Ray Hamill/HumboldtSports.com — The Fortuna Huskies lost 35-6 to Cardinal Newman on Friday.

HumboldtSports.com — The Eureka Loggers took care of business in their season opener Friday night, overcoming a big early season challenge on the road.

Playing in Union City against James Logan High, the largest high school in the North Coast Section (4,000 students), the Loggers came away with an impressive 41-20 win.

In other games Friday night, Fortuna fell 35-6 to Cardinal Newman at Husky Field, and Del Norte came storming out of the gate with a 40-0 win over Ferndale in Crescent City.

For more details on Fortuna’s opener, check out Cardinal Newman too strong for Huskies.

For the Loggers, it was an impressive first step.

“We were physical and we played great defense, and you know, we definitely took our opportunities on offense,” Eureka head coach Jason White said. “It was a typical first game in terms of too many penalties, illegal formations and that sort of thing.”

Most impressive was the defense, which held James Logan scoreless until the second half and came away with five interceptions, including two from Zach Reed.

Offensively for the Loggers, quarterback Cruz Montana completed 12-of-21 passes for 185 yards, a touchdown and no interceptions.

Alex Miller led a strong running game, with 83 yards and a touchdown on 11 carries, and added 61 yards on three catches.

Robert Weir also had a good night, carrying the ball nine times for 51 yards.

“Besides the penalties, which killed some drives, we were very efficient offensively,” White said.

The Loggers return home to host Ukiah next Friday.

Del Norte 40, Ferndale 0

The Del Norte Warriors sent out a statement of intent with a dominating shutout of the visiting Wildcats in Crescent City.

The game was a close affair for much of the first half, but the Warriors came out a different team after the interval, quickly pulling away.

“We made a number of penalties and mistakes in the first half, and at halftime we got on them,” Del Norte head coach Lewis Nova said of his players. “The third quarter they were pretty impressive.”

Ethan Price had a big game for the home team at both quarterback and receiver, as the Warriors switched things up under center.

Junior quarterback OJ Calleja threw for over 100 yards and a pair of touchdowns to compliment Price’s four TDs between QB and wide out.

It’s something the Warriors’ opponents can expect to see more of in 2018.

“That’s the way coach (Kevin) Price has set up the offense,” Nova said of his coordinator. “We’ve got two quarterbacks that are very capable.”

For Ferndale, it was a disappointing start to the season, but head coach Clint McClurg was happy with his team’s effort.

“You’ve got to give credit where credit’s due,” McClurg said. “Del Norte is big and physical and fast, and they were the better team. But on our end, we kept coming back and fighting.”

Senior Kyler Becksted was impressive in the loss.

“He has a motor that won’t quit,” McClurg said of his linebacker. “He played physical and he played fast.”

Along the line, Dominic Regli and Orion Benton each also impressed for the Wildcats.