ARLINGTON – With four all-league players returning, Arlington football coach Greg Dailer feels good about their chances of finishing high in the Wesco North standings.

The Eagles play at Redmond Friday, but will be at home Sept. 8 against Lake Stevens.

The standouts include senior team captains Michael Van Beek, Gabe Green and Jacob Hubbard, along with junior Tallen Williams. Van Beek was all-Wesco as an offensive and defensive lineman, Green as a punter, Hubbard as a defensive back and Williams as a return man.

At 6-foot-4 and 285 pounds, Van Beek is the strongest player on the team. He has hopes of playing for a college team in the Big Sky Conference so he put on 20 pounds. He worked hard on weights, but also improved his speed.

“My free time was spent in the gym,” he said Wednesday at practice.

He said learning to play defensive line last year helped him become a better offensive lineman. “Now I know all the moves of the d-line,” he said. Van Beek said last year the team didn’t have as much in the way of senior leadership, so he is really hoping this year the squad “comes together. We need to compete and don’t stop.”

Dailer said Van Beek was injured as a sophomore and has worked hard to get bigger and stronger so it wouldn’t happen again.

“His work ethic” sets him apart, Dailer said. “And he loves football.”

Green made all-league as a punter, but this year it will be like he never gets off the field. He is also a starting running back and middle linebacker.

His dad, Scott, was an all-state punter in Oregon years ago who got his son kicking at the age of 6. His longest punt was 74 yards.

Green said he has been lifting a lot and improved his time in the 40-yard dash to 4.6 seconds. He plans to go to college, but compete in track instead of football.

“He can do it all,” Dailer said. “We have a bunch of gifted athletes. He’s a fantastic punter, which is a great weapon to have.” Hubbard was all-Wesco last year as a hard-hitting safety, but this year he is moving up to linebacker.

He said he loved playing defensive back because he could fly all over the field and make tackles. “I didn’t have to think about it – I just let loose and fly to the ball,” he said. To move up, he said he put on about 10 pounds by lifting.

This year he also will play slot receiver for the pass-happy Eagles. He went to a number of football camps this summer and “focused on route-running, making it crisp.”

In the future, he would love to play football for Pacific Lutheran University or Southern Virginia.

“He’s the hardest-working guy on the team,” Dailer said, adding he got the most votes for captain even though he just moved here last year from Cheney.

Williams made all-league last year as a kick returner, but expects even more of himself this year as a running back and safety.

He talked about “legacy” then mentioned his older brother, former University of Washington standout Johnny Kirton.

“I’ll do whatever it takes to win,” he said, adding their team goal is to make the playoffs.

Williams had a 94-yard kickoff return for a touchdown last year, and he has been working on his speed to become an even bigger threat this season.

Williams also turns out for track and plays rugby. He wants to run like a “cheetah,” he said, a combination of speed, power and being elusive.

Of his junior standout, Dailer said he is “blessed with great natural skills. We’ll use him all over the field.”