On Saturday, Nov. 10, at Mount Vernon High School the Arlington Junior Gold Flying Eagles won a defensive battle against the 8-1 Burlington Tigers in the NCYFL League Championship, the Super Bowl of youth football. The Tigers sought payback for their only defeat this year, a 26-12 loss at the hands of Arlington early in the season.
Burlington started out with a ground attack, pounding the ball in between the tackles. They ran a wedge, which was a different offense than they ran the last time we played them, said Eagles defensive coordinator Bill Bingham. We had to make radical adjustments in order to stop them.
Those adjustments included moving bigger players into the middle of the field to clog the center. The changes paid off as Arlington shut down what could have been a successful game plan.
Arlingtons first crack with the ball during the game was marked by a disappointing penalty call against them. Fullback Donovan Evans burst around the edge for a 50-yard gain that was nullified due to a holding penalty. Unable to make a first down following the penalty, the Eagles punted the ball to Burlington.
After one quarter of smash-mouth football, neither side could gain an advantage and the score remained 0-0. Penalties continued to plague the Eagles in the second quarter as a 20-yard run by Drew Earnhart was called back thanks to another holding penalty. Arlington threw an interception on the following play.
As the Tigers continued to move down the field in small chunks, things did not look good for the Eagles. Burlington maneuvered to within two yards of a touchdown late in the first half. But the Arlington defense held on and pushed Burlington back. Burlington could not get into the end-zone for a touchdown and was forced to settle for a field goal attempt. The kick missed left and at halftime the score remained 0-0.
Tanner Post recovered an onside kick attempt by Burlington to begin the third quarter. The Eagles offense began clicking for the first time as they moved the ball steadily along the ground. Evans took a pitch and broke several tackles on his way to the games first score. He rumbled into the end-zone to put Arlington up 6-0. A successful conversion put the Eagles ahead 8-0 as the teams prepared for a pressure-packed fourth quarter.
Burlington continued to pound the line on runs during their next drive. The Eagles defense finally broke and conceded a touchdown from the one-yard line. However, Arlington stuffed out the two-point conversion attempt and held the lead 8-6.
Burlington then recovered an onside kick and went to work against the exhausted Eagle defensive front four. They moved the ball all the way back down into the red zone before a gutsy stop by the Eagles. Arlington forced a turnover on downs close to their own goal line, taking over on offense again.
After several first downs, the Eagles gave the ball to Evans again and he thundered around the right side for a 60-yard touchdown. A missed extra point made the score 14-6.
The Arlington defense made that lead stand up as they again forced a turnover on downs from Burlington. Arlingtons offense then ran out the clock, wrapping up a 10-0 undefeated season.
All year long we played with teamwork and intensity, said Coach Bill Schwartz. It carried through to the final play of the championship. Im so proud of each and every one of them.
The 2007 Arlington Flying Eagles are Scott Bardell, Adland Benson, Jacob Bonk, Jarred Braaten, Tyler Bradford, Bradey Brummel, Caleb Burns, Terry Dawn, Max Desrosier, Drew Earnheart, Donovan Evans, Jamie Fernandez, Leo Hagel, Daniel Hansen, Jayden Jira, Brandon Kallis, Zach Kurtz, Nathan Lewis, Micah Miller, Sean Patnode, Tanner Post, Alex Robertson, Ben Schwartz, Tanner Tokarsyck and Anthony Upthegrove.