Heraldnet.com
SUNDAY, MARCH 21, 2010 2:37 am
LocalNorthwestNation & WorldPoliticsSpecial ReportsPhotosColumnistsMultimedia 
Podcasts:

Current Season

High School Football
Week 2
Week 3
Week 4
Week 5
Week 6
Week 7
Week 8
Week 9
Twitter Updates
    Latest gallery

    High School Baseball (2010)
    March 19. 2010 (4 photos)
    [More Herald photos]
     
    WEEK IN REVIEW
    Saturday


    Eight teens escape Edmonds house fire
    Supporters, foes of various tax increases fight...
    State Senate trims sales tax increase in proposal
    Friday
    Russians might compete with Boeing for tanker c...
    Police hunt for shooting suspect
    Navy squadron returns to Washington this weekend
    Thursday


    Everett plans big upgrades for city parks
    State changes mind on how to handle Darrington ...
    Arlington missions worker hurt in Haiti quake r...
    Wednesday


    Monroe girl guilty of murder in Sultan gang sla...
    Man is sentenced to 8 years in crash that killed 4
    House revives bill to create jobs and renovate ...
    Tuesday


    Local beef — lots of it
    16-year-old girl convicted in Sultan gang murder
    Lawmakers start haggling budget, again
    Monday


    A gift for a gifted kid
    An early start to allergy season
    Students to have their first look at ‘WAS...
    Sunday


    Stillaguamish Tribe carves a link to its long-l...
    Paine Field results delayed by months
    The Hub, a Snohomish institution, closes
     

    ADVERTISEMENT

    High Schools   Print This Article  Email This Page  Subscribe Now! facebook digg reddit del.icio.us fark stumble

    Jennifer Buchanan / The Herald  (click to enlarge)
    Sultan forward Sam Hatton (right) looks for room to pass against Arlington’s Eric Carlson (left) and Blake Petersen in the first quarter.
     
    ADVERTISEMENT

     
    HIGH SCHOOL SCORES AND SCHEDULES:
    By sport:
    By date:
    By school:    • Stadium map
    By league:
    STANDINGS:
    CONTACT THE HERALD
    Report scores and results to 425-339-3470 or 1-866-6-SCORES (Call after 4:30 p.m.)
    E-mail information including items for Tuesday's Communities Sports Roundup and Thursday's Outdoor Calendar, to sports@heraldnet.com
    Kevin Brown, Sports Editor
    kbrown@heraldnet.com
     
    Published: Wednesday, December 2, 2009

    Reloaded Arlington outlasts Sultan

    Carlson steps to front as the Eagles hold off the Turks in season opener

    SULTAN — New season. New heroes.

    After graduating six seniors from its 2008-2009 squad that advanced to the Class 4A District 1 tournament, the Arlington High School basketball team needs a fresh crop of leaders to emerge.

    Enter Eric Carlson.

    Carlson, a versatile 6-foot-3 junior guard/forward who played a complementary role on the Eagles varsity team last season, scored a game-high 22 points to help lead 4A Arlington to a 57-51 season-opening victory over the 2A Sultan Turks on Tuesday.

    Arlington led 25-15 by halftime and then fought off Sultan’s impressive comeback in the non-league game. Both teams struggled at times with turnovers, fouls and poor execution but they enjoyed plenty of bright spots too.

    “The first game, it’s going to be a struggle no matter how much you practice,” said Carlson, who scored 16 of Arlington’s 25 first-half points. “It was a little bit sloppy but that’s going to happen the first game. We played through it and got a good win.”

    Sultan did a better job against Arlington’s full-court defensive pressure in the third quarter and outscored Arlington 16-7, cutting the deficit to 32-31. That set up a thrilling fourth quarter that featured seven lead changes and three ties.

    After struggling from the foul line all game, Arlington made a much better percentage of its free throws in the final quarter. Over the final 31.1 seconds, senior guard Andy Smith was 4 of 6 at the foul line.

    Smith scored all seven of his points in the final period, including a 3-pointer from the right side that turned a 42-41 Sultan lead into a 44-42 edge for Arlington with 3 minutes, 13 seconds to go. Sultan never regained the lead.

    “We feel like we’re more relaxed now. We got that first win under our belts so we’re good to go,” said Carlson, whose team was picked to finish fourth in the nine-team Wesco North by the division’s coaches.

    Sultan’s top scorer was junior guard Theo VandenEkart (21 points, three 3-pointers). The Turks had 10 turnovers in the first half but VandenEkart and his pals looked like a different team in the third quarter, draining open shots and handling the ball better.

    “It’s a credit to them,” Arlington coach Nick Brown said. “They’re not a bad team. They played better than they did last year.”

    In last season’s opener, Sultan lost 85-57 against the Eagles at Arlington High. This time, Sultan didn’t have star guard Jordan Nicholes, The Herald’s 2008-2009 All-Area Player of the Year, who helped propel the Turks to the state tournament for the first time since 1961. He graduated this past spring as the program’s career leader in games played, points (1,598), assists and steals, as well as other categories.

    But just as Arlington had new leaders emerge on Tuesday, Sultan got promising performances from VandenEkart and senior guard Matty Ruddock (14 points). And Sultan rebounded well despite not having returning starter Zach Beebe, who will be out with a broken thumb until next week, Trichler said.

    “We did a good job on the boards for most of the night and that made it so we could control the game a little bit more and get out and run a little bit,” Sultan coach Nate Trichler said.

    One key during Sultan’s rally was the Turks’ defense on Carlson. The Arlington standout scored just two points in the third quarter, thanks largely to Clayton Knoles, Sultan’s pesky senior forward.

    “He was our best defensive player last year too and he’s doing it again,” said Trichler. “He played a heck of a game.”

    Still, Carlson had a fine season debut.

    “I liked everything about his game,” coach Brown said. “I liked his leadership. I liked how he was positive with the kids and he never got frustrated. They put a lot of pressure on him and he (handled it).”

    Added Brown, “When you take away six seniors, someone’s got to step up. And he did.”

    Three Arlington players achieved double-digit scoring: Carlson, junior guard Griffin Ginnis (13 points) and junior forward Blake Petersen (11 points).

    At Sultan H.S.

    Arlington 10 15 7 25 — 0

    Sultan 6 9 16 20 — 0

    Arlington — Carlson 22, Cooper 1, Petersen 11, Ginnis 13, Smith 7, Brummel 2, Davis 1, Robertson 0. Sultan — Ruddock 14, Knoles 7, VandenEkart 21, Hatton 7, Hall, Pruitt, Rutz, Cotterill, Alwood 2. 3-point goals — Carlson 1, Smith 1, Knoles 1, VandenEkart 3, Hatton 1. Records — Arlington 1-0 overall. Sultan 0-1.

    Mike Cane: mcane@heraldnet.com. Check out the prep sports blog Double Team at www.heraldnet.com/doubleteam.

    COMMENTS | Be the first to comment

    Log in or register to post a new comment.


    To read other terms and conditions, click here

    Other Advertisers
    TODAY'S TOP JOBS
     View All Top Jobs 
    Top Cars
    Top Homes

    ADVERTISEMENT