Photos by Ray Hamill/HumboldtSports.com

By Ray Hamill — There’s something special happening in Arcata this fall, the sort of season that doesn’t come around very often, and the sort of season Tigers football fans could be talking about for years to come.

As a team, the Tigers are not without their flaws and they have had their problems playing a complete game of football, but when the Arcata offense gets going and quarterback Shane Purcell gets in a rhythm, it’s something special to watch.

Purcell was on fire again on Friday night, throwing for five touchdowns in a 30-14 win over McKinleyville, and leading his team to a fourth straight victory and a second straight win to start the Little 4.

In his past four games, the senior QB has now thrown for 21 touchdowns, a remarkable stat by any standard, but even more so considering he never played football before high school.

It certainly helps when you have a plethora of weapons to throw to, including fellow seniors Carson Tucker and Alex Jioras, each of whom was outstanding again against the Panthers.

“We just trust them with the ball,” Arcata head coach Jamal Jones said. “We trust them with their decision making, and no matter what you throw at them they deliver.”

Tucker finished with three TD receptions, scoring on plays of 14, 45 and 34 yards, which gives him an incredible nine TD catches in the past two games.

Jioras also scored on an eight-yard reception, while Oscar Carlson had one of his best games yet, scoring what turned out to be the winning TD on a 24-yard catch early in the second half.

The Tigers, who had struggled to contain the Panthers’ run game in the first half, trailed 14-12 at halftime, and Carlson’s TD was a momentum shifter.

“Wow, what a day Oscar Carlson had,” Jones said. “He made some timely catches.”

The Panthers came into the game with plenty of momentum and confidence after starting the season with four wins in five games, including a big win over Hoopa last week in their conference opener.

And they appeared well up to the challenge early on, responding to the Tigers’ opening two TDs with touchdowns of their own.

Junior quarterback Jack Clancy threw a pair of second-quarter TDs to Tyler Marsh, one for 50 yards and the other for 29.

“Their kids played hard and we’ve got a lot of respect for them,” Jones said. “Any time I see kids battling like they did all game, I’ve got nothing but respect for them.”

After the interval, however, the Arcata defense stepped up its game and the Panthers were unable to sustain any drives.

On the other side of the ball, the Tigers had to battle for every inch.

“I thought that was a team win,” Jones said.

Remarkably, like with Purcell, neither Tucker nor Jioras played football before high school either.

“He just makes it happen,” Jones said of Purcell. “And Carson’s the same way. Just throw it up for him and he’s going to find a way to make it happen. Those guys are just playmakers.”

The Tigers, who are now 2-0 in the Little 4 and 4-2 overall, will play at Hoopa next weekend, while the Panthers, who are 1-1 and 4-2, will host Ferndale.