Photos by Ray Hamill/HumboldtSports.com – The Huskies will host the Warriors on Friday.

By Ray Hamill — Big 4 fans will get a little sampling of what the league will be like this year when Fortuna hosts Del Norte in a non-league game on Friday night.

The Huskies (3-2) are coming off a tough 48-21 loss at Tracy a week ago, and will be looking to bounce back against an opponent more their own size.

The Warriors, meanwhile, have been unstoppable this season, winning all five of their games thus far.

Last week, they defeated a good Mazama team, 28-7, for their most impressive win of the season.

“It was a timely win, in that we won our first few games and people were saying they weren’t very strong teams, but we improved last week,” Del Norte head coach Lewis Nova said. “Mazama are always a powerhouse out of Oregon, and we were able to stay toe-to-toe with them, and play a very good hitting game, and come out on top.”

Fortuna will present every bit the challenge for the Warriors, whose schedule gets tougher as the season progresses.

“They bring everything,” Nova said of the Huskies. “They’re always a solid team, they have a solid coaching staff, and now you throw in that they’re the defending state champions.”

Senior Adam Medeiros is having a big season for the Huskies at tight end and linebacker.

Big playmakers on each team

The Huskies have a ton of options on offense, with quarterback Zac Claus enjoying a good season directing the offense.

Levi Nyberg has a team-high 412 yards total offense, including five TDs, while Joey Pontes has been every bit as effective, with 340 yards and five TDs.

Jason Besanceney has a team-high four rushing touchdowns.

“We’re kind of a carbon copy of each other,” Nova said. “We like to establish the run, and make some big plays here and there.”

And with Del Norte’s Ethan Price and Sebastian Puente every big the playmakers, the big plays are where this game could very well be decided, one way or the other.

“We’ve got to score whenever we’re in the red zone,” Nova said. “And we can’t let them have big plays.”

Friday’s kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. and the game will be broadcast live on The Mix 95.1 FM and The Edge 106.7 FM with the pregame showing getting under way at 7:10 p.m.