3 takeaways from Arlington vs. Graham-Kapowsin: Co-4A Wesco football champions soar in bad weather

Caleb Reed rushes for 171 yards and three touchdowns in Arlington's 42-6 win over the 2023 state runner-up

Leyton Martin and the Arlington Eagles handled Grahamt-Kapowsin, 42-6, in the 2024 WIAA Class 4A first round Saturday. / Photo by Todd Milles

ARLINGTON, Wash. - Worried about a game played in a frozen-rain downpour with whipping wind gusts that send baseball caps to orbit?

Have no fear - it is Arlington running back Caleb Reed to the rescue.

Arlington's top back rushed for 171 yards and three touchdowns, two coming in the second half as the co-4A Wesco champions took advantage of four second-half Graham-Kapowsin turnovers to pull away for a 42-6 Class 4A first-round playoff victory Saturday at John C. Larson Stadium.

Leyton Martin also threw three touchdown passes, including a pair of scores to favorite target Jake Willis as Arlington earned a second consecutive state quarterfinal date, this time in its new classification of Class 4A with top-seeded Camas.

Here are four takeaways from the Arlington-Graham-Kapowsin game:

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RIDING A BULL TO VICTORY

When Reed woke up and saw the miserable weather forecast Saturday, did he have an idea he might have a busy day?

He smiled: "I mean, yeah ... I guess."

Reed has been dominating defenses all season. At 5-foot-10 and195 pounds, he is built like a brick wall. Yet hhas a gliding running style with impeccable balance - and was coming off a career-high 309 rushing yards in the team's state play-in victory over North Creek.

Arlington set the tone for his usage on its first series - Reed carried it seven times, including the final 4-yard touchdown run to give the hosts a quick 6-0 lead.

I"n this weather, with our run game … getting ahead was a big deal," Arlington coach Greg Dailer said.

Reed also scored twice in the second half - on runs of 11 and 31 yards.

"He is one of the strongest guys, pound for pound, on the field," Dailer said. "He just keeps his legs moving and trusts his linemen. He is very hard to stop."

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JUST WASN'T GRAHAM-KAPOWSIN'S DAY

As stalled as the offense was in the first half, Graham-Kapowsin - trailing 21-0 - did provide a glimmer of hope when it drove 82 yards over seven minutes to score its lone touchdown.

At one point, the visitors ran it 13 consecutive times, feeding running back Blake Pearson, who ripped off large-chunk runs. He finished with 119 yards on 16 carries.

"It was what was working," Graham-Kapowsin coach Jeff Logan said.

And with six seconds remaining, A.J. Tuivaiave found Mazaia Roberson for a 9-yard touchdown to trim it to 21-6.

But Graham-Kapowsin fumbled the kickoff coming out of halftime, and Reed's 11-yard touchdown run three plays later essentially finished off the state runners-up.

"We just got behind the '8'-ball," Logan said. "It is what it is. There were times we didn't execute. We didn't do a good enough job of preparing the kids."

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ARLINGTON PERPLEXED - AND PEEVED - OVER SEEDING RESET

Two weeks ago, when the state play-in matchups were announced, Arlington was essentially awarded a No. 6 seed playing 4A KIngCo program North Creek (a game it won 56-35).

So, was Dailer and company irked to see Arlington on the 8-line for WIAA seeding (and behind 4A Wesco foe Lake Stevens, which it had defeated)?

"It did for about an hour, but then I was like, 'Whatever. We are in the tournament, and you have to beat them all to win it all,'" Dailer said.

"But we felt we should have been ranked higher."

Dailer said his players were on point all week preparing for Graham-Kapowsin.

"(The seeding) bothered our guys more than it did me," Dailer said. "You could tell they took it personally."

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