Wolverines impress in arena football nationals

The Marysville arena football team that won back-to-back league championships more than measured up in a first-of-its-kind national playoff tournament in Texas last month.

Undefeated in the regular season, the boys continued their perfect season all the way up to the championship game, where they fell to the North Texas Falcons.

The boys ultimately placed second out of 16 teams that had traveled to compete in the games.

"The team played very well and as their coach, I could not be more proud," said coach Dan White.

The tournament took place over two days, with games on the first day taking place at Texas Stadium, the home of the Dallas Cowboys. The second day, games took place at the Cowboys' training facility, Valley Ranch.

Marysville faced a tough challenge in the hometown Dallas Falcons in the first round, winning 12-8. They found their second rivals of the day, the Aggies of Arlington, Texas much more manageable, shutting them out while scoring 34 points of their own.

A familiar rival awaited them in the second day's competition as Marysville took care of business against the Lake Stevens Vikings, defeating them for the third time this season to the tune of 20-7. The win sent Marysville to the championship against North Texas and the Vikings to the consolation game.

"Marysville was winning the championship game up until the final minutes," White said of the game they lost 19-14. The Vikings went on to win their game and the local teams placed second and third in the junior division.

The team, comprised of players from Marysville, Lakewood and Camano Island, defeated the Arlington Eagles in the regular season championship 46-26. They will move up to compete at the senior division next year, Arena Youth Football's oldest division for football players ages 15 to 16.

Comment on this story.