Arlington beats Marysville Pilchuck to clinch at least share of 3A North

ARLINGTON — Andrew Kalahar’s availability for Friday’s game against Marysville Pilchuck was in a bit of doubt heading into the contest.

Well, depending on who you ask.

Arlington’s senior quarterback had no doubt he’d be in the game. Eagles head coach Greg Dailer was a bit more unsure. Kalahar — and the Eagles — won out with the quarterback throwing for 198 yards and four scores as Arlington clinched at least a share of the Wesco 3A North title with a 51-27 victory over Marysville Pilchuck Friday night at Arlington High School.

“I told coach, I said, ‘No matter how bad my shoulder’s hurting, this is my senior year. I’m playing MP. I’m not sitting on the bench,’” said Kalahar, who injured his throwing shoulder in the first half of last week’s win over Stanwood. “(The shoulder) felt great all night. I’ll probably feel it tomorrow.”

The Eagles rested Kalahar for most of the week after a few tough throws.

“There was a little bit of doubt,” Dailer said. “Monday he threw a couple of throws and didn’t look good. Tuesday, he didn’t look a whole lot better. But there was no doubt in his mind.”

Kalahar, who completed 16 of 24 attempts and also rushed for 33 yards, and the Eagles seniors had never beaten Marysville Pilchuck. The Tomahawks won the past three meetings over Arlington, which joined the Wesco 3A North league prior to the 2014-15 season.

Arlington’s last victory over Marysville Pilchuck was a 45-28 win in 2011.

“I love beating MP. It feels so good to beat those guys. For the rest of my life, I can walk around this area knowing we beat Marysville Pilchuck,” Kalahar said. “Last year really hurt. I know throughout the offseason that’s what we were thinking about: When we play MP in October we want to be as ready as possible.”

The victory means Arlington (4-0 league, 6-1 overall) will have at least a share of the Wesco 3A North title. The Eagles can clinch it outright with a win over Everett next week. If Arlington loses, they hold the tiebreaker over Oak Harbor and Marysville Pilchuck — the two teams immediately behind them in the standings — and will be the 3A North’s No. 1 seed in the Wesco 3A crossover game against the 3A South No. 1 team regardless of the outcome against Everett.

“It’s really exciting,” Dailer said. “We haven’t had it since 2010. It was one of our primary goals. Now we have at least a share of it. It’s exciting. Now we have to make sure we can’t be satisfied with it. We have to continue to improve and get better.”

“This is just the beginning for us,” Kalahar said. “This is just a spring board into the playoffs.”

Marysville Pilchuck (3-1, 4-3) struck first when quarterback Erik Lind scored on a sneak from one yard out to put the Tomahawks up 7-0.

Arlington scored the next 44 points thanks to three touchdown catches by Donavan Sellgren, one by Kyle Bayer and two rushing touchdowns from junior running back Devon Nutter, who finished with 198 yards on 19 carries.

“When they went down and got that first touchdown, I’m like, ‘Oh boy. Here we go again,’” Dailer said.

“Offensively, we’ve really been clicking lately. Our offense is clicking along with Andrew, Donnie, Bayer and (receivers Avery) Winterer and (Wyatt) Bass are great receivers too. … We’re playing well on offense right now.”

The first score by Marysville Pilchuck rallied the Eagles on the sidelines, according to Kalahar.

“When we face adversity, that’s when we play our best,” he said. “We come down, pull it together and we get it done. If anything, scoring that touchdown right away woke us up.”

The Arlington coach said it was hard to distinguish which accomplishment was more enjoyable: a league title or defeating the Tomahawks. Mostly, because the two seem to be intertwined.

“It’s been quite a few years since we’ve done both,” Dailer said. “They kind of go hand in hand. If you want to win the league title you have to beat Pilchuck. They’re the cream of the crop. It’s nice to be able to take it from them.”

Sellgren had touchdown catches of 26, 43 and 13 yards. The senior finished with six catches for 108 yards.

“We had a tough week injury- and illness-wise, but we’re not making excuses,” said Marysville Pilchuck head coach Brandon Carson. “We didn’t move the ball as well as we should in the first half. We gave up some big plays and that ended up being our demise.”

Lind finished 12-23 for 149 yards and a touchdown in the games final minutes for Marysville Pilchuck. He added two rushing touchdowns. Senior running back Garrett Anderson led the Tomahawks’ rushing attack with 93 yards on 21 carries.

“I thought we had it going early,” Carson said. “We had a long, sustained drive and kept their offense off the field. We weren’t able to execute there (later).”

The Tomahawks face Oak Harbor next Friday in a game that could go a long way in determining how far Marysville Pilchuck’s season continues.

“We have to flush this game and move on,” Carson said. “We’re fighting for our playoff lives.”

At John C. Larson Stadium

M. Pilchuck 7 0 7 13 —27

Arlington 3 27 14 7 —51

MP–Erik Lind 1 run (Jason Lopp kick)

A–Andrew Kalahar 24 FG

A–Wyatt Bass 85 punt return (Kalahar kick)

A–Donavan Sellgren 26 pass from Kalahar (kick failed)

A–Sellgren 43 pass from Kalahar (Kalahar kick)

A–Sellgren 13 pass from Kalahar (Kalahar kick)

A–Kyle Bayer 21 pass from Kalahar (Kalahar kick)