Marysville upended by Arlington on the gridiron

MARYSVILLE — The Tomahawks showed that they can move the ball, but turnovers spelled doom in their first Wesco North game.

Marysville-Pilchuck lost five turnovers to Arlington en route to a 33-14 conference loss Sept. 24.

“We did fine moving the ball, but we just can’t turn the football over,” said M-P coach Brandon Carson. “That has been a problem for us a few games this year and we’ve got to find an answer for that.”

Arlington jumped out to a 19-0 lead in the first quarter, when the Eagles scored three touchdowns of 30 yards or more, including a 45-yard fumble return.

Going into the game, the Tomahawks (2-2) hadn’t lost a Western Conference North Division game in two years. They mounted a comeback, however, on a two-yard run from Tyler Thompson and an eight-yard run from Colby Merkt to cut the lead to 19-14 by halftime.

They had a chance to take the lead with just about a minute left in the half, but lost a fumble inside the Arlington 20-yard line. It was the first of two fumbles M-P would lose deep in Arlington territory.

Arlington’s Riley Cobb scored a four-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter to increase the lead 26-14, he finished with three overall touchdowns.

“This was a really big stepping stone for us and we figure that if we can beat Marysville, we have a chance to win the championship and make it to state,” Cobb said.

Dailer said that at the end of the second quarter, he had to remind his players to not get caught up in following the ball.

As the Eagles have all season, they moved the ball both on the ground and through the air, as quarterback Blake McPherson completed eight of 16 pass attempts for 186 yards and three touchdowns.

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