Tommy Frachter threw for three touchdowns and ran for another to lead the football team to the Mid Empire Conference win over the Panthers.  Frachter, who began the season as a wide receiver before injuries forced him into the quarterback role, finished the season strong by completing 16 of 24 passes for 204 yards.  Devon Jones had five catches, two of which went for scores.  Bradley Walker and Matt Cole each snared a touchdown pass in the contest.  The Beavers rolled up 260 yards in total offense while the defense put the clamps on Sac City, holding the Panthers to just 108 yards for the game, an average of under two yards from scrimmage on each snap.  Treston Teague led the swarming ARC defense, picking up six unassisted tackles, including one of the eight sacks for the team.  Joe Faifili and Jeff Proschold each had two sacks for ARC.  The secondary was just as active, picking off four SCC passes.  Shane Scott had two interceptions for the Beavers, and Charles Merlo and Proschold each snagged one.

The football team made the long trek to Weed for a Mid Empire Conference contest with the Eagles.  Siskiyous scored first, but ARC answered just before the half on a 30-yard field goal from Ryan Williams, making the score 7-3 at the intermission.  The Beavers were not able to put any more points on the scoreboard until late in the final quarter when Michael Dutra ran in a touchdown from three yards out.  Corey Jackson finished with five catches to lead the offense while Devon Jones, Bradley Walker, and Matt Cole each hauled in a couple of passes from quarterback Tom Frachter.  Defensively, ARC linebacker Chris Brown finished with eight solo tackles and assisted on three others.  Treston Teague and Charles Merlo both added five solos and two assists as ARC turned in another solid defensive effort.  Andrew Paik and Shane Scott each picked off a Siskiyous pass for big turnarounds—Paik returned his pick 71 yards, and Scott ran 41 yards after his interception.

The Beavers defeated the Knights in the Mid Empire Conference game.  ARC jumped out to a 24-0 lead on the strength of Tommy Fratcher’s two touchdown passes.  Fratcher, who completed 20 of 29 attempts, connected on a three-yard score to Brad Walker and a 31-yard scoring strike to Corey Jackson.  Walker had four catches in the game, and Jackson hauled in five for 76 yards.  Matt Cole also had five catches as the Beavers’ air attack found its rhythm.  ARC also had a solid ground game as Jordan Baudendistal rolled up 102 yards on 18 carries.  For the game, ARC accumulated 336 yards in total offense.  Kicker Ryan Williams added a 19-yard field goal.  Defensively, cornerback Dana Henderson provided the highlights with two interceptions, returning one 44 yards for a touchdown, and ARC finished with four picks in the game.  Andrew Paik and Jay Reddick each added an interception.  Chris Brown registered three sacks, had four tackles for a loss, and finished with eight total tackles to lead a defensive effort that allowed only 229 total yards.

The injury-riddled Beavers compounded their problems with penalties in the loss to the Eagles, who soared to the Mid-Empire Conference win.  ARC was flagged for 10 penalties totaling 90 yards in a penalty-marred performance.  Tom Fratcher, a converted wide receiver, started at quarterback for ARC, but could not generate any offense as the Beavers totaled only 10 yards in the first half and 121 for the game.

The Beavers outran the Blue Devils, but dropped the Mid Empire Conference opener when a two-point conversion in overtime missed.  After playing to a 14-14 tie in regulation, both teams scored a touchdown in the overtime period, but ARC opted for the tough decision of trying for the win on a running play, and Derrick Watkins was stopped short of the goal line.  The Beavers, plagued by injuries all season, lost another quarterback, Taylor Cervantes, in the overtime period.  Still, all the news was not bad for ARC, which gained 298 total yards on offense while holding Merced to just 117.  Watkins led the ground attack, rolling up 122 yards rushing, and Brett Miller picked up 72 yards.  Both running backs ran for touchdowns.  In the overtime, backup QB Tommy Fratcher connected with Matt Cole for an 8-yard score.  Cole was the leading receiver for ARC, finishing with three catches.  The game-breaker for the Beavers came at the end of the third quarter following Miller’s 7-yard TD run.  Merced’s Sam Toomer took the ensuing kickoff 94 yards to tie the game 14-14, where it would stay until the end of regulation.  The ARC defense turned in another solid team performance, limiting the Blue Devils to just 65 yards rushing and 52 in the air.  Corner back Jay Reddic and safety Charles Merlo each picked up an interception, and Merlo was in on eight tackles.  Shane Scott anchored the defense with seven solo tackles and assisted on three others.

