Week 12 Review: Chatfield Chargers vs Ralston Valley Mustangs

A look at the three best performances from this 5A, 2nd round matchup.   Review   Despite both the Chatfield Chargers and the 3rd ranked Ralston Valley Mustangs both having playmakers on the offensive side of the ball, the tale of this game was told by the defenses, as both sides struggled to move the ball at certain points in the game. Early on, it looked as if this game was going to be a tight finish and the Mustangs would be on upset alert as they only held a 15-7 at halftime. Coming out in the 2nd half, however, the Ralston Valley offense was able to punch in what would essentially be the game-sealing touchdown and putting the Mustangs up 22-7 over the Chargers. The Ralston Valley defense would completely shut down the Chatfield offense from there, sealing the 22-7 victory for the Mustangs. While being relatively one-sided, this game still had outstanding individual performances for both teams and these were the three players who I believe had the strongest nights for their respective teams.   Players of the Game   [player_tooltip player_id='150203' first='Diano' last='Benallo'], Ralston Valley Mustangs (RB/DB)(Sr.)(29) – Benallo was, in my humble opinion, the biggest piece of the Mustangs' win over the Chargers on the offensive side of the ball. The Chatfield defense had zero answers for Benallo on the ground, with most of his production coming in the 2nd half, as he accounted for an incredible 162 yards rushing and a rushing touchdown on 24 carries (6.8 YPC) 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 Chatfield 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 an immensely important piece to a Ralston Valley run at a 5A state title this year.   Avery Deweese, Chatfield Chargers (LB)(Jr.)(47) – Despite being on the losing side of the game, Deweese was easily the biggest reason that Chatfield was able to stay in the game as long as they did . Deweese left everything on the field for the Chatfield defense, as he accounted for an impressive 8 tackles, a tackle for a loss, and a pass deflection with those numbers showing up at the biggest moments of the game for the Chargers defense. Turning to the tape of Deweese's performance against the Ralston Valley offense, he immediately stands out as an extremely high motor player that relentlessly pursues the ball carrier. Smart, disciplined LB that understands his responsibilities, run fits, and while playing aggressive doesn't get caught over-pursuing the ball carrier, consistently maintaining the edge well. Shows consistently sound form at the point-of-attack when making contact with the ball carrier, getting his head across the core, wrapping up, and driving his legs through contact. Shows good first step explosiveness when coming out of his stance and crashing downhill towards the line of scrimmage. Shows a good ability to stack-and-shed the opposing blocker when working towards the ball carrier. Deweese isn't currently ranked on any recruiting boards, but he'll certainly be a very important piece of the Chatfield defense as a senior in 2023.   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 to this point in the playoffs, with his all-around performance against the Chargers just being the latest example. 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 92 receiving yards and a receiving touchdown on 6 receptions (15.3 YPR) on offense while also accounting for 2 tackles, a tackle for a loss, and a pass deflection on the defensive side. Despite having a stronger performance on the offensive side of the ball, 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 Chatfield 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 a tremendously integral piece to the Mustangs' continued pursuit of a 5A state title this year.

A look at the three best performances from this 5A, 2nd round matchup.