CLASS 5A No. 8 Ralston Valley (4-1) vs. No. 6 Chatfield (5-0) When/where: 7 p.m. Thursday at Jeffco Stadium Last meeting: Ralston Valley 42, at Chatfield 28, Oct. 20, 2023 The unbeaten Chargers begin league play with their toughest test to date: A meeting with the Ralston Valley Mustangs, fresh off a field-storming loss at Valor Christian and eager to turn things around. Chatfield has had a couple of close calls vs. Eaglecrest (23-16) and at Douglas County (27-24). The latter required a pair of fourth-quarter touchdown passes from sophomore QB Cash Williams, who had 285 yards of total offense (165 passing, 120 rushing). With junior QB Zeke Andrews (1,249 yards, 8 TDs passing) slinging it on the other side, this one should produce some fireworks. No. 4 Valor Christian (5-0) vs. No. 2 Mountain Vista (5-0) When/where: 7 p.m. Friday at Halftime Help Stadium Last meeting: Valor Christian 39, vs. Mountain Vista 34, Oct. 27, 2023 One way to prove these Golden Eagles are for real? By doing something no Mountain Vista team has done before them: Beat Valor. Mountain Vista is 0-8 all-time against its league rivals, with last year’s 39-34 thriller the closest the Golden Eagles have come. With an offense averaging 54.0 points per game and a defense allowing 4.8, this is the program’s best shot yet. But with Valor already scoring wins over Pine Creek, Regis Jesuit and Ralston Valley, the Golden Eagles will have to earn it. No. 5 Legend (4-1) vs. No. 7 Pine Creek (3-2) When/where: 1 p.m. Saturday at D20 Stadium South Last meeting: Legend 28, vs. Pine Creek 16, Oct. 13, 2023 If there’s such a thing as moral victories, the Pine Creek Eagles grabbed one last Friday at Stutler Bowl, taking a 14-all tie into the fourth quarter while giving top-ranked Cherry Creek all it could handle. If the Eagles can carry that momentum into this weekend’s showdown with Legend, they can take early pole position in the 5A Southern League race. Legend made a statement of its own last week, grinding out 330 rushing yards against previously unbeaten Castle View in a 30-0 victory. No. 3 Columbine (5-0) vs. Denver East (4-1) When/where: 2 p.m. Saturday at All City Stadium Last meeting: Columbine 42, at Denver East 21, Aug. 27, 2021 How competitive can Denver East be in a rough-and-tumble 5A Metro League that boasts three ranked teams and a combined record of 24-6? The Angels will find out when defending 5A champion Columbine visits Saturday. The Rebels have won 19 straight dating back to 2023 and have beaten Denver East all five times they’ve faced off since 2016. The closest of those five meetings: 35-22 in 2016. The Angels defense has allowed just 29 points over five weeks, including 17 in a loss to Eaglecrest, but they’ve yet to face an offense as physical as the Rebels (364.8 rush yards/game). CLASS 4A No. 9 Durango (3-2) vs. Rampart (4-1) When/where: 6 p.m. Friday at D20 Stadium South Last meeting: Durango 48, vs. Rampart 6, Nov. 6, 2015 The Demons’ move up to 4A got off to a bumpy start with a blowout loss at Montrose in Week 0, followed by a setback against Farmington, N.M. But they seem to have found their footing with three straight wins, including an impressive defensive showing vs. previously unbeaten Grand Junction that featured 11 tackles for loss, three takeaways and a punt block. Rampart has a stout defense of its own, and a bruising tailback in Camden Bruns (438 yards, 3 TDs) who’s on pace for a second straight 1,000-yard season. The winner here may emerge as Palmer Ridge’s biggest threat in league. No. 2 Dakota Ridge (4-1) vs. Ponderosa (3-2) When/where: 7 p.m. Friday at EchoPark Stadium Last meeting: Dakota Ridge 20, at Ponderosa 6, Sept. 27, 2019 Dakota Ridge enters league play riding a four-game win streak with wins over a pair of ranked 3A teams (Pomona and Green Mountain) and one ranked 4A team (Mesa Ridge). Up next is a Ponderosa program looking for a signature win after dropping its first two marquee matchups vs. 4A Palmer Ridge and 3A Roosevelt. The Mustangs have put 99 points on the board over the last two weeks, with sophomore QB Colter Espinoza tossing four TDs and senior pass catcher Max Mervin reeling in three. They’ll need more of that against an explosive Dakota Ridge attack. CLASS 3A No. 2 Mead (4-0) vs. No. 8 Holy Family (2-2) When/where: 7 p.m. Friday at Mike G. Gabriel Stadium Last meeting: Mead 35, at Holy Family 32, Oct. 22, 2021 The Mavericks look to announce their return as 3A contenders with a shot at defending 3A champion Holy Family on Friday in Broomfield. Mead is 4-0 for the first time since 2021, with a familiar combination of defense and steady offense carrying the Mavs early on. They’ve given up just 20 points in their last three games, including a 16-14 win over 4A Frederick. It’s going to be difficult to match that sort of performance against the Tigers, who enter the weekend averaging 40 points/game and are just as dangerous throwing the ball (832 yards) as they are running it (932). 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After piling up 427 yards and 44 points against Northridge two weeks ago, they face a Lutheran team also coming off its own blowout win (41-0 vs. Resurrection Christian) and subsequent bye week. Note: All stats taken from maxpreps.com. Want more sports news? Sign up for the Sports Omelette to get all our analysis on Denver’s teams.