As the crowd erupts and the clock ticks down to the final seconds, players begin throwing their bodies in the air, and history is made. For the first time in program history, the Arcata Tigers are the North Coast Section Champions.
“It’s a special moment, I’m happy for the kids,” Head coach Matt Magers said. “It’s not about me, it’s about these guys, I’m just along for the run.”
The win didn’t come easy to the Tigers, the second seed, the Miramonte Matadors, put up a fight, as the game ended 28-21.
Arcata, who has been known for their insane offense, got on the board early when junior Luke Lemke found an opening in the Miramonte defense to run the ball through and into the endzone for a 46-yard touchdown. Lemke has become a household name in Humboldt and still has another year with the Tigers.
The Matadors would soon close the gap, and score their touchdown with four minutes left in the first. With good PATS from both teams, nothing was separating them going into the second.
The Tigers would regain their lead about halfway through the second when Lemke found an open senior Jackson Strand in the endzone.
Not long after, the Tigers gained their largest lead of the day by an electric 90-yard pick-six from senior Dayquan Dunn. They closed out the half 21-7.
“On all my picks I feel like it’s just a real feeling,” Dunn said. “Like just looking at the sideline, looking at the crowd, as I’m running, it’s a feeling I can’t even explain.”
The Arcata roster is full of seniors who have made an incredible impact on the team’s success.
“Those guys have been working for three years, they deserve this,” Magers said. “All these guys involved in this program deserves this.”
Miramonte wouldn’t get back on the board until eight minutes into the 3rd, but a clutch Arcata defense would block the kick to keep Miramonte behind them by eight.
Opening up the fourth, the Matadors were eager to close the gap, and they did exactly that with a touchdown and then a good two-point conversion just minutes in.
One thing the Tigers have always been good at is big plays in crucial moments. Just seconds after the touchdown, Senior Cal Tucker had a remarkable 86-yard kick return, putting the Tigers just three yards away from the endzone. Lemke finished off the play with a touchdown to put the Tigers up 28-21.
“Special players make special plays,” Magers said. “That touchdown right at the end was clutch on third down.”
With the NCS championship in hands reach and just 40 seconds left of the game, Miramonte was on Arcata’s 27-yard line looking to push the game into overtime. But on fourth down, Junior Skyler Collenberg had one of the most crucial plays of his career. He successfully sacked Miramonte’s quarterback, securing the championship for his team.
Arcata, who was doubted by fans at the beginning of the season, pulled off a historic win for their program. As we enter December, for the first time Arcata will be continuing to practice and have their first-ever state playoff game in just a week. The Tigers will travel to Winters on Friday to play the Warriors in the Divison 6AA Northern California Championship. Arcata was placed as seed two, while Winters is seed one, but statistically, it looks to be a close match-up. The winner of this game will advance to the state championship in Fullerton, and play the winner of the Southern California championship, which will either be King/Drew High or Portola High. If the Tigers can advance to the state championship, they’ll have an opportunity to make school history, and they could bring home the first-ever State Championship title to Arcata.
“The jobs never finished until we finally have that state title,” Dunn said.
