The Stanwood Spartans took home the win in the annual Stilly Cup game against the Arlington Eagles due to a late game fumble in the endzone at home Friday, October 10.
Head coach Greg Dailer debriefed the practice plan going into this Friday, saying, “Every week we’re trying to get better. You know we’ve done that. We’ve had a good recovery from the start to our season, so we just want to continue that.”
The team has indeed recovered nicely, with three landslide victories in a row against Jackson, Kamiak, and Cascade.
In the days leading up to the Cup, Dailer had this to say about his team when asked how he keeps the guys hyped. “I actually have the opposite job. I’ve got to try to keep them focused and not let them get too wound up and spun up because it’s such a big game and the kids get so excited for it… I need to keep them focused so that we can prepare and not get too spun up about it.”
The team spirit from the Eagles is unmatched, from repping the uniforms to singing in the locker room, they obviously love what they do.
On Friday morning, starting quarterback Kaleb Bartlett-Wood (‘26) talked about his game-day routine, “I just do my same routine. A lot of worship music. I go home, Tre (Haines) and Tanner Van Dongen and I go to Jersey Mike’s before every game, get some good food and then just focusing on what I have to do tonight, go over the plays we’re going to run.”
When there’s so much pressure behind games, it’s important to keep a simple mindset and treat it just like any other game, which Bartlett-Wood clearly does. By keeping his routine the same every time, he allows himself to stay focused and prepared.
Bartlett-Wood later told how his biggest inspirations to work as hard as he does are Trent Nobach and Leyton Martin, former quarterbacks for Arlington High school. “I looked up both of them, their work ethic, how they led everyone around the field. It was really inspiring.” Bartlett-Wood certainly lives by these mentalities, leading on and off the field and hustling everywhere he goes.
Dylan Durfee (‘26), a senior receiver for the varsity squad shared some of his research on Stanwood. “They got a good running game… So we’ve got a lot of blitzing formations and such that we do, we put some new blitz packages to try to stop their running back from plowing through us. Their quarterback, you know, throwing-wise definitely is not his strength. He’s a good runner as well, so you have to keep him contained in the pocket.”
Kickoff started at 7:00, with Stanwood putting early game pressure on the Eagles. The Spartans secured their first touchdown early in the first quarter when a receiver was left undefended. They tacked on two more touchdowns in the second, ending the half 21-0.
After a stellar halftime show and a homecoming court showcasing, the Eagles came back rested and ready to play. Arlington punched in their first touchdown near the start of the third with a short catch from Durfee. Stanwood responded shortly after, making it 7-28.
In the fourth, Bartlett-Wood found Senior Eli Rae (‘26) and threw a 40 yard dime, which he caught while being double covered, cutting Stanwood’s lead in half. Durfee followed suit, picking up his second touchdown of the night, making it a single score game. Sophomore Shane Wohlleben was the knight in shining armor for Arlington, taking it to the house and tying it up with 2 minutes left on the clock. After a back and forth battle for the last two minutes, the luck finally ran out.
The Spartans had the Eagles backed up against their own endzone with 17 seconds left. The ball was snapped and dropped, with Stanwood Senior Michael Eagle (‘26), ironically, diving onto it, ending the game in a turnover touchdown frenzy.
Clearly, Durfee’s research helped him out, because he had one of the best games of his career, with 6 receptions, 2 touchdowns, 76 receiving yards.
Though the game didn’t go Arlington’s way, it’s important to mention that the Eagles never gave up. They kept fighting until the very end, coming back from a 21-0 deficit.
