Friday night we will be at John C. Larson Stadium in Arlington; and on this eighth week of the regular season we step outside league play for the game between the #9 ranked Arlington Eagles of the Wesco 3A North Division and the Mariner Marauders of the Western Conference 4A.
The Mariner Marauders started the season like a house afire; winning their first 3 games of the season over Lynnwood, Cascade and Shorewood. But then, the opponents got decidedly tougher, and the Marauders have lost their last 4 games; dropping losses to Monroe (who subbed in for Meadowdale at the last minute), to Glacier Peak, to Lake Stevens, and just three nights ago dropped a 41-14 decision to cross-district rival Kamiak. That game was played on Tuesday this week because of the 10 day required time-out due to a Covid exposure in the Kamiak program. Mariner wraps up their regular season next Friday hosting Jackson; the Marauders won’t make the playoffs, but will play a Week 10 cross-over game against a Wesco 3A team, to be decided. Mariner last went to the post-season in 2016 and made it to the quarterfinals. Damian Bagley is the ninth leading rusher in the area, with 623 yards and 6 touchdowns. Mariner is 1-3 in league player and 3-4 overall.
The Arlington Eagles pulled off the upset of the year; maybe the decade, with last week’s 28-14 win over the number-one-ranked-for-one-week Marysville Pilchuck Tomahawks. We weren’t sure who was more stunned; Marysville Pilchuck for the loss; Arlington for the win; or those in the pressbox that kept muttering “boy, I didn’t see that one coming.” Needless to say, it was a shocker. But not apparently to the Eagles’ players and coaches. Trent Nobach is the leading passer in the entire area, with a yardage lead of nearly 400 yards over everybody else at 1761 yards and 23 touchdowns. When Nobach was asked about his receivers, he said that there are 8 guys that he likes to pass to; he then rattled off 9 names. If you’re on the field, you’d better be ready for the ball to be heading in your direction; top three on the receiving end are:
PLAYOFF TIE-BREAKERS:
WESCO 3A SOUTH
If Snohomish beats Monroe tonight and Edmonds-Woodway beats Mountlake Terrace; Shorecrest beats Shorewood; Lynnwood beats Meadowdale: then Snohomish is #1, E-W is #2; Monroe is #3; Lynnwood is #4 & Shorecrest is #5.
If Monroe beats Snohomish and E-W wins: Monroe is #1, E-W is #2 and Snohomish is #3 by the number draw.
WESCO 3A NORTH
Arlington is done; if Pilchuck beats Oak Harbor; Ferndale beats Getchell; Stanwood beat Mt. Vernon; Ferndale is #1; Arlington is #2; Pilchuck is #3; Stanwood is #4 & Oak Harbor is #5
NO predetermined slots for Week 10…committee will determine matchups.
3A will have 16 games (entire state is in the Agreement) and the 16 winners will go to the State Seeding Committee to determine the WIAA Bracket
4A West side will set up 11 games and fill 11 slots into the WIAA Bracket
High School Football on KRKO AM 1380 & FM 95.3; streaming live at www.krko.com and on the KRKO Phone App. Tom Lafferty, coach Joel Vincent and Steve Willits will have the call on Friday night, 6:30 pm Pregame Show; 7:00 pm Kick-Off, live from John C. Larson Stadium in Arlington.
