Photos by Ray Hamill/HumboldtSports.com – Action from Saturday night’s game at the Redwood Bowl.
By Ray Hamill — Luke Lemke and the Arcata Tigers picked up just where they left off last season and look ready to contend for a second straight Little 4 championship in football this fall.
On Saturday night, the Tigers brushed aside the challenge of a rejuvenated Eureka High team, running out to a 22-0 win in both teams’ season openers at the Redwood Bowl.
Lemke, who was last year’s Little 4 Offensive MVP and is one of the most dynamic athletes in the H-DNL right now, threw for three touchdown passes in the win, including two to senior receiver Cal Tucker.
And once again he caused endless problems with his scrambling, creating time and opportunities for his teammates.
He opened the scoring midway through the second quarter, connecting with teammate Dayquan Dunn on an 81-yard TD pass.
He added a second TD pass just two minutes before halftime, scrambling right, then left again before finding Tucker at the back of the end zone to double the advantage.
Lemke and Tucker would add another TD on Arcata’s second possession of the second half, this time on a 30-yard TD pass.
And that was all the Tigers needed to record their second straight opening-weekend victory over the Loggers having also defeated their rivals to open last season.
The Loggers, to their credit, look like a much-improved outfit under the guidance of new head coach Sam Edmonds.
But they repeatedly shot themselves in the foot in the opening half, driving deep into Arcata territory on three occasions and coming away empty-handed each time.
The Eureka players were certainly fired up for the game and drove 55 yards on 14 plays on their first possession, setting up a first-and-goal at the Arcata 4.
Check out Arcata’s first two touchdowns of the night below …
But five penalties on the drive, including four inside the red zone, ultimately cost them a chance at scoring.
An Isaac Lopez interception ended Arcata’s ensuing possession and the Loggers once again drove deep into Arcata territory with yet another penalty inside the 5 on a third-and-goal proving costly.
The Tigers could have been trailing by two TDs at that stage, but showed no signs of panic and stuck to their game plan.
After taking over possession on downs at their own 6, just moments later they broke the deadlock on Lemke’s long scoring pass to Dunn, with the QB finding a wide-open Dunn who took it to the end zone untouched.
The dynamic Dunn was wide open after a Eureka defensive back slipped in coverage.
Late in the quarter, a Jackson Strand interception gave the Tigers possession deep in Eureka territory and Lemke would find Tucker at the back of the end zone just four plays later to stretch the advantage.
Check out Arcata’s third TD below …
The Loggers had another golden opportunity to get on the scoreboard late in the half after Michael Jewell recovered a fumble on a punt play to give his team possession at the Arcata 43.
Unfortunately for Eureka, however, Jewell came up just short on a diving catch attempt in the end zone right as time expired.
The second half began with a long delay after half of the stadium lights went out.
When the game finally did resume, the Tigers would add to their lead when Lemke and Tucker combined for their second TD of the night, this time from 30 yards out.
Tucker would add a two-point conversion catch to close out the scoring.
Next up, the Tigers will host Fortuna and Eureka will travel to Shasta, both on Friday night.
