Week 10 Review: Arvada West Wildcats vs Ralston Valley Mustangs
A look at the three best performances form this 5A regular season finale. Review Coming into this Week 10 tilt, the tale of the seasons for both teams couldn’t have been more different, with the visiting Arvada West Wildcats holding…
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Continue ReadingA look at the three best performances form this 5A regular season finale.
Review
Coming into this Week 10 tilt, the tale of the seasons for both teams couldn’t have been more different, with the visiting Arvada West Wildcats holding a 4-5 record and just hoping to hit .500 to end the season on a high note while the 3rd ranked Ralston Valley Mustangs came in with a 7-2 record, hoping to finish undefeated in the conference and carrying some momentum into the state playoffs. This game was never really close, however, with the Mustangs thoroughly dominating the Wildcats on the ground and racking up 458 yards of total offense against the much maligned Arvada West defense. Once everything was over and the clock hit zero, the Mustangs came away with the very decisive 49-21 beatdown of the Wildcats. While the game was extremely one-sided, both teams had players with impressive performances and these were the three who I felt had the most impressive performances.
Players of the Game
Diano Benallo Diano Benallo 5'9" | 165 lbs | RB Ralston Valley | 2023 State CO , Ralston Valley Mustangs (RB/DB)(Sr.)(29) – Benallo was, without a doubt, one of the biggest pieces of the Mustangs’ shellacking of the Wildcats on either side of the ball. The Arvada West defense probably still has tread marks from Benallo completely running over them for 4 quarters, as he accounted for an unreal 204 yards rushing and 3 rushing touchdowns on 20 carries (10.2 YPC) as well 19 yards receiving on the offensive side, while also registering 4 tackles on the defensive side. For the sake of this piece, we’ll just focus on his offensive film. Turning on the tape of Benallo’s night against the Arvada West defense, Benallo displays great top end foot speed, consistently pulling away from slower 2nd and 3rd level defenders. Very elusive runner in the open field that can find daylight quickly and is extremely difficult for defenders asked to make a tackle in 1-on-1 situations. Displays good lateral agility and balance on carries in between the tackles and on runs to the boundary, which is what anchors his elusive running style. Tough ball carrier that consistently finishes runs well driving his legs through contact with the defender. Shows good ability as a receiver out of the back field, often creating a matchup problem with LBs and other 2nd level defenders that are asked to cover him in man-to-man. Benallo isn’t currently receiving a ton of recruiting interest, but he’ll certainly be a key piece to the Ralston Valley Mustangs team as they chase a 5A state title.
Adrian Symalla, Arvada West Wildcats (RB)(Fr.)(12) – While the Wildcats didn’t have much to be happy about from this game, they do have to feel hopeful about the future of Symalla, as the freshman tailback was probably the best player on either side of the ball for Arvada West against the Mustangs. Diving into his numbers from his night last week, Symalla accounted for 78 yards rushing and a rushing touchdowns on 17 carries (4.6 YPC), pacing the offense in both yards and touchdowns. Putting on the tape of Symalla’s night against the Ralston Valley defense, you can see he is a decisive and highly explosive, one-cut runner that can quickly hit top gear if given enough space. Great top-end foot speed allows him to pull away from most 2nd and 3rd level defenders if they take a bad angle. Deceptively powerful runner with a well-built frame (5’11, 180 lbs) that brings plenty of force behind his pads at the point-of-attack when making contact with the defender. While his freshman season might not have been a successful one in the win column, Symalla has a lot to be proud of as he’s started his prep career off about as well as you could’ve hoped for. He’ll only get better over the next three years of his high school career and I wouldn’t be shocked at all if he ends up being one of the top, if not the top, tailback in the class of 2026. He’s certainly deserving of any recruiting buzz he receives.
Jackson Hansen, Ralston Valley Mustangs (WR/DB)(Jr.)(2) – Hansen has been a massively important piece to the Mustangs’ success on both sides of the ball this season and his performance against the Wildcats was no different. While Hansen’s numbers might not be world-beating numbers, he played about as soundly as Ralston Valley could have hoped for both offensively and defensively, as Hansen accounted for 100 receiving yards and a receiving touchdown on 6 receptions (16.7 YPR) on offense while also accounting for 2 tackles, a tackle for a loss, a pass deflection and an interception on the defensive side. For the sake of this piece, we’ll focus on what Hansen shows on tape for the defensive side. When you watch Hansen’s performance against the Arvada West offense, you can see he displays a tenacious nature to attack and high point the ball in the air despite his size. Smart DB that always seem to be in a position to make a play on the ball. Even when being matched up against larger receivers, Hansen doesn’t shy away from physicality at the line or down the field with the receiver. Exceptional athleticism and foot speed prevents him from getting beat on deep balls by faster receivers. Rangy defender with great lateral agility to move with quicker receivers on sharper breaking routes. Hansen is currently unranked on most recruiting boards and his smaller stature (5’10, 150 lbs) could explain why. Regardless, he is still an unbelievably talented player that will be an integral piece to this Ralston Valley team’s run at a state title beginning next week.