ERIE — If there was concern about Erie after it lost two of its final three games of the regular season, at least some of that was alleviated in the Tigers’ strong opening performance in the Class 5A playoffs.

On a chilled Friday night at Tiger Stadium, the defense dominated and the fourth quarter was decisive in No. 12 Erie’s 20-3 win over No. 21 Regis Jesuit.

Quarterback Jack Arnold threw and ran for a score in a span of 3 1/2 minutes early in the final frame, turning a 7-3 game into a comfortable three-score lead for the Tigers (7-4), who will face No. 5 Valor Christian next week.

On a pivotal fourth down on the last play of the third, Arnold connected with Braylon Toliver, the Oregon State commit who’d missed the past two weeks with an injury, before hitting a well-covered Owen Coll

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