ARVADA – As the clock struck triple zeros on the night of Oct. 18, Ralston Valley had accomplished the unthinkable, outlasting then-No. 1 ranked Columbine in a 23-22 comeback victory. It was the first time any of the Mustangs’ seniors had experienced a win over their Metro West rivals.

Throughout the game, Braden Siders was at the center of it all. The 6-foot-3, 215-pound senior defensive end was a looming presence as he racked up three tackles for loss and two quarterback hurries.

“It’s hard to explain,” Siders said of the win, “it gave us an idea of how good we could really be.”

Football has always been a tool for Siders to realize his potential.

Long before he helped the Mustangs turn a corner this fall — or committed to attend the University of Wyoming on a football scholarship last spring — the sport gave him an outlet for dealing with adversity.

With an absent father, growing up was difficult. Left alone to raise Braden and his older sister Kaelyn, their mother, Julie, struggled with health issues before dying of liver failure in May 2017.

“It was mostly just me taking care of Braden,” Kaelyn recalls. “I was in high school, taking college courses and working two jobs.”

In the aftermath of their mother’s death, Kaelyn was overwhelmed and in need of help. Family friends offered their home and their hearts to Braden, allowing him to live with them for a year. (The family declined to be named for this story). With the move, Siders also switched schools, transferring from Horizon to nearby Ralston Valley as a sophomore.

The change of scenery helped him discover a renewed focus. Previously a below-average student, he began to realize that in order to keep playing the game he loved, his performance in the classroom needed to improve. With some encouragement from his host family, he embraced an attitude of accountability.

Now, Siders’ overall grade-point average is 2.8 — a marked improvement after consistently posting a 3.0 or better since transferring to Ralston Valley.

“It really opened his eyes,” Kaelyn said of the change. “He started working really hard in school. Before he was a C, D and F student and now he’s an A and B student. He saw that there’s so much more out there if you work for it, and if you work hard, you’ll get it.”

His sister remains his biggest advocate. Braden is now reunited with Kaelyn under the same roof while she attends nursing school, expecting to graduate next month.

“She’s always been that one person that understands what it’s like and what I’m going through,” he said. “She’s gone through it with me, so I’ve grown close with her.”

Outside of football, Braden is known to family and friends as kind and thoughtful, able to forge close connections with adults and peers alike. On the field, he’s an aggressive presence, much like his hero, Broncos linebacker Von Miller.

As a senior, Siders led the Mustangs in numerous defensive categories during the regular season, including tackles (70), tackles for loss (19), sacks (12), forced fumbles (3) and fumble recoveries (2).

“He’s a game-changer,” Ralston Valley head coach Matt Loyd said. “He makes four or five plays a week that just are huge plays, it changes the game.”

Defense is at the heart of everything that Loyd’s team tries to do, and Siders has helped provide the heartbeat.

In the regular season, Ralston Valley ranked second among Class 5A playoff teams allowing just 10.3 points per game. That included shutouts of playoff contenders Lakewood and Pomona to cap the program’s first undefeated regular season since 2014 — wins that saw Siders rack up four sacks, 17 tackles and a blocked field goal.

Continuing on in this year’s 5A state playoffs following a thrilling 42-21 win over Arapahoe in Friday’s second round, the second-ranked Mustangs are seeking the program’s first state title. They face No. 10 seed Eaglecrest at 7 p.m. Friday at NAAC Stadium.

State championship trophy or not, Siders is already grateful for what he’s accomplished.

“(Ralston Valley) brought a lot of good things for me. It helped me get over a lot of road bumps,” Siders said. “Football has given me hope. It’s given me everything.”

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