Kloe Bryant
Luke Lemke
The Arcata Tigers hosted the Oakland Wildcats in a hard-fought matchup where the game wasn’t decided until the final buzzer. Ultimately, the Tigers found themselves behind yet again, and dropped to 1-3 on the season.
“It was rough, I don’t have a lot to say about the game except it sucks,” senior Luke Lemke said.
The Tigers got started early on, with an effortless touchdown from Lemke to open up the game. This is the first time in all four games that Arcata got on the board before their opponent.
“Coming out and scoring first is huge in a big game,” Lemke said. “Next time we get the ability to do that we need to capitalize.”
The Wildcats got a hand on the ball and blocked the PAT, only allowing the Tigers six.
Oakland secured the lead as the buzzer went off. Their quarterback found an open receiver in the endzone and successfully completed a two point conversion, making the game 6-8, Wildcats.
In the second, the Tigers regained control of the ball when the Wildcats couldn’t get a first down. Arcata worked off that possession, and Lemke connected on a 60 yard throw with junior Jack Bertell. Bertell ran the ball for 15 yards into the endzone shortly following. They attempted to fake out the Wildcats’ defense with a fake kick into a two point conversion and, while it worked in their last game against St. Vincent De Paul, they couldn’t sneak by the Oakland defense, ending the half, 12-8, Tigers.
The Tigers struggled in the third quarter, allowing Oakland to get two touchdowns through, completing two-point conversions on both. Whereas for Arcata, they did not get on the board in the third, ending the quarter 12-24, Oakland.
Coming into the fourth quarter, the Tigers’ momentum switched, and they were fighting to regain control of the game. Junior Duuya Smith, one of Arcata’s running backs this season, toppled through the Wildcats defense on numerous occasions, gaining yards for the Tigers.
“Duuya was pounding the rock the whole game and moving the chains,” Lemke said. “I’m proud of him.”
After three minutes of fourth quarter play, Lemke danced into the endzone and shortened the deficit. Oakland quickly responded with another touchdown of their own, and another successful two-point conversion that put them up 19-32.
The Tigers worked as a tight-knit team, knowing that just two touchdowns could tie the game. Lemke found Senior Danillo Fanti in the endzone and gave Fanti his first touchdown of the season.
On Oakland’s next possession, they lost the ball and Senior Chase Bickmore recovered it, giving Arcata possession with three minutes left of the game.
The stands erupted and players dialed in as their shot to take the game over appeared right in front of them. A touchdown would tie it, and a good kick would give them the lead. After going back and forth on offensive and defensive flags, the Tigers were five yards away from the endzone. As the buzzer went off, Oakland handled Lemke and pushed him out of bounds, securing the game for the Wildcats, 26-32.
The Tigers will move into league play, where they play their league rivals, the McKinleyville Panthers. The Panthers will host the Tigers on Saturday, October 4th at 7:30 pm.
“We just need to lock in and execute all week in practice,” Lemke said.
McKinleyville is 1-2 on the season and haven’t shown too much offensive strength in their games, averaging about two touchdowns per game. The Tigers showed strong suit is their offense, averaging about 31 points per game, and around four touchdowns per game this season.
While Arcata’s slogan against McKinleyville is “Macktown smackdown,” this game could go either way, and will all be decided in the Saturday night showdown.