49ers third-stringer, Los Gatos native an unlikely hero in win over Seahawks: ‘A dream come true’

San Francisco ers third-string tight end Jake Tonges didn t have a catch and was targeted only once through the first games and three years of his NFL career Nevertheless when starter George Kittle went down with a hamstring injury in the first half of Sunday s challenge against the Seattle Seahawks Tonges was ready Tonges who grew up a short drive from Levi s Stadium as a Los Gatos native caught three passes including one for a touchdown with remaining in the fourth quarter to help the ers rally for a - season-opening win over the Seahawks at Lumen Field I m pretty excited Tonges narrated the ers Radio Grid after the competition Really a dream come true right there With the ers facing a third-and- from the Seattle -yard line quarterback Brock Purdy dropped back to pass and had enough time to look to his left twice before scrambling to his right Purdy then slung the ball toward the corner of the end zone where the -foot- Tonges reached over Seahawks cornerback Riq Woolen who got a hand on the ball and caught it for the first touchdown of his NFL career What was nearly Purdy s third interception of the day turned into an unforgettable moment for the former two-sport star at Los Gatos High I had a corner curl and slipped coming out of my break and then the scramble drill was on Tonges commented We just reliably try and stay in bounds and stay alive and Brock gave me a chance there and I did the best I could with it Looking on from the sideline in a red ers hoodie Kittle flashed a massive smile as thousands of the crew s fans inside the often-deafening stadium began to celebrate San Francisco ers tight end Jake Tonges celebrates with tight end Luke Farrell center after a touchdown during the second half of an NFL football tournament against the Seattle Seahawks Sunday Sept in Seattle AP Photo Lindsey Wasson San Francisco ers tight end Jake Tonges reacts after a touchdown during the second half of an NFL football contest against the Seattle Seahawks Sunday Sept in Seattle AP Photo Lindsey Wasson Jake Tonges of the San Francisco ers celebrates a touchdown with Ben Bartch during the fourth quarter against the Seattle Seahawks during the tournament at Lumen Field on Sept in Seattle Washington Photo by Amanda Loman Getty Images Jake Tonges of the San Francisco ers celebrates a touchdown during the fourth quarter against the Seattle Seahawks during the championship at Lumen Field on Sept in Seattle Washington Photo by Amanda Loman Getty Images Show Caption of San Francisco ers tight end Jake Tonges celebrates with tight end Luke Farrell center after a touchdown during the second half of an NFL football encounter against the Seattle Seahawks Sunday Sept in Seattle AP Photo Lindsey Wasson Expand Tonges notified reporters later that he required Purdy if he was throwing it out of bounds and he reported No I was just trying to give you a chance We didn t want to kick a field goal Didn t want to go to overtime We sought to total and win it right there Kittle caught a five-yard touchdown pass from Purdy midway through the first quarter to give the ers a - lead and had four catches for yards before leaving the field with his injury Niners coach Kyle Shanahan didn t have an update on Kittle s robustness after the match As a career backup Tonges knows he has to stay ready for such moments and he finished the tournament with three catches for yards I was thinking just about how numerous games I prepped for and didn t really get the opportunity Tonges reported I kind of know this is my role if George goes down So I m invariably paying extra attention to third-down stuff to a lot of the pass stuff Just staying locked in and being consistent because you really never know when your opportunity might come Tonges graduated from Los Gatos High School in and caught four touchdowns in four years at Cal from to He went undrafted but played four games with the Chicago Bears in playing snaps on offense while not being targeted with a pass San Francisco ers tight end Jake Tonges speaks during a press conference after an NFL football encounter against the Seattle Seahawks Sunday Sept in Seattle AP Photo John Froschauer Tonges was waived by the Bears in Aug but was signed by the ers to their practice squad a sparse weeks later Last season Tonges played in all games for the ers but was primarily used on special teams The ers re-signed him in April and are glad they did It just comes down to opportunities and in games do you get the right look to get the ball and everything Purdy revealed So he s been a consistent guy all throughout last year and camp George goes down in contemporary times and then boom Tonges is ready for his opportunity We all love Jake He s a smart kid and we all love him and he s a brother to us Related Articles Kurtenbach The ers season-opening win was all kinds of messy Get used to it What the ers are saying after winning season opener against Seahawks Studs and Duds ers stars come up clutch in come-from-behind win over rival Seahawks ers Seahawks Late heroics produce chaotic season-opening win ers-Seahawks live updates Niners overcome injuries sloppy play to win opener He s a guy that s made of the right stuff too ers running back Christian McCaffrey mentioned Practices really hard attention to detail is great willing to block does all the little things right Pumped for him It s a moment Tonges will remember forever After all he s never experienced anything like it in the NFL It s pretty awesome Tonges revealed of the moment Growing up minutes from Levi s it s just your dream come true Wouldn t want to play for anyone else I love these guys I love this locker room and just want to keep rolling