ARLINGTON — The familiar sound of helmets crashing together rang out Friday, June 17, during the second annual Stilly Puff Cup football game played at Haller Field.

In an effort to raise money for the Arlington Youth Football Association, the dedicated mothers of Arlington and Stanwood, all of whom have kids playing youth football, padded up and raised $6,500, besting last year’s mark of $5,000.

“We wanted to raise as much money as possible,” Arlington coach Jim Welton said. “Our mothers have been working so hard on behalf of our cause to provide kids with all they need to play youth football. In a time when the economy has been hurting people, football is the one sport we can turn to for relief.”

The money raised will go toward a scholarship fund that will benefit anyone who cannot afford to play youth football in Arlington. Of the $6,500 earned, $2,200 of it came from admissions. The remainder of the proceeds came from concessions and other miscellaneous donations.

“We cannot stress enough how important it is to let everyone play football,” Welton said. “The kids in our community, and around the county, deserve to play football regardless of their economic situation. That is why we are here.”

After trailing 8-2 at halftime, Arlington bounced back and scored 16 unanswered points to defeat Stanwood 18-8. Arlington’s Kellyanne Smith and Katie Bates scored touchdowns in the second half and Heather Brown intercepted Stanwood quarterback Kristell Hezel in the fourth quarter to preserve the Arlington victory — its first since losing to Lakewood last year in the inaugural Powder Puff game.

“We’ve been practicing for months,” Welton said. “We lost last year so we wanted to come out and show Stanwood that we were ready for them. I am so proud of the way we practiced for the past few months. The moms are great and they are super competitors.”

But it wasn’t just the moms who were entertaining. The husbands also got into the act. The zany and not-so attractive cheer squad of Butch Rockwell, Randy Williams, Greg Vaughn, Trae Brown, Jose Zuniga and Ryan Stupey danced to an eclectic collection of ‘80s music throughout the game. At halftime, the squad danced to Michael Jackson’s “Thriller.”

“I love this event,” said Ellis Shaw, a fan and longtime Arlington resident. “The husbands are just super. They have me cracking up. And the moms, they are really playing to win. My sons played youth football many years ago, so I will always support this cause.”