It all started with a one-armed push.
Arvada West assistant coach Kelly Mulligan, conferring with a Wildcats player in the waning seconds of a tense high school boys basketball game, put his right hand on an encroaching Ralston Valley player and pushed him away from a sideline huddle.
In that moment, Mulligan ignited a year-long dispute between Arvada West and the parent of the opposing player that culminated with the slashing of tires on Mulligan’s truck and that parent, Justin Pfeifer, charged with criminal mischief.
In between, there was a one-game suspension, three law enforcement investigations, the termination of a business relationship and a failed attempt at reconciliation.
This is the story of a dispute that wouldn’t end — and lingered with both schools for the better part of 12 months.
“In the beginning, (the ordeal) was going one direction, and in the end it went full-circle and turned the other direction,” observed Arvada resident Dennis Marshall, who coached baseball at Ralston Valley the last two years, is the announcer for Arvada West basketball and is friends with both Mulligan and Pfeifer.
“I know that no matter what, both of these men, if they knew in the very beginning what this situation would look like a year from now, things probably would’ve been handled differently.”
The ordeal began Feb. 12, 2024, when Mulligan called a Wildcats player over to the sideline during a break in play and Ralston Valley’s Cole Pfeifer followed him toward the huddle.
In video reviewed by The Denver Post, the coach is then seen pushing Pfeifer away with one arm while pulling his own player closer. The push elicits an immediate reaction from the crowd and Ralston Valley bench before play eventually resumes.
An internal review by Arvada West administration led to a one-game suspension for Mulligan.
Cole’s parents, Justin and Tiffany Pfeifer, were dissatisfied with that punishment. Justin emailed CHSAA and Rock Canyon High School administrators two weeks later before a Sweet 16 game, stating Arvada West chose “not to protect the student athlete or defend the culture of high school athletics.”
The Pfeifers also pressed criminal charges against Mulligan. A subsequent investigation led by Arvada West school resource officer Craig Smith concluded that the “circumstances do not substantiate a criminal offense.”
Justin Pfeifer did not respond to requests for comment by The Post. Neither did Ralston Valley principal Mica Buenning or AD Tony Pergola. Ralston Valley head coach Chris Braketa declined to comment, as did Arvada West principal Micah Porter and AD Gordon Volk. Mulligan declined to answer the majority of The Post’s questions, citing the ongoing legal situation.
In Mulligan’s interview with the resource officer Smith, the coach said his contact with the guard was “very much a reaction, based on natural instinct, to distance an opposing player from a sideline conference.”
Arvada West head coach Danny Vais — who said he did not see the incident in real time — said he sought out Tiffany Pfeifer, and then Cole, to address the issue after the game.
“I found Tiffany and said, ‘I’m sorry for anything that happened. I don’t know what happened, but I will get to the bottom of it, and I will talk to Cole before he gets out of here tonight,’” Vais recalled. “So I waited for Cole outside of his locker room to make sure he was OK. He gave me a hug and basically said, ‘Coach, I’m OK.’
“… I told them I would look into it, and I looked into it, and I didn’t think anything else was warranted (beyond Mulligan’s suspension).”
In the months following the incident, the relationship between Justin Pfeifer and Arvada West remained contentious.
Pfeifer, a real estate agent who ran advertising campaigns at Arvada West and Ralston Valley, had his A-West sponsorship contract terminated by the district in October. That came after Pfeifer proposed changes to his ads that included the Mustangs mascot, as well as the “R” and “V” in his company slogan toned in Ralston Valley blue.
As a result, Pfeifer’s digital advertising at the school was stopped, and signage around the Arvada West football field/track was removed. The district paid him back $17,292.62.
On Jan. 16, Pfeifer filed a complaint with the Arvada Police Department’s Internal Affairs Unit over Smith’s handling of the initial investigation, claiming it was biased. Justin and Tiffany Pfeifer asked APD commander Jason Ammon to interview two eyewitnesses not interviewed by Smith: Ralston Valley assistant coach Brandon Patterson and spectator Steve Morewood.
According to Ammon’s report, Morewood believed “this whole thing would have went away if (Mulligan) would have simply called and apologized.” Patterson echoed that sentiment. Mulligan never apologized to the Pfeifers, nor met with them.
Ahead of the first game between Ralston Valley and Arvada West this season on Feb. 1, in which the schools’ principals addressed the crowd before tip to encourage good sportsmanship, APD approached Vais and asked if he would be willing to offer a public apology to the Pfeifers in the form of a half-court embrace.
Vais refused.
“For the better part of a year, we’ve sat back here and been the bad guys in this whole situation, and we’ve been the ones to blame,” Vais said. “… The truth needs to come out. What’s been going on has nothing to do with 99.9% of the people at these two schools.”
Five days after APD approached Vais, Mulligan’s tires were slashed during Arvada West’s home game against Chatfield.
According to a police report, Justin Pfeifer texted his friend Marshall about six weeks before that, trying to discern the make of Mulligan’s car. On Jan. 29, a white Tesla SUV — the same model as Pfeifer’s — was seen on security footage circling the Arvada West lot, pausing next to Mulligan’s truck and then exiting the lot. The report stated that a person in a hooded sweatshirt, sweatpants and white shoes was then seen getting out of the Tesla, walking back onto campus and crouching next to two of the truck’s tires.
Earlier that night, a security camera filmed Justin Pfeifer leaving Everitt Middle School, about 4 miles from Arvada West. He was wearing a hooded sweatshirt, sweatpants and white shoes, the police report stated. Based on that evidence and other circumstances, APD served him with a summons for criminal mischief on Feb. 7.
Pfeifer also received a no-trespass order from Jeffco Public Schools that forbids him from being on district property until Feb. 1, 2026, and he was removed as a volunteer Ralston Valley varsity baseball coach.
“Jeffco strongly denounces any threats or actions of harm directed at any of our district staff,” said Kimberly Mahugh, the district’s associate chief of communications. “Mr. Pfeifer has expressed his regret, and he’s cooperating with our department of school safety and with law enforcement.”
Marshall — who also knows Braketa and Vais well — vouched for the character of Mulligan and Pfeifer, saying that “even good men make mistakes.” He also acknowledged the situation became a “distraction” and believes it’s likely many of the players and families within both programs were at least partially aware of the ongoing dispute.
“(The fallout) does impact more than just the individual incident,” Marshall said.
Matt Rillos, a parent in the Mustangs’ basketball program, says he was both surprised and disappointed that the feud resurfaced this season.
But despite the ongoing off-court drama, Rillos believes the basketball games between the programs this season showed that the competition is “back to a healthy rivalry … after tensions were definitely high last year.”
“I’d guess that the majority of people (in the Arvada high school community) think that it’s gotten out of control,” Rillos said. “But I think people still have faith in the system that the system is going to resolve it — whether that’s the court system or the school administration system.”
In his only comment to The Post, Mulligan said he “would love for all of this to be done.”
The two games between Ralston Valley and Arvada West this season were played without incident, with the Mustangs winning both. The programs both advanced to the Class 6A Sweet 16 with wins Friday night and will play for spots in the Great 8 on Tuesday night.