ARLINGTON — Once again the Arlington Eagles are taking home the Stilly Cup.
But this year the Eagles had to work a lot harder to do so.
Arlington beat the archrival Stanwood Spartans for the seventh straight year, winning 22-20 Friday night in a Wesco 3A North prep football game at Arlington High School.
However, unlike in many recent editions of the Stilly Cup, this one went right down to the wire.
“It feels great,” Arlington coach Greg Dailer said about retaining the Stilly Cup. “We needed it more this year than in recent years. In recent years we had a pretty successful record coming in, but we did it this year and it was a huge game for us, so it really means a lot.
“Stanwood really put up a heck of a fight tonight,” Dailer added. “They have a pretty good ballclub over there this year. It’s nice to have that streak, we’ve had some good fortune and they’ve changed coaches a lot — I love what coach (Eric) Keizer is doing now, he’s doing a good job putting that program together — but it’s been nice for us.”
In Arlington’s previous six victories over Stanwood the Eagles never won by fewer than 13 points, and the margin of victory reached as many as 60. But Friday’s contest wasn’t decided until Arlington’s Devon Nutter came up with the clinching interception with 2 minutes, 20 seconds remaining. The interception was Nutter’s second of the night and was a fitting decisive moment in a game that had nine turnovers, five by Arlington and four by Stanwood.
“We overcame a lot of adversity,” Dailer said. “What did we have, five turnovers? They just did a great job of never getting down and fighting to the end.”
Nutter also rushed for 95 yards on 17 carries, and Gabriel Green added 89 yards on 16 carries and a touchdown to lead Arlington (2-2 league, 3-4 overall).
Karl DeBoer threw three touchdown passes, including two to twin brother Trygve DeBoer, to pace Stanwood (1-4-, 2-5).
A first half that saw Arlington outgain Stanwood 213-50 nevertheless ended with the Eagles holding a slim 15-14 lead, thanks to a surprise two-point conversion. But fortune smiled on Arlington early in the third quarter. On the opening drive the Spartans went for it on fourth-and-2 from their own 43-yard line, and the intended pitch glanced off the blocking back. Although Stanwood recovered the ball it was turned over on downs.
Two plays later the Eagles struck. Anthony Whitis, who came on in relief at quarterback, threw a perfect 26-yard pass into the end zone, where Jake Hubbard out-leaped a defender for a touchdown as the Eagles went ahead 22-14.
It seemed like the kind of moment that could have broken a Stanwood team that’s had no luck against its rival. But the Spartans instead fought back. Changing tactics from running to passing, Stanwood started moving the ball consistently. Two drives later Karl DeBoer hit Gavin Schwietzer with an 8-yard touchdown pass early in the fourth quarter, giving the Spartans the opportunity to tie it with a two-point conversion. However, the ensuing pass attempt was incomplete and Arlington retained its lead.
The Eagles then embarked on a long drive in which Green subbed in at quarterback, almost exclusively running the read option. Arlington chewed up clock and seemed destined for the clinching score, only for an interception at the goal line — on the only pass attempt of the 13-play drive — to give Stanwood one last chance.
The Spartans were able to get the ball as far as their own 37-yard line, but Nutter’s pick ended Stanwood’s hopes and kept the Cup in Arlington.
A wild and crazy first half had a little bit of everything. There were interceptions (four), there were fumbles (three), there were penalties (15).
There were even some touchdowns, the first of which came less than four minutes into the game. Stanwood defensive lineman Jonathan McDowell, an unlikely pass defender, picked off a screen pass and returned it to the Arlington 6-yard line. Three plays later the DeBoers made their first connection, with Karl rolling left and finding Trygve open in the corner for a 7-yard touchdown that made it 7-0.
The rest of the first quarter was controlled by Arlington. The Eagles answered with an 11-play, 77-yard drive that ended when Green kept the ball on the read option and fought through arm tackles for a 17-yard touchdown run. A surprise two-point conversion gave Arlington an 8-7 lead.
The Eagles then found the end zone again just before the first quarter expired. The Spartans were pinned by a punt at their own-two line, and on their first play they fumbled. The ball bounced into the end zone, where Arlington’s Wyatt Hawthorne fell on it to increase the Eagles’ lead to 15-7.
But Stanwood capitalized on another turnover late in the second quarter to pull back within one. Again it was McDowell as this time he pounced on a fumble to give the Spartans the ball at midfield. Stanwood was the beneficiary of two 15-yard penalties to help get the Spartans in scoring position, and again the DeBoers hooked up, with Karl rolling right before finding Trygve open in the corner to make it 15-14 at halftime.
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