Maybe not making the playoffs isn’t all bad.
While Arlington and Lakewood did make the playoffs they ended up losing, while Marysville-Pilchuck and Marysville Getchell got to end their seasons with wins.
In Arlington, the Eagles played one of their worst halves of the year, committing four turnovers, but they still only trailed Bethel 21-15 at the intermission. Since Arlington usually is a second-half team, and actually won three games this year in the closing minutes if not seconds, they had to feel pretty good about their chances.
Problem is, they ended up being shut out in the second half, falling to the Braves 50-15.
The first half was ugly for the Eagles.
Quarterback Anthony Whitis fumbled on their first possession, but the defense held. However, Arlington fumbled the punt, Bethel recovered, and scored on a 1-yard run by Josh Walker, who punished Arlington the entire game, often taking three or four Eagles to bring him down.
After a QB sack and a third dropped pass, Whitis was intercepted. The defense needed to come up with a big play, and it did when Daylin Pierce broke in front of a receiver and returned the interception 70 yards for a score.
After a long kickoff return, Walker again did most of the damage, ending with a 3-yard score to make it 14-6.
After a very short punt, Bethel scored again when Will Latu made a great catch in the end zone after a 29-yard pass from Nate Hughes.
Arlington then put its normally potent offensive attack into gear, responding to the score in just two minutes, going 70 yards. Whitis connected on a long bomb to Joey Stretch to get it going. After another completion took it to the 10-yard line, Whitis ran it in from there.
Arlington got the ball back after Jacob Kalahar sacked Hughes. After a couple of short punts and an exchange of interceptions, Cole Cramer gave Arlington hope with a 38-yard field goal at the half.
But the second half was all Bethel. With Walker’s running and Hughes’ passing the Braves took the second-half kickoff and went 74 yards in 3 1/2 minutes, culminating in a 25-yard pass from Hughes to Cameron Parker. After another interception, Latu scored the first of three rushing TDs that went for 6, 8 and 2 yards.
Walker ended the game with 109 yards on 19 carries, Latu had 113 yards on 18 tries. Hughes went 13 for 22 for 165 yards passing.
Whitis had 13 carries for 46 yards to lead Arlington. He was 13 for 30 passing for 107 yards. Stretch caught four balls for 52 yards. The Eagles were without leading receiver Griffin Gardoski, who injured his left hand in practice last week when a stiff arm got caught in a defender’s face mask. He grabbed 13 TD passes this year.
Each team hurt itself with penalties: Bethel 12 times for 147 yards, and Arlington 11 times for 74 yards.
Arlington ended the season with a record of 7-3.
In the 2A playoffs, Lakewood fell to Burlington-Edison 29-12.
The Cougars trailed just 7-6 at halftime, but the game got out of hand after that.
Lakewood QB Jared Taylor threw a 2-yard pass to Carson Chrisman for a touchdown in the third quarter for Lakewood, which ended the year 5-5.
In a season-ending 3A Wesco game, QB Caleb Koellmer’s 1-yard TD with seven seconds left lifted MG to a 43-40 win over Cascade.
The MG passing game was in sync most of the night as Koellmer went 22 of 34 for 313 yards.
Koellmer started the scoring with a 1-yard run, but Cascade took the lead with two rushing scores, the second a 78-yarder.
MG responded with a big play of its own, a 78-yard pass from Koellmer to Nathan Broome. Cascade scored on a short-pass play to make it 21-14 at halftime.
Koellmer’s 8-yard run in the third quarter tied the game, but Max Nelson scored his second long run of the game, this one a 76-yarder, to put Cascade back in front. Charger Cheron Smith scored on a 1-yard run and with the kick MG went ahead 28-27. After a Cascade score in the back-and-forth battle, Landyn Olsen caught a 29-yard pass from Koellmer, and a two-point conversion put MG up by three.
Cascade scored to take the lead before Koellmer’s final heroics.
Broome, Olsen, Dylan Rice and Brendan McPherson caught four passes each in the victory.
MG ended the season with a record of 5-5. Cascade finished 2-8.
Thursday night, M-P won its game to finish the year at 7-3.
Girls swimming
Lexi Kilbourn placed fourth and Devon Keaton fifth to be Marysville Pilchuck’s and Marysville Getchell’s top finishers at the District 3A swim championships at Snohomish Saturday. Sophie Alt of MG was 12th in the same event.
M-P’s 200 freestyle team was sixth with Jennica Harper, Maddy Sulya, Alexis Bennett and Katelynn Leary. Placing ninth for MG were Isabella Bennett, Jada Dahl, Taryn Neal and Maddy Grandbois. The same M-P team placed seventh in the 400 medley.
In the 100 butterfly, Leary placed 10th and Bennett 14th.
M-P was 12th and MG 13th in the 400 free relay. On the Tommies team were: Kelsey Edge, Serena Anderson, Emily Anderson and Cassidy O’Neal. For the Chargers, swimming were: Grandbois, Neal, Dahl and Shelby Sawyer.
Placing 13th in the 200 individual medley was Alexis Bennett of M-P.
Sulya was 14th in the 100 breast, Harper 15th in the 100 free and Grandbois 16th in the 50 free.
No local swimmers qualified for state.
Cross country
Arlington placed third in state Saturday in the Tri Cities.
Placing 13th for the Eagles was Quincy Fankhauser with a time of 16 minutes, 7 seconds. Teammate Noah Loftis was 16th, and placing 29th was Eagle Chance Pearston.
Volleyball
Arlington starts the 3A District 1 Tournament Tuesday with a 7 p.m. game at Ferndale.
