Photos by Ray Hamill/HumboldtSports.com

By Ray Hamill — Del Norte did what Del Norte does in Saturday’s NCS playoff football game against Moreau Catholic in Crescent City, and because of that the Warriors are going where no other Warriors team has ever gone before.

The Warriors wore down their opponents on the way to a 28-7 win, utilizing a relentless ground attack and a physical hard-hitting defense.

The victory secures a first-ever NCS championship game berth for the program after falling just shy eight times before, including last season.

But under first-year head coach Nick White, this year’s Warriors team has been on a mission all year long, culminating with Saturday’s dominating performance against a very good Moreau Catholic team, one that reportedly features several Division-I college prospects.

“It’s huge,” White said of securing the championship game berth. “It’s huge for the program. We’ve never been this far. These kids are in unchartered territory, they’re making history, and we appreciate and enjoy every single moment that goes with it.”
The Warriors are predictable, yet still manage to overwhelm their opponents, and they feature a trio of outstanding backs that thrive behind a physical line.

They didn’t need the big play against the Mariners, they just wore them down with five- or six-yard gains on every play it seemed.

“We’re just so physical up front, we just take over on both sides of the ball,” the head coach said. “The kids come to play as hard as they can on every single play.”

Defensively, the Warriors held standout Moreau running back Fresh Ison to minus-nine yards offense.

Quarterback OJ Calleja scored two of the Warriors’ four TDs on QB sneaks, giving his team the lead on the first play of the second quarter.

Kobe Mitchell added a second TD later in the quarter on a two-yard run, finishing with 83 yards rushing on the night.

But just as it appeared as if the Warriors would carry a 14-0 lead into halftime, a long kickoff return gave the visitors possession deep in Del Norte territory in the final minute of the half.

The Mariners, however, were denied on a big defensive stand to close out the half, with a brilliant Nick Freeman pass break-up preserving the shutout going into the break.

Del Norte’s Nick Freeman

The Warriors received the kickoff in the second half and were driving well before a fumble gave the Mariners possession and led to their only score of the game, as they cut the deficit to seven and made some of the home fans a little nervous.

It proved to be just a minor setback, as the Warriors immediately put together another grinding drive resulting in Calleja’s second TD of the night.

Mitchell closed out the scoring early in the fourth quarter on special teams, recovering the ball in the end zone after Kai Baugh blocked a Moreau Catholic punt.

Levi Cox Cooley led the Del Norte running backs with 152 yards on 21 carries, while Chase Blackburn had 73 yards on the ground, giving him over 1,000 on the season.

The history-making success of this year’s team doesn’t come as a surprise to the first-year head coach, who knew all along he had a talented roster.

“The team chemistry is really great. Every kid cares about each other,” he said. “Ad they just buy into the program. It’s really a great atmosphere to be around, and we enjoy practice every day.”

What makes the relentless running game so impressive is the fact everyone knows it’s coming and still can’t stop it.

“It’s rinse and repeat. That’s our recipe every game,” White said. “We wear people down. We run the ball and we play great defense.”

And that’s good enough to send this team somewhere no other Del Norte team has ever gone before.