The Tigers are on a historic run and showing no signs of stopping. They defeated the Petaluma Trojans 69-34 on Friday night, becoming just the second team in program history to advance to the NCS Finals.
It wasn’t looking good for Arcata in the first quarter when just 40 seconds in, Petaluma already found themselves in the endzone. Luckily, the Tiger’s defense was able to stop the two-point conversion attempt.
“It was a dog fight first half,” Head Coach Matt Magers said.
Arcata responded rather quickly with a touchdown from senior Alex Greenway just minutes after. Greenway came off of a three touchdown game against Bethel last week, and would finish out this game with another three touchdowns.
“He’s just been balling,” junior Luke Lemke said.
The Trojans didn’t wait long before striking again, this time with a successful two-point conversion. Once again, the Tigers responded with another touchdown from Greenway right before the first quarter buzzer went off. The Trojans defense was able to block the PAT attempt, ending the first 14-13, Petaluma.
Petaluma rushed into the second with an opening quarter touchdown, and fortunately for Arcata, they missed their PAT, keeping them just seven points apart. It seemed to be a repetition of plays, because just seconds after, Lemke ran the ball into the endzone to put the Tigers within one. Then a successful two-point conversion from Lemke to Senior Cal Tucker gave the Tigers the lead.
Like clockwork, Petaluma put up another touchdown. Not long after, Lemke found an open senior Lennon Gieder in the endzone. The Tigers went for another two-point conversion, this time Lemke took control and ran the ball in himself.
Senior Jackson Strand had one of the turning point plays of the night, with a 70 yard punt return touchdown, giving the Tigers their biggest lead so far, ending the half at 35-28. And just like that, there was no looking back for the Tigers after halftime.
“That punt return really flipped the switch for us,” Magers said. “It was all Arcata, all the way.”
About two minutes into the third, Lemke connected with senior Dayquan Dunn, extending the Tigers lead.
Lemke then scored two back-to-back touchdowns, with an interception from Gieder in between.
“Luke can’t stop running the ball, even when I try to give the ball away,” Magers said.
With ten minutes left of the game, Greenway capped off his scoring with another touchdown, putting the Tigers up 62-28.
Tucker then completed one of the most memorable and riveting catches of the season. His arms were able to wrap around the Petaluma defender on the sideline to complete the catch.
“Cal has gone from an explosive but inconsistent player earlier in highschool, to the fastest, most consistent, and overall best receiver in the county,” Junior Lincoln Neuman said.
To finish off the Tigers scoring with 69 points, senior Tony Buchanna rushed into the endzone to put himself on the board.
Petaluma was able to squeeze one more touchdown through the Tigers defense to finish the game 69-34.
“We put up 69 points, the most we’ve put up all year,” Lemke said. “There’s not much to complain about.”
The Tigers will now host the number two seed, the Miramonte Matadors, for a 1pm day game on Saturday, the thirtieth. Miramonte barely won their semifinal game against Benicia, only sneaking by 6-0.
The last time Arcata made it to the Finals was in 2012, when they were hit with a devastating loss to Justin Sienna. This season, the hopes are different.
“We’re looking forward to playing the best team we’ve played all year,” Lemke said. “Executing and winning.”
