ARLINGTON — There is a lot of newness surrounding the Arlington football team this season.
In addition to joining a new conference, the Eagles have a new turf field to practice and play on.
“We finally got turf,” Arlington coach Greg Dailer said. “It’s been awesome. The receivers know where to line up and we have lines and hashes. It’s cool. We used to be on that baseball field down there, with two tiny little fields. And they were crooked. It’s been amazing.”
Arlington drops down from the 4A to the 3A classification this fall and joins the tricky Wesco 3A North. The Eagles will host new conference rivals Marysville Getchell, Stanwood and Everett — as well as a non-league game against Eastside Catholic.
The Eagles already are familiar with several of the teams in their new conference.
“We play (Marysville) Pilchuck and Stanwood every year and we’ve played Oak Harbor quite a bit — we played them last year — so we’re familiar with a lot of those guys,” Dailer said. “We haven’t played Getchell or Everett. It’s new but it’s kind of familiar. Now those games just mean a lot more again. We’re excited. It’s going to be tough. It’s a pretty good challenge that 3A North.”
Dailer and the Eagles are keeping things much the same after a 5-5 season in 2013, although many of the players will be new to the varsity.
“We have the same systems, offensively and defensively, and a lot of good guys,” Dailer said. “Some new, young guys. We have a huge junior class and they’re really going to contribute a lot.”
One thing that hasn’t changed is the Eagles’ main goal: a conference championship.
Even if they are in a new conference.
“That’s what we’re in it for,” Dailer said. “(The league title) will be our primary thing. If you aren’t (league champs), you can still get to the playoffs and we’ve done that in the past — get to the playoffs and won that first-round there. That’s a big goal for us too.”
Coach: Greg Dailer (6th season)
Key returners: Gareth Henderson OL/LB, Sr.; Anthony Parra, WR/LB/K, Jr.; Cam Scrimgeour, TE/LB, Jr.; Connor Bovard, WR/DB, Sr.; Noah Andal, WR/DB/QB, Sr.; Beni Madrigal-Reis, OL/DL, Jr.
Coach’s quote: “We’re always a little thin on the (offensive and defensive) lines, we never have a ton of big guys. But the ones we’ve got are pretty good this year. We feel pretty good. We’ve got a lot of work to do still, but we’re excited about our potential.”
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