Freshman football vs Arlington

It was a clear, crisp fall evening - an almost perfect night for football. Unfortunately, the Arlington Eagles were in town and were determined to not only beat the 'Cats, but to rub dirt in their faces. Even more unfortunately, they were helped towards their goal in almost every facet of the game by the Oak Harbor team.

Starting early in the game, things went sour. On the 2nd play of the game, a Matt Burgoyne pass was tipped and intercepted by Arlington at the OH 40 and returned to the 8. 2 plays later, and after a trick 2-point conversion, it was Arlington 8, OH 0 at the 8:31 mark in the 1st quarter.

Edward Denmon took the kickoff at his own 13 and returned it to the 33. 11 plays later the ball was only on the OH 47, due to a holding penalty and a false start call, both against the Wildcats. A hurried punt only netted 8 yards, giving Arlington a 1st down on their own 47.

Arlington used a combination of run and pass to move the ball to the OH 36 when time expired in the 1st quarter. Arlington scored on a pass just 4 plays and 2 minutes later to boost the lead to 14-0.

The Eagles then kicked the ball high and short, and it dropped in a sort of 'no-man's land' behind the upbacks, and Arlington was able to cover the ball at the OH 37. The first play was a long pass that went for a score and a 20-0 lead.

Oak Harbor started their next possession at the 43. Justin Everett got the ball, but it slipped from his hands and he was able to cover it. After he secured the ball, an Arlington player came in and hit Justin, leading with his head. The 15-yard personal foul penalty gave OH a 1st down in Eagle territory. The 'Cats were able to work the ball down to the 39 and were looking at a 4th & 3. The answer to that was to give the ball to Denmon, who gained 4 yards. However, on the very next play, the ball was stripped and Arlington recovered on the 36. Arlington attempted a reverse, but it was sniffed out and stuffed at midfield. Later in the series, though, Arlington ran a double reverse with a pass downfield that resulted in yet another touchdown.

The Arlington kickoff bounced into the end zone. On the 1st down play, the center/quarterback exchange was fumbled and Arlington was able to cover the ball at the 19. Arlington scored again on a pass play from the OH 5, and the score stood at 34-0 as the teams broke for halftime.

The Eagle received the 2nd half kickoff at their own 41, and even though there was a nice QB sack by Colin Higginbotham and Brent Ryan, Arlington was able to score yet again, pushing the lead to 40-0.

The Wildcats finally started to get on track, taking the ball from their own 37 to the Arlington 25 on alternating Everett and Denmon runs. On a 4th & 3 play, Burgoyne handed off to Gabe Dye who started running to the right, stopped and passed back to Burgoyne who ran to the end zone untouched. Burgoyne kept the ball and score a 2-point PAT to make the score 40-8.

Arlington ran 3 plays on offense before fumbling the snap, which OH recovered on the 49. A great pass reception by Peter Franssen and a run by Everett moved the ball to the 25. At that point, Burgoyne dropped back and threw a long pass that looked like a sure interception. However, the defender let the ball bounce off his fingertips and it went straight into Denmon's hands at the 7, and he took it in. Justin Everett caught a pass for 2 more points, and with 6:58 left in the game it was Arlington 40, OH 16.

This is when Arlington started to show their true colors. Facing a 4th & 14 at midfield and around 4 minutes left in the game, most people would expect a team leading 40-16 to punt. Not Arlington. The lined up to punt and threw deep. The ball was intercepted by Franssen and returned to the 40, but the refs called defensive pass interference and gave Arlington a 1st down at the OH 36. With less that 3 1/2 minutes left and a 4th and 10, still at the 36, Arlington didn't punt, but ran another reverse that appeared to go for a TD, but it was called back for an illegal block. Now with a 4th & 23 at the 49 and 2 1/2 minutes left, Arlington STILL didn't punt, but threw a deep pass that was incomplete at the OH 20.

Oak Harbor took the ball down to the 35, but Arlington intercepted another OH pass at the 12, returning it to the 19. Now, with only 1:45 left in the game and still holding a 40-16 lead, most teams would run up the middle, or even start taking a knee. Not Arlington. They ran the ball around the end up to the OH 48. 2 plays later, with only 7 seconds left at the OH 44, Arlington STILL didn't take a knee, but rushed back to the line to get off one last play, which they threw downfield but was incomplete at the OH 10.

Most of the 4th quarter showed everyone in the stands what a totally classless act the Arlington Eagles Freshman team was in that game.