Game of the Week: Valor Christian vs Ralston Valley

<span style="font-weight: 400;">After a few scheduling rearrangements, Valor Christian (4-0) and Ralston Valley (3-1) will square off tonight in what will be each team’s toughest matchup yet.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">An undefeated Valor team will be looking to five-star running back [player_tooltip player_id="22667" first="Gavin" last="Sawchuk"] to lead the Eagles’ ground attack against a relentless Mustangs defense. Sawchuk has a total of 767 rushing yards on 61 carries with 14 touchdowns. He has also proven himself to be a valuable addition to the passing game, tallying 70 total receiving yards on eight catches. Knowing how dangerous Sawchuk is, the Mustangs will have to rely heavily on their defensive line and linebacker core to fight to contain him. This will put a spotlight on Mustangs’ defender [player_tooltip player_id="22640" first="Will" last="Lester"] who will have his work cut out for him. Lester, an outside backer/box safety hybrid player, is leading his team tackles with 18 solo and a total of 38. He has also recorded four sacks, a forced fumble, and a fumble recovery in addition to his tackles.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">The Eagles will more than likely need to maintain a run-pass balance in expectation of the Mustangs doing everything they can to contain the run. This means senior quarterback Sean McNair (27 of 40 for 302 yds, 3 TD’s) will need to find his rhythm with his talented group of receivers, especially [player_tooltip player_id="58941" first="Tyler" last="Larson"]. Larson is leading the Eagles in receiving yards with 182 total yards on six catches with 2 touchdowns. [player_tooltip player_id="62053" first="Grant" last="Simmons"] and Landon Turnwall are tied for the most receptions with 10 catches each while combining for a total of five touchdowns.</span> [caption id="attachment_35866" align="alignright" width="300"]<img class="size-medium wp-image-35866" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/redzone/uploads/2020/07/42E149AE-C9AD-47C2-A378-6DEF0050EE51-300x245.jpeg" alt="" width="300" height="245" /> Charlie Carlston[/caption] <span style="font-weight: 400;">The Mustangs have a heavy offensive arsenal of their own. Junior quarterback [player_tooltip player_id="22734" first="Zach" last="Friedman"] (51 of 81 for 663 yds, 7 TD’s) will be looking to Charlie Carlston, Devin McNearny, and [player_tooltip player_id="22614" first="Rocco" last="Tate"] in the passing game. McNearny is leading the Mustangs in receiving yards (250 yds) and touchdowns (4), while Carlston is close in stats with a total of 226 receiving yards and two touchdown catches. Running back, [player_tooltip player_id="22646" first="Tyler" last="Roybal"] has also proven himself to be extremely effective in the passing game. In addition to his 181 rushing yards on 31 carries and four touchdowns, he has racked up a total of 60 receiving yards on six receptions.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">On paper, both of these teams stack well against one another, making this game a highly anticipated matchup. The true testament for either team will be how well the defenses play and which one will help their team outshine the other. Fans will not be permitted to attend this contest; however, it will be available to be live-streamed. Needless to say, this game could easily go down as one of the toughest matchups of the regular season!</span>