Prep football: Arlington tops Marysville-Pilchuck
Published 3:36 pm Saturday, September 25, 2010
ARLINGTON — In his postgame speech, Arlington head coach Greg Dailer called Friday night’s 33-14 win over defending Western Conference North Division champion Marysville-Pilchuck a “stepping stone.”
Junior running back Riley Cobb helped the Eagles take a big step by rushing for 102 yards and a touchdown in the second half as Arlington pulled away in the fourth quarter for a Wesco North conference-opening victory at Arlington High School.
Arlington forced five M-P turnovers, including a 45-yard fumble return for a touchdown by Cobb with 6 minutes, 30 seconds remaining in the first quarter, as the defense showed improvement a week after dropping a high-scoring, one-point overtime loss to Ferndale.
“We spent all week being disciplined,” Dailer said “… I’m really proud of the defense, they really stepped up.”
Cobb, who finished the game with 104 rushing yards on 21 carries, also caught a 62-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Blake McPherson to put Arlington (1-0 league, 3-1 overall) ahead 19-0 in the first quarter.
Dailer called Cobb’s number six consecutive times on two separate offensive series during the final quarter as the back helped the Eagles create some distance on the scoreboard.
“When he’s giving me 10 carries in a row, it gets tiring but I love it … it boosts my confidence and makes me a stronger runner,” Cobb said.
Marysville-Pilchuck continued to struggle holding onto the football for another week.
Trailing 19-14 in the second quarter, the Tomahawks (0-1, 2-2) were driving again late until a fumble killed the series at the Arlington 24-yard line with 36 seconds before halftime.
M-P starting quarterback Tylor Klep was intercepted twice, once deep in Arlington territory, but fumbles proved to be momentum killers for the Tomahawks.
“We just can’t continue to keep turning the ball over. It hurt us again tonight,” M-P head coach Brandon Carson said. “We did fine moving the ball, we’ve just got to quit turning the football over. We can’t beat good teams turning the football over like we do.”
M-P gained 224 yards on 40 carries in the first half, but sputtered in the second half — rarely moving the football deep enough to threaten.
“We have to take care of the football, bottom line,” Carson said.
M-P senior running back Tyler Thompson finished with 123 rushing yards on 21 carries and a touchdown for the run-oriented Tomahawks.
Arlington stymied M-P, shutting the team out in the second half, while taking a step toward its ultimate goal — winning the Wesco North.
“(This win) is a huge stepping stone for us,” Dailer said. “I just wanted to make sure (my players) didn’t have the idea that we’ve peaked. Our goal has been to win the Wesco and we have the talent to do it. Beating Marysville was the first step.”
McPherson finished 8-for-16, passing for 186 yards, three touchdowns and an interception for Arlington. But it was Cobb’s durability in the second half that kept the Eagles in control.
“He’s got a lot of heart,” Dailer said of his 5-foot-10, 170-pound junior running back. “I don’t worry about Riley running out of gas.”
At Arlington H.S.
Marysville-Pilchuck01400—14
Arlington190014—33
Arl—Brummel 30 pass from McPherson (kick failed)
Arl—Cobb 45 fumble return (pass failed)
Arl—Cobb 62 pass from McPherson (Colton Hordyk kick)
M-P—Thompson 2 run (Bluhm kick)
M-P—Merkt 8 run (Bluhm kick)
Arl—Cobb 4 run (Hordyk kick)
Arl—Cummings 40 pass from McPherson (Hordyk kick)At Arlington H.S.
Records—Marysville-Pilchuck 0-1 league, 2-2 overall. Arlington 1-0, 3-1.
