MARYSVILLE – Marquise Moses is dangerous – whether he’s got the ball or not.
Play after play, dive after up-the-gut dive, Marysville-Pilchuck High’s star running back gobbled up yards and time. Even when the ball went elsewhere he drew heaps of attention as a decoy, creating opportunities for his teammates.
And when the final seconds ticked away Friday night at M-P’s packed, rain-drenched football field, Moses and the Tomahawks had plowed their way to a 14-0 victory over the previously unbeaten Arlington Eagles. Moses carried 36 times for a game-high 157 yards and the decisive touchdown, and M-P’s defense bottled Arlington’s big-play attack to win a Wesco North showdown.
With the victory M-P (6-1 in division, 6-1 overall) claimed sole possession of first place, a half-game ahead of Arlington (5-1, 6-1). Both teams still have the inside track on snagging one of the three division playoff spots. Stanwood (5-1, 5-2) is also a half-game back.
“We knew what they were going to do,” Arlington coach John Boitano said, referring to M-P’s Moses-fueled offense. But on several crucial short third- and fourth-down plays Moses and the Tommies showed that knowing what to expect and being able to stop it are very different things. After scoring a short TD run in the second quarter, Moses faked out the Arlington defense to help M-P back Justin Petry put the game away. Moses drew defenders on a fake handoff and Petry busted a counter play for a punishing 14-yard TD run with two minutes, 30 seconds to go in the game.
Petry, one of 30 M-P seniors, was grateful for Moses’ attention-grabbing ability. “It’s awesome,” said Petry, who finished with 53 yards on eight carries. “When they key (Moses) it opens up holes for me and (senior back Taylor Betz) to run through. That was a perfect play because they thought we were going up the middle to Marquise the whole time.”
Trailing 6-0, Arlington defenders Taylor Brown and Tim Acker stuffed M-P on fourth down at the Eagles’ 7 with 5:20 to go in the game. But the Eagles gave the ball back on downs two minutes later when quarterback Kenny Gunter came up inches short on a fourth-and-8 scramble. Petry scored three plays later to make it 12-0 and clinch M-P’s victory.
“We came back to (Petry), knowing that they were keying on Marquise, and he did a great job,” M-P coach Rudy Grandbois said. “
The Tommies, led by junior linebacker CC Long’s 11 tackles, are the first team to silence Arlington’s speedy offense, which had compiled seven TD plays of 40-plus yards entering the game.
“We have confidence in (our defense) and they stepped up big tonight,” Grandbois said.
Two first-half fumbles and at least four dropped passes deflated the Eagles.
“We’re kind of a mix-it-up, big-play team,” Boitano said. “And when we don’t make the big plays half of what we do is gone.”
Gunter, who came in with more than 700 passing yards, completed nine of 19 passes for 69 yards. He also scrambled for 44 yards, but Arlington came up short on several big-play opportunities.
“We had some turnovers and some dropped passes,” Boitano said, “and in a (championship-type) game you can’t do that.”
Neither teamed scored during a sloppy first quarter. M-P pulled ahead 6-0 six minutes, 24 seconds into the second quarter when Moses capped a 42-yard, 11-play drive with a 1-yard TD dive. The series began after defensive Tomahawks defensive end Denis Moynihan forced an Arlington fumble near midfield. Defensive tackle Darren Fallon fell on the loose ball and M-P’s offense did the rest. Todd Stillwell’s point-after kick was blocked.
Arlington struggled with turnovers in the first half, losing two fumbles. When the Eagles mounted their best drive of the half, they simply ran out of time. Starting from its own 10 with 1:52 to go in the half, Arlington used an effective mix of runs and passes to get to the M-P 27. After his team called a time out with eight seconds remaining Eagles quarterback Kenny Gunter threw a short pass to Thomas Payne along the left sideline. Payne got down to the 15 but the final seconds ticked away, leaving Arlington with a 6-0 halftime deficit.
At Marysville
Arlington0000-0
Marysville-Pilchuck0608-14
Marysville-Pilchuck-Moses 1 run (Stillwell kick blocked)
Marysville-Pilchuck-Petry 14 run (Carrier run)
Records-Arlington 5-1 in league, 6-1 overall. Marysville-Pilchuck 6-1, 6-1.
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