The American River College Beavers defeated the Modesto Junior College Pirates at Beaver Stadium on Oct. 1, in a back and forth nail biter that went down to the very last second, by a score of 29-28.

The ARC football team improves to 2-3 on the season. 

A punt block that led to a missed field goal in the fourth quarter by MJC sealed the win for ARC. 

The ARC football team fell behind right away in the first quarter as they were trailing 10-0. 

They had a big second quarter when they erupted for two field goals by Zach Schreiner and a touchdown by quarterback Matt Carlisle to wide receiver Grayson Barnes.

ARC then took a comfortable lead in the third quarter when Kacie Riley ran the ball for a 2-yard touchdown, which gave ARC a comfortable 22-10 lead.

MJC then made a comeback as they responded with a touchdown, a 2-point conversion and a field goal to make it 28-22 with less than eight minutes left in the fourth quarter.

The Beavers then responded with a big touchdown from Riley, as he ran and dove into the end zone with Schreiner securing the field goal, with less than two and a half minutes on the clock.

One of the most significant factors in ARC breaking their three-game losing streak was not only the players on the field, but the rest of the team on the sideline cheering.

Whether ARC was leading or trailing, the home sideline continued to stay loud, and hype each other up. 

The team maintained a loud, positive and resilient attitude that could be felt by everyone in attendance at Beaver Stadium. 

“It affects our game tremendously, it’s like a chain reaction. When one person is up, the whole team goes up,” said Tanner Rubey, a sophomore wide receiver.

Jon Osterhout, ARC’s head coach, said he feels the team relies on their kicker.

“We got some flow going on our offensive side, our ability to rely on our kicker and [what] the kicking game brings to the table, then come out with an incredible punt block and move forward was huge for us,” Osterhout said.

The football team will have a bye week.

“During the bye week, we have a tremendous opportunity to get healthy, and get back to basics,” Osterhout said.

With this win, the Beavers break their three-game losing streak. 

“Our brotherhood, we all came together after the three heartbreaking losses and we got closer and closer, and I feel that we can be deadly to the whole conference,” Rubey said.

ARC will play Shasta College in Redding on Oct. 15 at 6 p.m.