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Arbor View clinches Northwest League with 55-21 rout of Legacy

Arbor View players dumped Gatorade on coach Dan Barnson after Thursday night’s game to celebrate their biggest win of the season. For the third consecutive year and the fourth time in five years, the Aggies clinched the Northwest League title with a 55-21 road victory over Legacy.

“This is kind of a three-trophy night for us,” Barnson said of the league crown, Battle of the Bulls rivalry trophy and Thursday Night Lights hardware.

Arbor View (7-1, 5-0 Northwest League) seized the lead early and never looked back. The opening drive lasted 16 plays, took 8:10, went for 80 yards and was capped by a 40-yard touchdown reception by Deago Stubbs, the first of two scores for the junior running back.

While Stubbs has been the go-to guy all season, the Aggies knew Legacy had game-planned for him, and early on went to a different back. Fullback Andrew Wagner, who had 284 yards all season, broke free on a 33-yard run on the second play of the game, which foreshadowed a big night from the senior.

Wagner finished with 165 yards on 13 carries, including a 67-yard TD run as time expired in the first quarter to break a 7-7 tie. It was the last time Arbor View would be tied. He also had two interceptions on defense.

“I just saw the green and took off,” Wagner said of the touchdown run. “I’m a fullback, so most of them come at my legs so I’m just going to break off from them and keep going.”

Another touchdown came in the second quarter for the Aggies, courtesy of a 1-yard run from quarterback Hayden Bollinger. Arbor View headed into halftime with a 21-7 lead.

In the third quarter, the Aggies turned to another offensive star. After being held relatively in check in the first half, junior running back Jaquari Hannie exploded in the third quarter, scoring three times in what turned into a 28-point quarter for the Aggies to give them a 49-21 lead. He finished with 158 yards rushing on just seven carries.

Legacy (5-2, 2-2) got nearly all its offense from senior Sam Turner. The running back carried the ball 21 times for 277 yards and two touchdowns.

“Holy smokes, that kid’s a stud,” Barnson said.

While Turner was impressive, Arbor View shut down the rest of the Longhorns. Outside of Turner’s 277 yards, Legacy managed just 73 yards of offense, with 70 of that coming on a third-quarter touchdown run from Amorey Foster.

“We came prepared,” Wagner said. “They have a great offense, but they wanted to run the ball and we have one of the best defenses in the state.”

Contact Justin Emerson at jemerson@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2944. Follow @J15Emerson on Twitter.

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