Photos by Ray Hamill/HumboldtSports.com
By Ray Hamill — The Del Norte Warriors clinched at least a share of the Big 4 title with a dominating performance at Fortuna on Friday night, and you get the feeling that’s just the start for this group.
The Warriors controlled the line of scrimmage on the way to a 20-7 win, gradually pulling away from the home team with some outstanding defense and a relentless running game featuring three bruising backs.
They held the Huskies to just 17 yards offense in the first half and surprisingly were only two touchdowns up at halftime.
Despite the slender lead, however, this never really looked like a game the league leaders were going to lose.
“Honestly, I thought we played really well,” head coach Nick White said. “We dominated on both sides of the ball. It was kind of like last week. The kids are buying in 100 percent to the game plan and it shows.”
Tanner Forkner (57) and Anthony Slayton were outstanding defensively once again for the Warriors.
In particular, the tandem of Anthony Slayton and Tanner Forkner continued to lead the way on defense at linebacker, containing a dangerous Fortuna offense that caused Eureka some serious problems a week ago.
“They’re the catalysts of what we do,” White said of the duo.
Levi Cox Cooley also had a big game at linebacker, as well as running the ball, where he passed the 1,000 yard mark for the season.
Cox Cooley rushed for 102 yards on 16 carries and opened the scoring midway through the opening quarter on a 24-yard TD run.
Kobe Mitchell, who had 76 yards on the ground in the first half alone before leaving the game with a knock, and Chase Blackburn each also ran the ball effectively behind a bruising and physical offensive line.
Blackburn finished with 41 yards rushing and scored the Warriors’ second TD of the night on a 20-yard run on the first play of the second quarter.
Kenji Adams Lee added his second PAT for a 14-0 lead.
It could have been more but for a lot of penalties called on the Warriors.
In two games against Fortuna this season they have been called for more than 300 yards in penalties, many of them controversial, judging by the Del Norte fans’ reaction.
The numbers certainly seemed lopsided once again.
Either way, the Warriors got the win, improving to 2-0 in league play and 8-1 on the season, with one more game at home to Eureka next Friday before the NCS playoffs.
The Warriors are ranked No. 2 in Division 5, according to MaxPreps.
The Huskies, to their credit, played far better in the second half, with some solid defense keeping the score close.
Offensively, Draven Boyd gave the Huskies a spark in the second half, rushing for 78 yards on six carries and setting up Daeden Taylor’s one-yard TD run late in the game.
OJ Calleja scored the Warriors’ third TD of the night in the fourth quarter to open up a 20-0 lead.
But for the Warriors, it all began on the defensive side of the ball.
“I thought our defense was outstanding,” White said. “Our kids are super aggressive, and we have some kids that are really smart. They listen to what we’re teaching them. Defensively we have a couple of kids that are students of the game.”