In the final preseason contest, the host Roadrunners blanked a Beaver offense that could never get untracked.  After playing a tough scoreless first quarter, ARC appeared ready to strike first, but Butte erupted for three scores without its offense getting into the end zone.  Javon Forsett returned an interception 100 yards for a Butte touchdown to shift the momentum ARC appeared ready to take.  David Sims then returned a missed field goal 107 yards for a second Roadrunner touchdown, and Preston Pace returned a blocked punt 21 yards for the final score of the first half.   With quarterback sacks, ARC totaled negative yardage on the ground, as quarterback Taylor Cervantes led the team with only 16 yards rushing.  The passing game, however, fared better as Cervantes had one of his better games passing, connecting on 15 of 31 attempts for 146 yards.  His favorite target was Devon Jones, who pulled in five passes for 49 yards.  Tom Frachter had four catches for 53 yards, and Eric Alsaker hauled in three for 28 yards.  Linebacker Terrence Litton and defensive end David Little anchored the ARC defense that held Butte to only 222 yards of total offense.  Both players were in on five tackles, and cornerback Jay Reddic had four solo tackles.

Decimated by an injury list that has grown each week, the Beavers hosted a balanced Wolverine squad that rolled up 480 yards of total offense.  ARC’s David Weld took the opening kickoff 47 yards that set up a drive to the Sierra 24 yard line.  But Sierra picked off a pass and took the ball back down field for a touchdown and never looked back.  The ARC offense put together some good drives in the first half, but too many were stalled by penalties and then costly turnovers.  The Beavers finished with six turnovers in the game.  Derrick Watkins handled most of the running duties for ARC, carrying the ball 19 times, but the team gained only 115 yards on the ground.  Taylor Cervantes, stepping in for the injured Codi Boek, connected on just 15 of 35 pass attempts, totaling 126 yards.  His favorite target was tight end Eric Alasker, who hauled in six catches; Corey Jackson had only one reception in the game, but it was for ARC’s only score as he leaped for a 13-yard grab in a crowd of defenders.  Despite the point total, the Beavers’ defense turned in a solid, resilient effort.  Playing without several key athletes, ARC twice kept Sierra out of the end zone with first and goal inside the 10.  Safety Roberto Ramirez led all defenders with five solo tackles and one assist; he also intercepted a pass.  Linebacker Kevin Lloyd added five solo tackles, and defensive end David Little had four.

september 15, 2007

ARC 30, Cabrillo 29

Ryan Williams connected on a 33-yard field goal with 18 seconds left to give the Beavers the win, but it was a costly victory as quarterback Cody Boek was lost for the season with a broken arm in the second half.  Boek led ARC three scoring drives and a 20-16 lead going into the final quarter.  But the Seahawks scored twice in the first three minutes of the fourth period, leaving it to backup QB Taylor Cervantes to guide the team on a winning drive—which is just what he did.  Cervantes moved the Beavers into position for the key play of the drive.  Coming off a double pass on a reverse, receiver Tom Frachter connected with Bradley Walker for a 67-yard scoring toss to bring the Beavers within two points of Cabrillo, 29-27, with 5:16 remaining.  Cervantes then led ARC into position for Williams’s wining field goal five minutes later.  Before the injury, Boek had moved his game up another notch.  In addition to throwing for 130 yards and two touchdowns in the first three quarters, he also piled up 118 yard rushing.  Corey Jackson was the top receiver for ARC, finishing with six catches and a TD while Walker turned in another fine performance, making five catches for 114 yards and two scores.  Treston Teague again anchored the defense along with Andrew Paik and Christopher Brown.

september 8, 2007

ARC 51, De Anza 20  

The Beavers gave up two quick first quarter touchdowns to the Dons, but then ran off 48 unanswered points to pick up their first win of the season.  Derrick Watkins led the ground attack with 128 yards, but it was Michael Dutra who did much of the damage, pounding for 40 tough yards and three touchdowns.  As a team, ARC totaled 256 yards rushing.  Quarterback Cody Boek turned in a strong performance, tossing for 207 yards and three scoring strikes by completing 14 of 26 passes.  Boek’s primary targets were Matt Cole and Bradley Walker, who each hauled in four passes and a touchdown.  Kicker Ryan Williams converted three of his four field goal attempts, two of them beyond 40 yards.  The momentum of the game shifted with the ARC defense.  Despite trailing early due to turnovers, the Beavers clamped down defensively and allowed the offense time to get in gear.  Jeff Proshchold and Treston Teague led the team in tackles with apiece, and David Little and Jay Reddic each added three.  Reddic also picked off a De Anza pass, as did Shane Scott.

september 1, 2007

San Mateo 34, ARC 14