By Ray Hamill — The Del Norte Warriors have been building towards this weekend all year.

The No. 2 seeds in the NCS Division-5 bracket will kick off the postseason against No. 7 Alhambra in Crescent City, and expectations are that the Big 4 champions are ready to make some serious noise and perhaps challenge for a first-ever section title.

Head coach Nick White and his players, however, aren’t taking anything for granted, and are looking forward to the challenge.

“They run the spread pretty much every play, and they’re big up front and have some skill players that can run the ball,” White said of the Bulldogs. “It’ll be a good test for us.”

Playing in front of a home crowd will be an advantage for the Warriors in more ways than one.

Not only does the Martinez program have to make a six-and-a-half hour drive for the game to play in front of what is expected to be a loud and enthusiastic home crowd, but they’ll also be playing on grass probably for the first time this season, and on a very crowned field.

And that’s not all.

“It’s just nice to have the home field advantage with the routine during the day and preparing for the game,” said White, who has taken the Warriors to the playoffs in his first year as head coach. “And then obviously, they have to come all the way up to Crescent City.”

The Warriors are 9-1, with their only loss coming against a powerhouse Mazama in Oregon, while the Bulldogs come into the game at 5-5.

And facing a spread offense shouldn’t be a problem for a Warriors team that has faced several different styles of teams all season.

It’s something that has helped this team mature.

When asked what has impressed him most about his team’s development this fall, White said “it’s their overall understanding of the game.

“We’ve seen a lot of stuff through the season, and we keep progressing and the kids pick it up.”

Against the Bulldogs, the Warriors will look to establish their running game and physicality, as they have all season.

“The keys will be establishing the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball, just like we always do. We live and die by being physical,” the coach said. “Offensively, we want to run the ball, and defensively getting them into third and long will be key.”

Game time is set for 7 p.m. and the game will be broadcast live on KPOD 97.9 FM.