The Arlington football team was looking for a quick start against Stanwood on Friday night, and the Eagles’ defense made sure of it.
Taking advantage of three first-quarter turnovers, Arlington cashed in two early touchdowns and went on to post a 28-0 Western Conference 3A win in the annual Stilly Cup at Arlington High School. It was Arlington’s fifth straight Stilly Cup victory.
Eagles quarterback Andrew Kalahar passed for the two first-period touchdowns and later added a 15-yard rushing touchdown in the game’s late minutes. Running back Tristan Trotter added a 14-yard rushing TD in the fourth quarter.
“Our defense played great,” said Arlington head coach Greg Dailer. “Stanwood came out ready for the Stilly Cup and they played us tough, but our kids just played great tonight. We didn’t make any mistakes on defense. We had a few mistakes on offense, but we were still able to put 28 points on the board.”
The Eagles forced turnovers on three of Stanwood’s first five plays from scrimmage, “and that was a nice start to the game,” Dailer said. “I thought it was going to go our way in a hurry. … It was kind of a breakout game turnover-wise. We were doing a good job of getting our helmets on the ball, stripping (the ball) and creating turnovers.”
“Our defense killed it,” added wide receiver Connor Bovard. “I have to give all (the credit) to them. They gave the offense a short field.”
After seeing their opening offensive possession end on downs, the Eagles got the ball back when Noah Andal recovered a fumble on Stanwood’s third play. Arlington needed just five plays to cover 40 yards to the end zone, with Kalahar passing 13 yards to Bovard for the touchdown.
On the first play after the ensuing kickoff, the Spartans put the ball on the turf again and this time it was Arlington’s Gareth Henderson who came up with the recovery. Four plays later, and aided by two personal foul penalties against Stanwood, the Eagles scored again, this time with Kalahar passing 8 yards to Diarmuid Murphy.
A third turnover, this a leaping interception by defensive back Seigo Hall on Stanwood’s first play after the kickoff, gave Arlington the ball right back. But this time the Spartans’ defense stiffened and the Eagles turned the ball over on downs.
The game was scoreless through the second and third quarters, though Stanwood threatened on its first drive after halftime, reaching the Arlington 5 before missing a short field goal try.
The Eagles broke the game open midway through the final period with Trotter’s TD burst, and they tacked on Kalahar’s rushing touchdown with 2:30 to play in the game.
Winning the Stilly Cup is special, Dailer said, “because our neighborhoods are so close and there’s so much trash talking going on. All the kids know each other. It’s just a huge deal every year. It’s a year of bragging rights.”
“This is my senior year, my last Stilly Cup and it was at home,” Bovard said. “(To win) just feels awesome.”
With the victory, the Eagles improved their Wesco record to 2-1 and their overall mark to 4-2.
“We have a great group of kids, and they’re starting to put it together a little bit,” Dailer said. “So I think we might finish strong this year.”
At Arlington H.S.
Stanwood 0 0 0 0 — 0
Arlington 14 0 0 14 — 28
A—Connor Bovard 13 pass from Andrew Kalahar (run failed)
A—Diarmuid Murphy 8 pass from Kalahar (Tristan Trotter pass from Kyle Bayer)
A—Trotter 14 run (Anthony Parra kick)
A—Kalahar 15 run (Anthony Parra kick)
Records—Stanwood 1-2 in league, 1-5 overall. Arlington 2-1, 4-2.
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