With a new quarterback at the helm in junior Kaden Foust, and plenty of production to replace at the skill positions due to graduation, Arlington took some time getting into the swing of things during a 14-10 loss to Raymond Central on Friday night.
The Mustangs had the biggest threat in what eventually ended up a scoreless first quarter, but a 25-yard touchdown pass from Rylan Stover to Isaak Frederickson was called back due to an ineligible man downfield.
A sack for a big loss on fourth down gave the Eagles great field position, but they were unable to take advantage. After a short pooch punt and a stand on defense, the teams headed to the second quarter with zeros on the board.
Putting together a solid drive in the second quarter that took a chunk of time off the clock, kicker Colton Wilmott overcame a rough snap and hold for a 28-yard field goal that bounced off the crossbar to put Arlington up 3-0.
“When he’s got the shot, we trust him,” Eagles head coach Colter Mattson said.
Forcing a turnover on downs deep in their own territory to close out the first half, the Eagles went to the locker room clinging to that three-point lead. But, straight out of the gate in the third quarter, a nearly 9-minute drive by the home side resulted in a 5-yard touchdown run from Foust that put Arlington up 10-0.
“He ran the ball and he worked hard,” Mattsen said about his new field general, who had 18 carries for 89 yards. “I think he’s gonna be a heck of a quarterback, and we’ll just keep coaching him up. He’s gonna keep getting better every week.”
The lead was quickly put in jeopardy as Stover connected with Reid Otto for an 84-yard Raymond Central score. Stover's two-point conversion keeper was successful and, just like that, the Eagles were clinging to a small lead again.
The emphatic touchdown clearly had an effect on AHS, as it was unable to score for the rest of the game.
“They had one big play and I think we really got our heads down,” Foust said.
Mattsen cited body language as something to work on in the upcoming week of practice.
With the score still at 10-8 heading into the fourth quarter, the Mustangs took over at their own 16 with nearly 7 minutes left in the game after forcing a turnover-on-downs defensively.
A big conversion on 4th-and-8 kept the drive alive and, eventually, the Mustangs marched down the field on a drive capped off by a 1-yard Stover score. The 2-point conversion attempt was unsuccessful as the Eagles still had more than 2 minutes to salvage a game they once led by 10 late in the third.
They were unable to, turning the ball over on downs and falling by four points after a few victory formation kneels from Raymond Central.
Big plays here and there made the comeback possible for the Mustangs, and eliminating those mistakes is something Arlington will need to do in the future.
“Like Coach (Mattsen) always tells us, ‘Focus on doing your job and not anyone else’s,'” Foust said. “I feel like we were so up and into it, we always wanted to be the one getting the tackle, breaking it up. Just finding what your job is and completing your job is what’s gonna get the stop.”
Foust finished with just seven pass attempts, completing three of them for 22 yards. Kaden Pittman also ran the ball 19 times, racking up 63 yards.
The run-pass ratio was by design with a decent amount of Foust’s pass attempts coming at the end of the game with the team trying to get down the field quickly.
“We knew that that’s gonna be our strength, being able to run the ball,” Mattson said. “We’ve got a quarterback that can run the ball. We’ve got some pretty downhill, tough running backs. That was kind of our game plan, establish the run and work some passing in.”
Despite the inability to hold onto a week one lead, the team is confident it can bounce back. No program is perfect after week one, and those who came before provided a blueprint on how to get things done at the varsity level.
“(Last year’s) senior group was close and they kind of put that upon us,” Foust said. “I feel like that helps us to motivate each other and give confidence to each other.”
