Arcata wins NCS Division 6 title, Beats Miramonte 28-21 in Championship Game

Prep Football: Arcata wins NCS Division 6 title, Beats Miramonte 28-21 in Championship Game
By Dylan McNeill, Times Standard
December 3, 2024

The Arcata Tigers ended the North Coast Section playoffs victorious, as the team held off Miramonte High School 28-21 to earn the school's first-ever NCS football title. With the win, the Tigers are now off to CIF State regionals as the dream season carries on.

"It's the stuff you dream about when you're a little kid and you first play football," Tigers' junior quarterback Luke Lemke said. "My kids are going to see this, something's going to be in the locker room forever. It truly does mean a lot."

Arcata got off to a hot start, but instead of ending in a blowout as many Tigers' games have this season, they gave their home crowd a thrilling ending. Miramonte was down a touchdown with the ball driving at the end of regulation but the Tigers' defense was able to get one more stop by forcing a turnover on downs to win the game.

"It's about the kids, it's about all those guys," Tigers' head coach Matt Magers said. "They put in all the time, put all the work in and we're just along for the ride as coaches. I love every one of them. They worked so hard for this."

The game opened with Arcata receiving the ball and driving to around midfield before Lemke introduced himself to the Matadors' defense, going 46 yards down the sideline for a touchdown to jump out to an early 7-0 lead.

"Going into a game, there's always nerves but starting off the game with a long run, a long touchdown run, it really de-stresses you," Lemke said. "It gets rid of the nerves."

Miramonte answered with a touchdown drive of their own, overcoming multiple penalties and converting a 4th down by scoring a 13-yard touchdown to even the game at 7-7. With Arcata back on offense, Lemke continued to show off his talent, placing a high-arching pass down the sideline to senior wide receiver Cal Tucker for a big gain. Arcata moved inside the red zone on a defensive pass interference call against Miramonte but the drive would stall there. The Tigers were called for a delay of game, setting up a 4th and 13 which they went for but didn't get, with Lemke's pass winding up incomplete to give the ball back to Miramonte.

The Tigers' defense kept Miramonte deep in their own territory and forced a punt, giving the ball back to the Arcata offense at the 50-yard line. Lemke rushed for a first down before finding senior wide receiver Dayquan Dunn for another by unleashing another high-lofting pass, this one landing in the arms of senior wide receiver Jackson Strand for a 26-yard touchdown. Lemke put the ball between the Miramonte corner and safety, showing off his deep ball accuracy to put Arcata up 14-7 in the second quarter.

Miramonte, which won the Division 5 NCS title in 2023, drove into Arcata territory but made a costly mistake as their starting quarterback, junior Carson Blair, was intercepted by Dunn who returned it more than 80 yards for a touchdown as the Matadors could never catch up to strides of the 6'5" Dunn. The pick-six pushed the Tigers' lead to 21-7 with under five minutes left in the first half.

The Matadors drove into Tigers territory but turned the ball over on downs at Arcata's 23-yard line before the two teams went to halftime.

Miramonte drove again after the half but Arcata forced a 4th and 3. This time Miramonte would be successful as Blair hit his receiver for a 32-yard touchdown to get the Matadors right back into the game. Arcata blocked the PAT attempt but it remained a one-possession game at 21-13.

Arcata's offense couldn't put together a drive, punting the ball back to the Matadors. Miramonte again moved into Tigers territory but again the Arcata defense stiffened up and forced a fourth down. Arcata's senior Liam Gorona and sophomore Xzavier Gruetzmacher combined for a sack to force another turnover on downs.

The Miramonte defense returned the favor, sacking Lemke on second and third down to force an Arcata punt. The Matadors drove down the field and punched in a touchdown with junior running back Derek Youn scoring from four yards out. Miramonte then converted the 2-point conversion to tie the game at 21-21 with just over nine minutes remaining in the game.

After the Tigers had Miramonte on the ropes on 4th down early in the second half, the Matadors punched back and snatched the momentum from Arcata, but the Tigers were able to grab it right back in one play. Miramonte kicked off to Tucker, who hauled in the kick just in front of the goal line and slipped through one tackler and avoided a few more, taking the return all the way down to the 3-yard line, setting up a 1st and goal for the Tigers' offense.

"He's the guy," Magers said of Tucker. "He's a special kid, his brother was a great player and he's just like his brother."

Miramonte fought hard to keep Arcata out of the end zone but Lemke got in from 1-yard out on third down to take a 28-21 lead with 7:41 left in the fourth quarter. Anybody who has seen Arcata play this year knows that the team is fond of the onside kick, they went back to it on the ensuing kickoff and it worked to perfection. The Matadors' return team was just a little too passive getting to the ball and Dunn swooped in and snagged the ball regaining possession for the Tigers.

"Cal's just a stud and studs make stud-type plays," Lemke said of his receiver.

Arcata picked up one first down and nearly got another, but after bringing the chain gain onto the field for measurement, Lemke's 4th and 1 rush was marked just short, giving the ball back to Miramonte for a chance to tie, or potentially take the lead with 4:22 remaining.

Tigers junior defensive tackle Skyler Collenberg got a sack to get Miramonte behind the chains, the Matadors picked up 11 yards on a 3rd and 21 to force a 4th and 10 to keep their hopes alive. Gorona and Collenberg combine for a section title-sealing sack, as Miramonte turned the ball back over to the Tigers, who kneeled out the game to hold on for the 28-21 win.

"We needed a sack, we've been needing to get pressure, that was the game plan defensively," Magers said. "We had trouble getting there, only sending a couple guys, not a lot of pressure, but they got the job done when we needed to get it done."

Arcata will now face Winters High School in the CIF State NorCal regional final, with a chance for a berth to a state championship game.

The Tigers will have to go on the road for the game, with Winters hosting the game Friday night at 7:30 p.m.

Continue Reading...

Print Friendly Version

Players Mentioned

Carson Blair: Sophomore

Derek Youn: Sophomore

Players Mentioned

Carson Blair
: Sophomore

Derek Youn
: Sophomore

Players Mentioned

Carson Blair

Derek Youn

Players Mentioned

Carson Blair

Derek Youn

Sticky bar