Coming off of a strong win against the crosstown rival Marysville-Pilchuck Tomahawks, the Eagles varsity football teams looks strong heading into their last regular season game Friday against Everett. Securing at least a share of the Wesco title last Friday has guaranteed the Eagles the top seed in the upcoming crossover games, and the team hopes to carry this momentum into the playoffs.

Everett is coming off of two straight losses in which their offense has struggled. Everett’s junior quarterback Murdock Rutledge (‘17) started the season strong, winning The Herald Player of the Week in week two when he finished 21-35, passing for 322 yards and four scores against Cascade in a 48-32 win. As the season has progressed, Everett’s explosiveness has been stifled. Heading into Friday’s game, the Seagulls sit at 4-3 overall, and 1-3 in conference play.

With a tough defense, known for its effective defensive line made up of seniors Benicio Madrigal-Ries (‘16), who recently recorded an impressive 27 tackles against Marysville-Pilchuck, Dakota Saltero (‘16), and Kenny Mills (‘16), the Eagles look to shut down Rutledge, the centerpiece of the Seagulls offense. At linebacker, Hunter Gardoski (‘16) looks to fill the void left by George Spady (‘16), who sustained a concussion on a head-to-head collision in week 6 against Stanwood. With Rutledge likely to be pressured quickly by the Arlington front seven, look for short passing to play a role in the Everett offense.

On offense, the Eagles look to uphold their league play average of 43.3 points per game. The connection between senior quarterback Drew Kalahar (‘16) and his standout receivers, Kyle Bayer (‘16) and Donavan Sellgren (‘16), has been the most consistent area of offense for Arlington. In the week two matchup against Snohomish, Kalahar went 37-56, throwing for 447 yards and 5 scores, 4 of those being caught by Sellgren.

On the ground, Devon Nutter (‘17) has taken over the majority of snaps on offense, with the injured Kyler Smith (‘16) having limited participation in games. Without a strong effort on Friday from the Seagull’s front seven, look for Nutter’s aggressive running style to play a role in exploiting their defense.

The Eagles hold the tiebreaker over Marysville-Pilchuck in league play, which means regardless of the outcome of their last game of the regular season, they will be the number one seed coming out of Wesco North. Arlington will play the winner of the Edmonds-Woodway vs. Glacier Peak game to determine their seeding in the district playoffs. With a win against Everett on Friday, the Eagles could have enough momentum to make a playoff run that hasn’t been seen from Arlington football for years.