Dual-threat QB Zeke Andrews headlines Ralston Valley football’s first state title game appearance

If you’re wondering how badly Zeke Andrews wants to lead Ralston Valley to its first state title, check the tape from the Valor Christian game.

In the non-conference, championship-mettle test on Sept. 26, the Mustangs and Eagles were locked in a tight battle at the start of the second half when the Ralston Valley QB ripped off a gutsy highlight play.

The Mustangs were on Valor Christian’s six-yard line, and Andrews dropped back to pass. He recognized a linebacker blitz off the edge, and juked him. Then Andrews zoomed past a defensive lineman in the pocket, hit the hole, trucked a different Eagles linebacker near the goal line and barreled into the end zone.

Andrews did a little flex while celebrating the TD with his teammates, and the game was never close after that. It’s moments like that one that enabled Andrews to steer the Mustangs into the Class 5A championship on Saturday in Fort Collins against behemoth Cherry Creek.

“When Zeke ran that linebacker over into the end zone, that play summarized the kind of work he’s put in over the last two years as a starter and the toughness that he has as our leader,” Ralston Valley head coach Jared Yannacito said. “It was a pretty decisive touchdown run, and it also (epitomized) our team mantra this year of ‘keep punching’ that’s got us to this point.”

With Andrews as a primary catalyst, the Mustangs broke through to the program’s first title game this season after agonizing finishes in each of Yannacito’s first three seasons at the helm.

With All-Colorado QB Logan Madden slinging the rock in 2022 and ’23, the Mustangs lost a pair of heartbreakers in the 5A semifinals. In ’22, Ralston Valley fell to Valor Christian 42-41 in double OT, with a late missed extra point the difference. And in ’23, Cherry Creek defeated the Mustangs 21-14 via a touchdown with about two minutes left.

The almost-there trend continued last season, Andrews’ first as a starter. The All-Colorado QB led the Mustangs to another league title, but they fell short of Canvas Stadium again in a quarterfinal defeat to eventual state runner-up Legend.

Hence, the “keep punching” motto this season. Now, Andrews is determined to finish what Madden started.

“All of us in the program, we heard that noise when Madden and that really talented senior class graduated, that Ralston Valley was going to have to rebuild after they left,” Andrews said. “But internally, there were never any doubts about what we could do. We really took pride in just being one of the underdogs, even though we knew we were going to be one of the best teams in the state again last year. We worked hard going into that season, and we worked even harder coming into this one.”

Zeke Andrews of Ralston Valley High School prepares for a snap during the game between the Erie Tigers and Ralston Valley Mustangs on Friday, Aug. 29, 2025 at Erie High School in Erie, Colorado. (File Photo by Chet Strange/Special to the Denver Post)

The Mustangs (13-0) cleared several hurdles along the way to Saturday.

The first major blow was in their Week 1 win over Erie, when junior running back Colton Stratman went down with a season-ending knee injury. Then, on Oct. 16 against Columbine, Andrews suffered a lacerated kidney, which sidelined him for the next two games. And finally, there was the 14-0 first-quarter deficit the Mustangs faced in last week’s semifinal against Mountain Vista.

But after Stratman went down, junior Sawyer Blomquist stepped up to fill the role of RB1. When Andrews couldn’t play, junior QB Logan Gabler steered the offense to blowout wins over Denver East and rival Arvada West in the regular season finale as the team scored 97 points across those two games. And in the face of a poor first quarter against Mountain Vista, Ralston Valley rallied for a 31-28 victory on a last-second field goal by Landon Plichta. It was RV’s first close game all season.

Junior wideout Levi Rillos said Andrews’ vocal leadership has been a consistent driving force through all those speed bumps.

“He’s always been a role model to other players in the program with his actions, but now, he’s doing it with both his actions and his words,” Rillos said. “He’s using his voice to make sure we get into the right plays. He’s keeping the morale up on the sideline. He’s leading the right way.”

Rillos is one of several weapons at Andrews’ disposal. Ethan Shirazi paces the team with 1,027 receiving yards and 12 touchdown grabs, while fellow senior wideout Nico Benallo is the other part of Ralston Valley’s three-headed receiving monster.

Plus, Ralston Valley has formidable size on both sides of the line, and its defense is headlined by a trio of linebackers in junior Tyler Schneider (90 total tackles), senior Degan Gregory (84) and junior Jake Lester (75).

All that other talent aside, Cherry Creek head coach Dave Logan knows his path to a sixth crown over the Bruins’ eight straight title appearances starts and ends with containing the dual-threat Andrews. The Ralston Valley QB has thrown for 2,618 yards this season with 25 TDs to just three interceptions, while he’s also run for a team-high 749 yards and 13 TDs.

“He can throw it with accuracy, he’s an excellent athlete, he’s tough,” Logan said. “He makes that offense go. You can have him pinned in and he just steps out of the pocket and breaks contain on the sideline. So it all starts with him.

“… There’s not one thing about his game that I don’t like and don’t appreciate with the exception of, we’ve got to find a way to slow him down on Saturday.”

Andrews was committed to Colorado State, but de-committed from the Rams over the weekend. In a call with Jim Mora, the new CSU head coach told Andrews that the 6-foot-6, 215-pound QB wouldn’t be the best fit for the Rams’ system and that Mora planned on bringing in other recruits at the position.

While Andrews now has to circle back to colleges that were previously interested in him to re-gauge his opportunities for the next level, his and his teammates’ sole focus this week has been playing spoiler to the Cherry Creek dynasty.

Only fellow Jefferson County program Columbine has beaten Cherry Creek in the title game since 2019, when the Rebels used their physicality and “junkyard dawg” mentality in a 28-14 upset. Ralston Valley is also planning on staying true to itself on Saturday, with Andrews leading the way.

“We just need to be who we are, and play how we’ve been playing to get here,” Rillos said. “We’re not going to change our identity.”

All-Colorado selection Zeke Andrews of Ralston Valley poses for a portrait at the Denver Post in Denver on Wednesday, Dec. 18, 2024. (File photo by AAron Ontiveroz/The Denver Post)

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