Arcata is 9-1 against McKinleyville since October of 2018, and they'll have a chance to extend that success on Friday. The Arcata Tigers will look to defend their home field against the McKinleyville Panthers at 7:30 p.m. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Arcata has four straight victories, McKinleyville has 14 straight defeats), but none of that matters once you're on the field.
Arcata's offense will try to repeat the strong performance it gave last Friday, when they got past Oakland's usually-dominant defense. Arcata strolled past Oakland with points to spare, taking the game 38-20. The Tigers' offense stepped up their game for this one, as that was the most points they've scored all season.
Luke Lemke continued his habit of posting crazy stat lines, rushing for 181 yards and a touchdown on only 15 carries, while also throwing for 163 yards and four touchdowns. His longest rush was for an impressive 60 yards, which helps to explain his lofty yards per carry total. Cal Tucker was Lemke's top target, picking up 63 receiving yards and a touchdown, while also rushing for 51 yards on only five carries.
He was just one part of a punishing run game: Arcata was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 349 rushing yards. That's the most rushing yards they've managed all season.
Arcata's defense was in the mix too, especially the secondary: they snagged two passes before it was all said and done. In fact, those interceptions all came courtesy of defensive juggernaut Tucker.
Meanwhile, McKinleyville fell victim to Del Norte and their airtight defense on Friday. They were dealt a 55-0 loss at the hands of the Warriors.
Arcata's win bumped their record up to 4-0. As for McKinleyville, their defeat dropped their record down to 0-4.
Everything came up roses for Arcata against McKinleyville when the teams last played back in November of 2023, as the squad secured a 46-6 victory. Does Arcata have another victory up their sleeve, or will McKinleyville turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
