Arlington clinches state berth

A stout defense for the Arlington Eagles made the difference in their Nov. 5 victory.

The fifth-ranked Eagles stymied Auburn Mountainview 35-0 in a winner-to-state game at John Larson Stadium.

“Our defense was the story,” Arlington coach Greg Dailer said of Arlington holding the Lions to 92 yards of total offense. “They played fantastic.”

Dailer noted that Auburn Mountainview, which is 6-2 and plays in the North Puget Sound League, didn’t get a first down until about a minute-and-a-half remaining in the first half.

Near the end of the first half, the Lions had been moving the ball against Arlington. Then an Auburn Mountainview player fumbled the ball on the 24-yard line. Defensive back Ethan Martin picked up the ball and ran 76 yards to score putting Arlington up 21-0 with 20 seconds remaining in the second quarter.

“That was the turning point of the game,” Dailer said.

He also highlighted several other standouts on Arlington’s defense.

“Quintin Yon-Wagner is the heart and soul of our defense,” Dialer said. The senior linebacker recently set the school record for career tackles that was previously held by current linebackers coach Blake Peterson.

Defensive lineman senior Josh Snow broke Arlington’s season sack record with 11, which Dialer said is notable because many teams in the Wesco North run a Wing-T formation.

“The whole defense is playing great,” Dialer said.

Arlington got its first score with 7:42 remaining in the first quarter. After the Eagles marched to the four-yard line, wide receiver Luke Brown caught a pass from quarterback Trent Nobach to go up 7-0.

The Eagles were close to scoring another short touchdown when the first quarter ended. Eight seconds into the second quarter Nobach threw a five-yard pass to wide receiver Levi Younger. After the point-after-touchdown, Arlington was up 14-0. The Eagles bookended the quarter with a Martin fumble recovery for a touchdown.

During the second half, Nobach threw an eight-yard touchdown pass to Gage Price with 3:51 remaining in the third quarter. Near the conclusion of the game, Arlington capped off the scoring when Nobach ran for a one-yard touchdown to put the Eagles ahead 35-0.

Arlington had 288 yards of offense, Dialer said, with 146 yards rushing and Nobach throwing for 142 yards. Running back Holden Erken rushed for 96 yards and RJ Gese ran for 66 yards. Dialer added some runs during the evening resulted in negative yards.

Friday’s win earns Arlington a spot in the state championship tournament.

The bracket for the 16-team tournament was announced Sunday afternoon. The Wesco North looks to be well represented during the tournament. In addition to Arlington, sixth-ranked Marysville Pilchuck qualified thanks to a 62-28 victory Nov. 5 against Bishop Blanchet of Seattle while Stanwood qualified when the Spartans defeated Lincoln of Tacoma 40-35.

Arlington is seeded No. 7 in the state tournament and hosts Mount Spokane at 1 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 13 at John Larson Stadium.