Photo by Mark Gorge – The Arcata Tigers after their loss at No. 1 seed Kennedy on Friday night.

Del Norte and South Fork each advanced to the semifinal round in the North Coast Section football playoffs on Friday night, while both Fortuna and Arcata bowed out on the road against No. 1 seeds.

The Del Norte Warriors, who are seeded No. 2 in Division 5, made light work of visiting Alhambra in Crescent City, dominating on both sides of the ball in a 41-6 win.

The Warriors will now host No 3 Moreau Catholic, a team they beat in their season opener, next Saturday night at Mike Whalen Field.

The South Fork Cubs also advanced after beating Laytonville 34-0 in the eight-person bracket.

The No. 3 Cubs will play at No. 2 Branson next Saturday night.

Also in action on Friday, Fortuna lost 35-24 at No. 1 seed Encinal in Division 5, the No. 8 Huskies’ first playoff loss since 2017.

Arcata also lost at a No. 1 seed, falling 35-6 at Kennedy in Division 6.

Alhambra 6, Del Norte 41

Anthony Slayton led a dominating Del Norte defensive performance, as the Warriors held the visitors to zero offensive yards in the first half.

“He was a beast on defense,” Del Norte head coach Nick White said of the senior middle linebacker. “He was streaking all over.”

It was business as usual for the Warriors on both sides of the ball, as they rolled over the visitors with their relentless running game.

And it was business as usual for running back Chase Blackburn in particular.

Blackburn rushed for 195 yards and four TDs behind another stellar performance by his offensive line.

In the past two games, Blackburn has rushed for 450 yards and six TDs.

Kobe Mitchell also ran in for a TD, while quarterback OJ Calleja and receiver Kaleb Price connected for a touchdown to round out the scoring.

“We played really well,” White said. “We held them to zero yards in the first half so obviously our defensive game plan worked pretty good. And offensively we did what we wanted to do.

“We were ready to go and they weren’t.”

Fortuna 24, Encinal 35

The Jets pulled away in the third quarter after the Huskies had matched them stride for stride early and had led 8-7 late in the first half.

Quarterback Daeden Taylor led a strong Fortuna rushing game with 90 yards and a TD on 23 carries, as the visitors grounded out 238 yards total on 63 carries.

Jordan Bennett also had a big game, after coming on strong late in the regular season, running for 73 yards and two TDs on 16 carries, as well as pulling in a 35-yard reception.

Kobe Letter also had a big game, rushing for 64 yards on 12 carries, as Fortuna spread the ball around offensively.

Fortuna closes out the season 4-7.

Laytonville 0, South Fork 34

The South Fork Cubs comfortably took care of business at home to Laytonville, beating the Warriors for the third time in three matchups this season and posting their first shutout of the year.

Alex Harding was instrumental in the win once again, rushing for 153 yards and four touchdowns on 17 carries, while adding 10 tackles on defense.

Zech Wilks also had a big night defensively, finishing with seven tackles and three sacks, while Jayden Paine had 80 yards rushing and a TD on eight carries.