Arlington stays unbeaten behind QB Rogers and Tobias’ huge INT
Weatherford hadn’t beaten Arlington High in a football game since 1954.
And the Kangaroos will have to wait for another year as the Colts rolled to a 49-16 victory in a Class 6A Division II bi-district game Friday at Maverick Stadium.
The Colts advance to the area round and will face Amarillo Tascosa (8-3), a 57-35 winner over El Paso Pebble Hills. The game is scheduled for 7 p.m. Friday at Memorial Stadium in Wichita Falls.
Quarterback Jahari Rogers led Arlington (11-0), ranked No. 4 in the Star-Telegram Class 6A Power Rankings, passing for 203 yards and four touchdowns. Rogers completed 11-of-21 passes.
Arlington led 28-3 at the half with Rogers throwing scoring passes of 43 yards to Kris Sims and two seven yarders, both to Trey Cleveland.
Arlington defensive back Kaleb Tobias returned an interception 56 yards for a TD for the Colts. It was one of two interceptions by Arlington. The second by Tucker Thompson, just two plays after Tobias’, set up the first Rogers-to-Cleveland seven-yard score that gave Arlington a 21-0 lead with 5:48 left in the first quarter.
It was the 14th win in a row for Arlington over Weatherford (4-7) in the series.
Game was over when: After recovering an Arlington fumble and down 21-0, Weatherford drove from its own one yard line to the Colts 17. The drive took 15 plays, but the Roos had to settle for a 34-yard Alex Rodriguez field goal. Arlington answered on its next series with the second Rogers-to-Cleveland seven-yard TD to take a 28-3 lead with 2:53 left in the first half.
Play of the game: Kaleb Tobias’ 56-yard interception return for a touchdown was a great play and came at a big time for Arlington. Tobias stepped in front of a pass in the flat and raced down the right sideline for the score. It was on a fourth down play and gave the Colts a 14-0 lead at the time and seemed to shake the Kangaroos offense.
Offensive player of the game: Jahari Rogers made it look easy. In addition to his 203 passing yards and four touchdowns, Rogers added 45 rushing yards on four carries.
Defensive player of the game: The Arlington defense was stellar led by linebacker X’Zavion McDonald. The defensive line contained the run and put ample pressure on Weatherford quarterback Ken Seals. The secondary came away with two picks and allowed 15 completions in 37 Weatherford passing attempts and 125 yards through the air.
Unsung hero of the game: Running backs Zander Benson and B.J. Rogers carried much of the load in the second half, helping Arlington control the game. Benson rushed for 91 yards on eight carries with a 12-yard scoring run. B.J. Rogers carried 11 times for 68 yards and capped the scoring for the Colts with a two-yard run that gave Arlington a 49-10 lead with 6:08 left in the game.
What’s next? Arlington advances to the area round of the playoffs and will meet Amarillo Tascosa at 7 p.m. Friday at Memorial Stadium in Wichita Falls. Weatherford’s season ends with a 4-7 overall record.
This story was originally published November 16, 2018 at 10:49 PM.