SENIOR NIGHT SHOOTOUT

Arlee Warriors finish season with three-game winning streak and

a thrilling 54-50 win over Victor

ARLEE - For the past three weeks, the Arlee Warriors had a goal to finish the season strong - namely winning their last three games. It wasn't until last Friday that they completed their goal with a thrilling 54-50 victory over Victor.

"After we lost to Charlo this season we sat down and asked the team where we were going from there," Arlee head coach Mike Rogers said. "I left it up to the guys and they stepped up to the plate and did it. They set a goal and achieved it."

And for seniors that were seeing their last action on a high school football field, it was especially sweet.

Senior running back Zach Tameler, who had spent most of the season torching other teams' defenses, wasn't about to let this victory slip out of his grasp. The human highlight reel ran for 217 yards and four touchdowns, but for a guy that credits his offensive line and teammates any chance he gets, it was certainly an extraordinary effort from everyone.

"I thought that he was focused and he wanted to put this on his back and run down the field," Rogers said. "He laid it all out on the line and everyone else laid it out on the line."

The team and coaching staf also made adjustments, noticing that Victor started shadowing a defensive end on whatever side Tameler or fellow running back Christian Haynes lined up near. So they started to audible away from the defensive end if the play went that direction.

After forcing a three and out in Victor's first drive of the game, Arlee marched down the field in a 13-play drive and scored on a 1-yard run by senior quarterback Cody Sheridan with 5:24 left in the first.

Victor would answer back on a 60-yard touchdown pass to tie the game up at 6-6 less than a minute later and then would take the 12-6 lead on a blocked punt.

It seemed as if the Pirates were gaining the advantage but Tameler had a different idea. Receiving the following kickoff, Tameler did his best impression of a bullet getting shot from a gun and went 80 yards - de-cleating one Victor player in the process with a monster hit - and scored to tie the game up with 3:07 left in the first quarter.

After Victor turned the ball over on downs on their own 24-yard line, junior Christian "Slash" Haynes ran it into the end zone from 20 yards out to give the Warriors an 18-12 lead, still in the first quarter.

The Pirates would take the lead at the beginning of the second quarter with a 45-yard touchdown pass and after an Arlee punt, they would throw another TD pass for a 26-18 advantage. The Warriors defense, spearheaded by senior defensive lineman Brady Potts, was able to get a blocked punt five minutes before halftime and a safety.

"That Brady is a machine," Rogers said. "He's truly a college player if he sets his mind to it. He creates a lot of havoc on the line and Victor knew that and tried to adjust but Clayon Trimble stepped up to the plate on his side."

On the resulting Arlee possession, Victor was able to get an interception returned for a touchdown and led 34-20 in what looked to be the halftime score.

"We had seen in film that Victor tends to go away from their game plan sometimes if pressured," Rogers said. "So we kept reminding the kids to keep on these guys."

The Warriors weren't about to give up. With the clock against them, they ran the two-minute drill better than Tim Tebow and took the ball down the field 58 yards on nine plays and Sheridan scored on a 4-yard run with 39.4 seconds left in the half to make it 34-26.

"I knew after that we had a pretty good chance of tying up the game," Rogers said. "Our kids responded and they responded well."

Coming out of halftime with the ball, Arlee scored on their first play thanks to a 65-yard touchdown run by Tameler that no doubt would have made SportsCenter's Top 10 plays. He also ran for the two-point conversion to tie the game up at 34-34.

The Warriors defense came up big on Victor's next drive, forcing a turnover on downs at Arlee's own 38-yard line. Sheridan then threw the ball 22 yards to Tameler for a touchdown and just like that, the Warriors led 42-34.

After the teams traded the ball via punts in the third quarter, Victor would score with 46.5 seconds left in the third quarter on a 20-yard pass and again, the game was tied at 42-42.

Little scoring would happen for much of the fourth quarter until the 2:36 mark when Tameler ran from 24-yards out to give Arlee a 48-42 lead.

"That's when I felt the momentum really went our way," Rogers said.

On Victor's ensuing drive, the Warriors' defense would hold and cause a turnover on downs on a harmless incomplete pass.

Arlee was on Victor's18-yard line as a result and senior running back Logan Lefler made the Pirates pay with a 14-yard touchdown run and with 1:22 left, the Warriors led 54-42.

"Defensively in the second half we've played tough all year long," Rogers said. "The boys came out focused and they pinned back their ears and said ‘we're going to get this.'"

While Victor would make things interesting by scoring with 41 seconds to go to pull within four points, Haynes would recover the onside kick to give the Warriors the victory.

While Arlee will have a young team next year, this season will certainly build up some momentum for them. They do lose several talented players like Lane Wilson, Austin Rubel, Justin Adams and Christian Haynes.

"I was really thankful to be able to coach these eight seniors in their last year of football while it was my first year as head coach," Rogers said.