The Arlington High football team defeated the Lamar Vikings last Friday night 31-23.

The first quarter belonged to the Colts as they dominated on both sides of the ball. The Colt defense forced two early punts from the Vikings, allowing only eight rushing yards and zero passing yards in those two drives.

The offense equaled the success of the defense by scoring on two straight possessions. The attack of senior QB D’Montae Davis and junior RB Qaklon Fore scored on rushes of 12 and 71 yards, respectively. The Colts couldn’t have asked for a better start.

The second quarter did not go as well for Arlington. Lamar added a field goal early in the quarter to cut the deficit to 14-3. Both offenses couldn’t get anything going until Arlington muffed a punt giving Lamar the ball deep in Arlington territory. Lamar scored three plays later, but missed the extra point to make the score 14-9 going into halftime.  

The third quarter saw only a total of seven points from either team. The Colts’ first play from scrimmage in the second half was a 46-yard jet sweep run from junior WR Andra Key. Arlington finished the long drive with a touchdown on a 10-yard keeper from Davis.

The defense of Arlington bent but did not break in the quarter. They gave up a long drive, but forced a turnover on downs at the Colt 5-yard line. Head coach Scott Peach was proud of the effort they gave.

“They play every snap like it’s the most important play of the game,” he said. “Our scheme is good. Coach Dibble has done an outstanding job on our defensive staff.”

The fourth quarter was a completely different story as both offenses found success. The Vikings scored first on a touchdown pass with 10:05 remaining in the game, making the score 21-16. The Colts did help Lamar by giving them over 30 free yards in penalties. Arlington amassed over 100 yards in penalties in the game, but coaches are not overly concerned about the issue.

“We got to clean that up a little bit, but most of the penalties were us playing hard,” Peach said. “It wasn’t silly fouls, we had a couple of facemasks, things like that. We were playing our butts off at that time.”

The very next drive resulted in a Colt touchdown, as Davis found junior Trey Cleveland for a 15-yard reception in the endzone. This catch would only be the beginning of a huge quarter for both players.

Lamar responded with a quick touchdown to make the score 28-23 with 4:25 remaining in the fourth quarter. Arlington needed a sustained offensive drive to put the game on ice.

Facing a third and 13 at their own 23-yard line, the Colts needed a big play to keep the ball out of Lamar’s hands. Davis found Cleveland for a 49-yard catch and run on arguably the biggest play of the game.

“Lamar had trouble stopping the run with five in the box, so they dropped one down,” Peach said. “When they did that it opened up the passing game. Credit to D’Montae Davis and Trey Cleveland, they hooked up for four big plays in the game.”

Arlington added a 26-yard field goal at the end of the drive to give them an eight point lead. Lamar had 1:57 to attempt to tie the game. After getting to the Arlington 41-yard line, the defense held their ground and didn’t allow another yard. The Colts had won by a score of 31-23.

WHAT’S NEXT FOR THE COLTS:

The Colts will take on Bowie next in their final home game of the year. Bowie is coming off a 26-14 loss against North Crowley.

Arlington will look to “blackout” the Volunteers this Friday night at 7:30 P.M. at UTA Stadium.