Ralston Valley football speeds past Castle View in season opener
ARVADA — Ralston Valley’s offense has speed to burn and its defense showed it isn’t too shabby either Friday night at the North Area Athletic Complex.
The speed of senior Levi Rillos and junior Phoenix Tomsick kept Castle View’s defense on edge all night, while the Mustangs’ defense accomplished something that Ralston Valley didn’t last year … shut out an opponent.
“New guys stepping up,” Ralston Valley senior defensive end Cole Trebilcock said after a 31-0 shutout win, something last year’s Class 5A state runner-up squad didn’t have last season. “Last year we had a great team, but this year I feel like we have really molded together and bonded together. The defensive effort was there tonight.”
Ralston Valley faced a Castle View team that had some confidence after winning its opener 23-6 over Denver South in Zero Week.
“Castle View is a program that is getting better. They are doing it the right way,” Ralston Valley coach Jared Yannacito said. “Their kids played extremely hard. We had to earn everything tonight.”
The Mustangs (1-0 record) methodically took a 10-0 lead in the first half and then used the speed of the 5A boys 200-meter state champion from last Spring to stretch the lead to 17-0 at halftime.
Tomsick scored his first varsity touchdown of his career in the second quarter. The track star took a short pass from senior quarterback Logan Gabler. Tomsick outraced the entire Castle View defense for an 85-yard touchdown catch and run with 1:10 left before halftime for a 17-0 lead
“I trust my quarterback and I trust the play call,” Tomsick said of his touchdown. “I saw the safety try to go for the ball and I took it to the crib.”
Ralston Valley got the scoring started with a 26-yard field goal by senior Landon Plichta on the Mustangs’ opening drive of the game. Tomsick set up the Mustangs’ first touchdown to extend the lead to 10-0.
The Mustangs were backed up on their own 8-yard line, but Tomsick took the pitch on a reverse and raced it 41 yards to nearly midfield. Four plays later, Rillos punched in Ralston Valley’s first touchdown of the season on a 4-yard run to give the Mustangs a 10-0 lead.
“He is a weapon,” Yannacito said of the state champion track star. “The kid can run. He is an explosive player. I’m excited for him this year.”
Rillos suffered a broken collarbone in the 5A title game last December. The University of Wyoming commit will be all over the field for the Mustangs on both side of the football. An example of that came at the end of the second quarter.
Castle View drove near midfield just before halftime, but Rillos showed up on the defensive side of the ball with an interception just before halftime.
The Sabercats couldn’t get much going offensively in the second half.
“I think our defense played phenomenal,” Yannacito said. “They got the shutout and made great adjustments at halftime.”
Senior Sawyer Blomquist scored on a 1-yard touchdown run late in the third quarter to push the lead to 24-0 for Ralston Valley. Trebilcock recovered a Castle View fumble in the fourth quarter to set up the Mustangs’ final touchdown.
Gabler connected with senior Mason Lang for a 19-yard touchdown with 4:21 left to cap off the scoring.
Ralston Valley will have a tough test against 2-time defending 5A state champion Cherry Creek next week. The Mustangs and Bruins face off at 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 4, at Stutler Bowl.
“We want to see who is going to compete,” Yannacito said of the 5A title rematch from a year ago. “Week 2 we want to see what players are going to show up and do things the right way. We’ll see where we are at.”
It will be a rematch of last year’s 5A state title game that Cherry Creek won 56-28.
“It is super important,” Tomsick said of facing the Bruins next week. “I train with a lot of those guys in the off-season. I’ve known a lot of them since I was really little. It will be a tough game. It will be a good game.”
The Bruins got a good fight from Chatfield in Zero Week. The Chargers held a lead in the fourth quarter last week at Jeffco Stadium. However, the Bruins rallied in the final quarter to take an eventual 28-15 victory.
Cherry Creek had a bye this week and are currently on a 28-game winning streak.
Castle View (1-1) took a 23-6 win over Denver South in its Zero Week game. The Sabercats have a bye next week.
