Arlington High Colts secure playoff berth with shootout win over Arlington Martin

The Arlington Colts punched their ticket to the Texas High School football playoffs with a dominant 49-31 win over district rival Arlington Martin Warriors on Nov. 8 at UTA Maverick Stadium.

Arlington head coach Scott Peach said the team didn’t play this like any ordinary football game.

“We had a chip on our shoulder, we had something to prove,” he said. “Because there was a chance we were going to get left out.”

The team was slow to start offensively, with just two field goals in their first two possessions, but they got into a rhythm quickly.

On the Colts’ first eight possessions, they scored eight times. On their ninth, on 4th-and-nine on the Martin 25-yard line, they couldn’t convert.

But, it was in the fourth quarter, and the defense forced the Warriors to fumble. The Colts let the last minute and a half wind off the game clock.

“For us to play at that level is exciting,” said Peach. “It was a big deal because our defense was catching up to their offense, so we had to keep scoring, and our defense caught up in a big way in the second half.”

Peach listed a number of players that stood out tonight, showing the depth of their rosters and how many threats the Colts are working with going into the playoffs.

Quarterback Coleman Cravens, he said was “special.” He finished the game with 126 yards passing, 53 yards rushing, one passing touchdown, and one rushing touchdown.

He called wide receiver Isaiah Robinson one of the best offensive football players in the state of Texas. Tonight, he had 44 yards receiving, 86 yards rushing and a pair of touchdowns.

Peach also mentioned receiver Jamar Burton and receiver Tayshaun Goston, who each had a touchdown against Martin. Running back Abe Otokiti also had a share in Arlington’s scoring.

That long list of contributors will be something to watch come the Colts’ first playoff matchup against Richardson Pearce.

“We’re blessed to have those pieces, and we’ve been fortunate because we stayed healthy most of the year,” said Peach. “When we have those pieces, it’s my job to make sure they have the ball in their hands, and we did that tonight.”

Peach said Martin has an ability to turn a game around with momentum swings, but the Colts beat them to the punch tonight.

With under five minutes left in the first half, Arlington scored on a 2-yard rushing touchdown from Robertson. The Colts went for an onside kick and recovered.

It took the Colts three plays and 50 seconds to reach the end zone again, this time with a 32-yard rushing touchdown from Burton.

“I’m going to credit the kickoff team because they weren’t able to get a big play on us that way,” said Peach.

Those two series changed the score from Arlington down 14-6 to Arlington leading 21-14.

Martin scored on its next possession, but the Colts had another answer. Otokiti found the end zone for an 18-yard rushing touchdown, with the point-after making Arlington’s lead 28-21 going into halftime.

The Colts defense let up a field goal on Martin’s first possession of the third quarter, but it’s all they would give up until a touchdown with 10 minutes left in the game made the final score-to-be 49-31 in favor of Arlington.

Arlington Martin’s spark was in Brooks Brigance, who is listed as a wide receiver, but he did a little bit of everything. He finished with 83 yards rushing, 29 yards receiving and 22 yards passing. He had one rushing touchdown.

Arlington secured its spot in the playoffs along with district member Bowie High School. The Colts are a two-seed and will face another 2-seed in Richardson’s J.J. Pearce Mustangs.

“As of about four hours ago, we didn’t know if we were going to be in or not,” said Peach. “We played great in all three phases, and that’s what I’m excited about. We earned everything.”