungry for a victory after dropping their last six games.

“We are going to take everyone serious. We know we are going to be a top target in the state from here on out,” Madden said. “We just have to keep giving it a good week of practice to come out on Friday nights to be successful.”