Football Recap: Arlington Heights Takes Loss Despite Strong Efforts from Carmelo Carter and Carson James

Arlington Heights easily dispatched Polytechnic last Thursday, but unfortunately both the margin and the ultimate result were a different story in this one. The Yellowjackets fell just short of the Saginaw Rough Riders by a score of 50-47 on Thursday. The defensive woes were uncharacteristic for the Yellowjackets, who until this game were averaging 9.14 points allowed.

Carson James

Rushing Yards

10/09/25 @ Saginaw	193
10/02/25 @ Polytechnic	128
09/25/25 vs Chisholm Trail	124
09/18/25 @ South Hills	223
09/12/25 vs North Side	205
+ 2 more games

Despite the loss, Arlington Heights had strong showings from Carson James, who gained 200 total yards and two touchdowns, and Carmelo Carter, who rushed for 105 yards. James is also crushing it when it comes to rushing yards: he's rushed for at least 124 every time he's taken the field this season. Another big playmaker for Arlington Heights was Antonio Johnson, who returned a punt for a touchdown.

Special teams also deserves some recognition, posting 12 points in total. The biggest highlight from special teams (and perhaps the team as a whole) came courtesy of Johnson, who ran a punt back for a touchdown. Another bright spot was a kickoff return touchdown from Ce'Antae Johnson.

Arlington Heights didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off two passes before the game was over. The picks came courtesy of Drake Morton and Isaiah Schuman.

A big part of Saginaw's win came down to the chemistry between Joshua Greek and his top target Kaiden Stewart. Greek threw for 540 yards and six touchdowns while Stewart picked up 255 receiving yards and four TDs. Greek's passing game has become a key predictor of Saginaw's success: the team is undefeated when his passer rating is 100 or higher, but only 1-2 otherwise. Derek Harris was another key player, picking up 145 receiving yards and one score.

Having lost for the first time this season, Arlington Heights fell to 6-1. As for Saginaw, their victory was their third straight at home, which pushed their record up to 4-2.

Coming up, Arlington Heights will head out on the road to take on Wyatt at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. As for Saginaw, they didn't take long to hit the field again: they've already played their next matchup, a 41-38 win against Paschal on the 16th.