To save Thanksgiving in 1999, Dave Logan marched his family’s turkey over to Jared Yannacito’s grandparents’ house.
It was there that Logan, then coaching at Arvada West, first met Yannacito, then a seventh-grader. Logan’s mom Etha and Yannacito’s grandma, Violet Astuno, were close friends who lived right by each other in the same Applewood neighborhood.
“Our oven went on the (fritz), and my mom said, ‘Take this over to Vi and (Jared’s grandpa) Rocco’s house, and they’re going to cook it,” Logan said. “Their house from the house I grew up in was probably 100 steps. Jared was there that day, and we got a photo in the living room after his grandparents helped us by using their oven.”
Because of the relationship between Yannacito’s grandma and Logan’s mother, the Ralston Valley coach knew of Logan’s exploits from a young age. This Saturday, his late grandma and Logan’s late mother would no doubt be thrilled to see Yannacito’s Mustangs matched up against Logan’s Cherry Creek Bruins in the Class 5A championship at Canvas Stadium in Fort Collins.
“My grandma would always let me know like, ‘Well, Dave Logan’s got another team in the state championship,’” Yannacito said. “Because of her relationship (with Etha Logan), this Saturday is kind of a full-circle moment for both families.”
Logan went to Wheat Ridge with several Yannacitos in the early 1970s. And since Yannacito entered the Colorado coaching ranks after starring at tailback at Pomona — he began as an assistant for Boulder in 2009, coached at Pomona from 2010-16, got his first head job at Golden in 2017, and has been RV’s boss since 2022 — the two coaches have developed a friendship.
For Logan, who is looking to extend a Colorado record with a 13th state title Saturday, the Cherry Creek head coach sees similarities in Ralston Valley’s rise to his own dynasty with the Bruins.
“(Yannacito’s) done a really good job in terms of the way he’s structured his program,” Logan said. “You’ve got to be intentional with how you build it, and he’s done that. There’s a discipline to his teams. There’s a toughness to his teams. And I think there’s an internal belief they’re going to win.
“… We texted on Saturday night after (we both won semifinal) games, and I just told him, ‘Hey, congratulations. But I’m not surprised.’”
Yannacito’s Mustangs are making their first championship appearance in school history, after deep playoff runs in the prior three seasons came up just short of the title game. They are slight underdogs to Cherry Creek, making its eighth straight championship appearance and seeking its sixth title in that span.
But Ralston Valley is 13-0 (just like the Bruins are) for good reason. Up until rallying from an early deficit to beat Mountain Vista on a last-second field goal in the semifinal, no one had come within two touchdowns of the Mustangs this season.
Yannacito will be coaching in his third state title game, as he was Pomona’s offensive coordinator when the Panthers lost the Class 5A crown to Valor Christian in 2015 and 2016. The coach cut his teeth to get to this point during his five-year tenure with Golden.
“They were arguably the worst team in 4A when I took over and my first year we were able to make the playoffs for the first time in 16 years, and then we also won a playoff game for the first time in (over 20 years),” Yannacito said. “More than anything, it really made me learn how to work with the players that we had, how to strategize and scheme properly for your opponent, and how to get our players to play confident and believe.”
Whatever happens Saturday, Logan believes the fresh-faced middle schooler he first met that Thanksgiving day 26 years ago will be contending for titles for a long time.
While Logan, 70, is nearing the end of his career — there is no set timetable for his retirement, but he vowed not to be a coach who “everybody is worried about keeling over and dying on the field” — the 38-year-old Yannacito has decades on the sideline in front of him. Yannacito’s currently in a sweet spot, too. Ralson Valley has asserted itself as a power in the northwest quadrant of the metro, capable of retaining neighborhood talent and attracting premier Jefferson County players via open enrollment as well.
“Jared is one of those really bright, young coaches where if he decides to (continue coaching) at this level, he’s going to be around for a long time, and his programs are going to be able to sustain this kind of success,” Logan said. “I don’t mean he’s going to get to the state championship every single year, but I’ll promise you this: They will be in contention every single year.”
Saturday’s kickoff at Canvas Stadium is at 5 p.m.
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