ARLINGTON — When the football season ends, players find different ways to unwind.

The Arlington football team hosted Shorecrest in the traditional North-South crossover games Nov. 7, creaming the Scots 26-0 on a wet, muddy field.

“Nights like this, it’s such an advantage for us,” Arlington coach Greg Dailer said, referring to the field conditions, adding that the practice fields were in similarly murky shape. “It’s mental for the other team.”

While Arlington missed a couple of opportunities to run up the score, they did more than enough to win, scoring three minutes into the second quarter as Arlington quarterback Andy Smith connected with sophomore receiver Griffith Ginnis for a 16-yard touchdown pass.

Arlington enjoyed good field position for much of the game, with a typical example the ensuing Shorecrest punt. Buried deep in their own territory, Arlington returned the ball to the Scots’ 17-yard line. Neither team scored in the remainder of the half, with the slick conditions creating headaches on special teams.

The Eagles fumbled the extra point when junior Tyler Fraunholtz returned the kickoff 80 yards for a touchdown to begin the second half.

Arlington’s Blake Petersen blocked a Shorecrest punt on the next drive, giving the Eagles great field position for their next drive which culminated in a 17-yard scoring pass by Smith to Ginnis for a 20-0 lead.

Senior Jerod Baker sacked the Shorecrest quarterback late in the third quarter, forcing the Scots to punt, on which junior returner Connor Varnell returned the ball 50 yards.

Though the ball was fumbled, Shorecrest made no significant progress, turning the ball over on downs and setting up senior running back Sherman Pruitt’s 18-yard touchdown two minutes into the fourth quarter.

“We were able to move the ball pretty well,” Dailer said after the game.

Although several key seniors were lost to injury during the season, Dailer said he expects Baker to draw interest from Division I-AA schools now that the season has ended. He added that Pruitt hopes to attend the Air Force Academy, but the team co-captain’s playing prospects were unclear.

Arlington returns much of its receiving corps and all three of its quarterbacks. Smith saw a lot more snaps late in the season as fellow junior Jake Parduhn moved out to wide receiver and running back. In addition, the Eagles have a strong freshman prospect in Blake McPherson.

“It will be an interesting offseason,” Dailer said.