Photos by Ray Hamill/HumboldtSports.com – The Arcata Tigers at the weekend scrimmage.
By Ray Hamill — The Arcata Tigers are one of the big stories as we get set for the H-DNL football season, with big things expected from a rejuvenated program this fall.
Heading into his fifth season in charge, head coach Jamal Jones appears to be building something special at Arcata High, and if the Tigers can take the next step this year they should be in position to challenge for a Division-6 North Coast Section title.
Key to that challenge will be the play of senior quarterback Shane Purcell, who was among the state leaders as a junior, as well as the anticipated balance on both sides of the ball.
“I think we’re pretty good,” said Jones, who got to see his players in action at a weekend scrimmage against Fortuna and Eureka. “We’ve got numbers and we’ve got the right group of kids, and depth, which will allow us to do some special things.”
Purcell finished the five-game spring season with 1,819 yards through the air, which was third best in the state, and had a QB rating of 120.7.
He threw for an average of 363.8 yards a game, while completing 60 percent of his passes, and also threw for 22 touchdowns and just six interceptions.
“He’s eager,” Jones said of the senior. “I think he knows who he is and he’s ready to compete.
“I don’t think he really thinks about it. I think he just goes out there and plays ball.”
Purcell is one of four returning first-team all-league selections for Arcata, a group that also includes Carson Tucker, Alex Jorias and Tucker Rice.
Action from the weekend scrimmage.
Tucker, Jioras, Ty Franklin and Oscar Carlson all return at the receiver positions to give Purcell a ton of talented options to keep opposing defenses guessing.
“I like our entire receiving corps, and we’ve got a little bit of depth,” Jones said. “Their numbers last year in five games were incredible.
“And we’ve got some freshmen we expect to be good.”
Rice, meanwhile, will anchor both lines along with junior Jared Wallace, and the unit should also feature plenty of depth, with 11 or 12 linemen Jones feels confident in.
“The front’s got potential to do some really good things,” the head coach said. “Hopefully they can carry that over into football games.”
Add to that a deep pool of running backs and Jones feels balance and depth will be key throughout the team this fall.
Shane Purcell in action last season.
“Everything will be by committee,” he said, adding that “We’re just trying to be multi-dimensional.”
The Tigers will have a bye this week, before playing on 10 consecutive weekends, opening with a very challenging trip to play West Park, a large school in Roseville, which opened the season last weekend and will have played two games when it faces Arcata.
The Tigers will also play on the road at Gridley, before home games (at McKinleyville High) against Balboa and Pinole Valley in the second half of September.
