Ray Hamill/HumboldtSports.com – Hoopa’s Pergish Montgomery in action at Arcata on Friday night.

By Ray Hamill — The Hoopa Warriors will be looking to get their running game going over the final three weeks of the season, after having to rely a little too heavily on their pass attack in recent weeks.

Not that quarterback John Smith and his receivers have disappointed, with an average of four TD passes a game in three league games.

But head coach Sonny Ryles readily admits his offense needs more versatility going forward, and improving their run game will be a key, on both sides of the ball.

“We need to continue to work on our running game, so we can be a little more balanced,” said Ryles, whose team will travel to the Redwood Bowl for a second straight weekend this Friday night for a matchup against McKinleyville. “And also our run defense, and getting guys in the correct position to make plays is huge.”

One bright spot running the ball in last weekend’s 36-19 loss at Arcata was the play of junior Pergish Montgomery, who had some nice gains in the first half, before being sidelined in the second half with a rolled ankle.

“He found some holes and made some guys miss,” Ryles said of Montgomery, whom the coach hopes to have available for the McKinleyville game.

Check out some of Montgomery’s moves here.

A win at McKinleyville will make the Warriors playoff eligible.