ARLINGTON – The Storm outgained the Eagles in yardage, 394-216, and Squalicum also ran 76 plays to Arlington’s 30 plays, but the only stat that mattered was the scoreboard. The Eagles defeated the Storm 33-7 in the WesCo 3A North Division opener on Friday night.
How did it happen? Arlington took advantage of every mistake, and Squalicum wasn’t able to capitalize on long drives. It also helps that the Eagles returned two interceptions for touchdowns.
The Storm did get on the board just before halftime when quarterback Mason Binning found tight end Cesar Vasquez from 14 yards out. Squalicum also was able to intercept three passes in the first half, but only came away with seven points. Sophomore Kai Posey intercepted a pair of passes, and fellow sophomore Reed Richardson also picked off a pass.
Sophomore Ben Schlenbaker had another huge game behind his strong offensive line, rushing for 192 yards on 29 carries. He also led his team in receiving with five receptions for 40 yards. Binning connected on 18-of-28 passes, hooking up with nine different receivers for a total of 132 yards.
Senior defensive lineman Adam McCluskey finished with three tackles behind the line of scrimmage to lead the Squalicum defense.
The Storm (1-1) will play their first home game of the season when they host Marysville-Pilchuck (2-0) on Friday.
Squalicum 7
Arlington 33
SQU 0 7 0 0 – 7
ARL 6 6 14 7 – 33
ARL – 14 yard touchdown pass (kick failed)
ARL – 32 yard interception return for a touchdown (pass failed)
SQU – Vasquez 14 pass from Binning (Schrock kick)
ARL – 13 yard touchdown run (kick good)
ARL – 94 yard interception return for a touchdown (kick good)
ARL – 4 yard touchdown run (kick good)
SQU ARL
46-263 Rushing Att-Yards 15-98
18-30-3 Comp-Att-Int 9-15-3
132 Passing yards 118
Individual Leaders
RUSHING – SQU: Schlenbaker 29-192, Aslan 11-37, Owens 2-29, Huerta 1-19, Hawkinson 1-7, Binning 2-(-21). ARL: N/A.
PASSING – SQU: Binning 18-28-3-132, Richardson 0-1-0-0, Nielsen 0-1-0-0. ARL: N/A.
RECEIVING – SQU: Schlenbaker 5-40, Vasquez 3-33, Owens 3-15, Jabbora 2-17, Posey 1-12, Aslan 1-5, Weston 1-4, Richardson 1-3, Scammell 1-3. ARL: N/A.
