Ray Hamill/HumboldtSports.com – Shane Purcell

By Ray Hamill — Senior quarterback Shane Purcell will be back in the lineup along with a number of his teammates who were held out last weekend, as the Arcata Tigers get set to open the NCS playoffs against San Lorenzo at the Redwood Bowl on Friday night.

Purcell has been on fire all season and has thrown for 36 TDs in his last seven starts combined, but he did not play in last week’s season-finale loss to Hoopa in a game that meant nothing to the Tigers in regard to league or playoff positioning.

“Shane is confident he can go out there and play at a high level,” head coach Jamal Jones said. “I don’t who’s healthy at this time of the year, but everybody that’s been there for us will be ready to go.”

The Tigers are seeded No. 2 in the Division-6 bracket and are 7-3 on the season, while No. 7 San Lorenzo is 3-6.

Despite their record, Jones is expecting a battle from the Grizzlies.

“I know they’re fast, I know they’re physical and I expect them to come up here extremely confident and believing they can win the game,” the head coach said. 

The Grizzlies have an athletic QB in senior Jason McLemore and a very good running back in senior Darren Prim.

Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.

“We’ll be ready to go, make no mistake,” Jones said.