Arvada – There should be a law against throwing a bucket of ice water on a guy wearing shorts in the kind of wind that was ripping through the North Area Athletic Complex on Friday night.
Ralston Valley coach Matt Loyd was too happy to care.
Loyd’s Mustangs rallied from an 11-point deficit against Greeley West, scoring 46 unanswered points in a 49-14 Class 4A state quarterfinal victory.
Running backs Clayton Cammon and Derek Gonzalez and fullback Blake Rice steamrolled the Spartans for a combined 401 yards rushing as the Mustangs (9-3) scored on eight consecutive possessions starting early in the second quarter.
“As time went on they wore down and we kept pushing hard and got some stuff to pop for us and kept hitting the end zone,” said Cammon, who rushed for 126 yards and scored three touchdowns.
Gonzalez led the Mustangs with 141 yards on 12 carries and Rice scored two touchdowns and had 134 yards on 18 carries. Quarterback Preston Silvey completed his lone pass attempt for 2 yards and scored two touchdowns on short runs in the fourth quarter.
“You can’t just settle on the (Cammon and Gonzalez) now, (Rice) can hurt you also,” Loyd said. “So, we’re pleased with it.”
The victory was the Mustangs’ seventh straight and propelled them into their first semifinal appearance in their program’s history. Ralston Valley will face the winner of today’s Western Slope matchup between Grand Junction and Montrose.
The 49 points was the most the Mustangs have scored this season, while Greeley West’s 14 were a season low.
Ralston Valley gained just 31 yards on its first two drives before making an adjustment.
Defensively, the Mustangs recovered two fumbles and intercepted sophomore quarterback Rex Morgan twice after falling behind 14-3 with 5:24 remaining in the first half.
“We didn’t lose our poise,” said Mustangs linebacker Brandon Klipka, who blocked a 33-yard field-goal attempt midway through the third quarter.
Greeley West (9-3) lost for the first time in nine games.
“They were a better team tonight,” Spartans coach Mark Roggy said.
Greeley West 7 7 0 0 – 14
Ralston Valley 0 15 14 20 – 49
GW – B. Morgan 13 run (Schaffer kick). RV – FG Cammon 45.GW – R. Morgan 37 run (Schaffer kick). RV – Cammon 1 run (run failed). RV – Cammon 1 run (pass failed). RV – Rice 13 run (Cammon kick). RV – Cammon 12 run (Cammon kick). RV – Silvey 1 run (kick failed). RV – Silvey 2 run (Cammon kick). RV – Rice 7 run (Cammon kick).
