Kloe Bryant
Luke Lemke
The Arcata Tigers fought a tough game against the St. Vincent De Paul Mustangs, but could not pull through in the end. They fell 71-33 and dropped to 1-2 on the season.
“We battled with those guys,” Head Coach Matt Magers said. “They were a great team [and] we knew that was a challenge this week.”
From the jump, the Mustangs were able to take the lead, with a 40 yard touchdown and a successful two-point conversion. They added another touchdown just minutes later, giving them a 15-0 lead five minutes into the game.
The Tigers picked it up when Senior Luke Lemke had an electrifying 70 yard touchdown. Then to cap it off, the Tigers faked the kick and caught the Mustangs defense off guard, and Lemke was able to run it in for a two-point conversion.
The Mustangs countered with a fake kick of their own, this time off a fourth down, which led to a 90 yard touchdown.
Arcata responded quickly, trying to shorten the deficit before the end of the first, where Lemke connected with Junior Jack Bertell for a long touchdown, but with a missed PAT, the deficit could only be cut by so much.
“I’m really proud of the offense, I’m really proud of the fight those guys showed but we got to get better,” Magers said. “The depth has become an issue, so we need to be better all around, on all faces of the ball.”
With just 13 seconds left of the first, St. Vincent replied with a touchdown, extending their lead and ending the quarter 29-14.
It wasn’t looking good for the Tigers and the Mustangs were showing no signs of stopping. They added two more touchdowns quickly into the second quarter before the Tigers had any real shot at their own. Lemke was able to get himself into the endzone again with about a minute left in the half, but yet again, the Tigers were not able to complete the PAT.
To give them a 30 point lead, the Mustangs snuck another touchdown pass the Tigers defense, ending the half 50-20.
Despite the struggle on defense, the offense was still able to perform well. The Tigers have put up 98 points across three games, and even with an un-steady defense, they have been able to work on all sides of the ball.
“Jack Bertell had a great night. Lincoln Neuman played very well. Duuya Smith played really well on the [defensive] line.” Magers said. “We had guys flying around everywhere.”
The Tigers started out the second half with momentum, with Bertell putting his second touchdown on the board, but still, the Tigers could not gain that extra point from the kick.
St. Vincent was able to add two more touchdowns. After their second, during the PAT attempt, the snap got loose but they were able to recover it and run it in for an unplanned, but successful two point conversion. This ended the third 65-26.
Opening the fourth, Lemke threw an interception, but he quickly made up for it with his third touchdown of the night, wrapping up the Tigers’ scoring.
Lemke played on both sides of the ball, and despite not playing defense very often, he made his mark on the field.
“Luke played phenomenal,” Magers said.
The Mustangs were able to squeeze one more touchdown by, ending the game in their favor, 71-33.
“It’s good for our guys to get an ego check and especially after the season we had last year, to know what level we’re at,” Magers said. “We might not win but it’s a great learning experience, and we got better tonight, and that’s what’s important.”
Looking forward, the Tigers will move on to hosting the Oakland Wildcats, in a non-league matchup on Friday night at McKinleyville High. The Wildcats hosted the Tigers last season, and while the game ended 38-20, Tigers, this year, the Wildcats are coming off a tough win, and this upcoming game could go either way.
“Oakland is a similar team, so we need to work on our pass coverage,” Magers said. “We got beat, when you give up 71 points you need to work on your defense.”