By Ray Hamill  — On Friday night Dayquan Dunn and the Arcata Tigers showed exactly why they should be considered the best team in the H-DNL.

And they did it with a clutch performance and an unwavering belief in themselves.

Trailing by 11 points in the fourth quarter of a challenging matchup against the Fortuna Huskies, the Tigers scored three unanswered touchdowns in a six-and-a-half-minute spell to pull out a thrilling 26-18 victory at McKinleyville High School.

And no one played a bigger role than Dunn, who had three huge plays to help key the late rally.

A 15-yard TD pass from quarterback Luke Lemke to Cal Tucker with 8:06 remaining pulled the Tigers to within four (18-14) and then Dunn went to work.

And he did so in all facets of the game, making crucial game-changing plays on special teams, on offense and on defense.

On the Huskies’ ensuing possession, the outstanding senior blocked a punt to give Arcata the ball deep in Fortuna territory.

A few moments later, he pulled in a 12-yard TD pass from Lemke to give his team a two-point lead (20-18) with 2:30 remaining.

He then capped a remarkable two minutes 10 seconds for him personally just five plays later with a pick six, which he returned around 50 yards for his second TD of the night to stretch the lead out to eight points with just 1:43 remaining.

After that, there was no way back for the Huskies, who had come into the game fresh off a shutout victory over Del Norte and as the top-ranked team in this week’s Humboldt Sports Power Rankings.

Check out highlights of Dayquan Dunn’s big finish to the game above …

The game was highly-entertaining and included four fourth-quarter TDs and a thrilling finish.

The Huskies got the better of the early exchanges and scored a pair of touchdowns in the opening 3:22 of the game.

They enjoyed a perfect start to the night when Mako Limon took the opening kickoff all the way to the end zone, breaking up the middle and running the length of the field untouched.

Just three plays later, Fortuna linebacker Kameron Elam intercepted a Lemke pass to give the Huskies possession at the Arcata 22.

A few moments later junior running back Kavi Bolden found the end zone on a nine-yard TD run to stretch the advantage to 12-0.

The Tigers, however, would slowly grow into the game and got on the scoreboard early in the second quarter to end a streak of five scoreless quarters for the Fortuna defense to start the season.

Lemke opened the scoring for the Tigers on an eight-yard TD run.

The score would remain the same for much of the next two quarters before things really got interesting.

Early in the fourth quarter, the Huskies added to their advantage on a short Limon TD run and with an 18-7 lead it appeared as if they had done enough to seal the victory.

Lemke, Dunn and their Arcata teammates, however, refused to go down easily and would battle back with a thrilling finish to the night.

The inspirational Tucker was also instrumental in the late rally.

Check out the opening kickoff return for a TD above …

After scoring his TD, Tucker would recover a Fortuna fumble just three plays later to give his team possession once again.

However, the Tigers were unable to take advantage, although Tucker almost converted on a fourth-and-20 with a brilliant individual effort after a reception, before the ball was turned over on downs.

The Arcata defensive players would give their team one more chance, forcing the Huskies into a punt situation.

Dunn then blocked the attempt to set up the thrilling conclusion.

With the win, the Tigers improved to 2-0 and they showed that they should perhaps be competing in the Big 4 this year instead of the Little 4 after recording a pair of early-season victories over Big 4 teams.

The Huskies dropped to 1-1.

Next up, the Huskies will try to bounce back when they host McKinleyville, while the Tigers will try to continue their impressive run against Big 4 teams when they travel to Crescent City to play Del Norte.