Photos by Ray Hamill/HumboldtSports.com – Action from Wednesday’s game between the Loggers and Panthers at McKinleyville High.

By Ray Hamill — There was no slowing down the defending boys H-DNL champions on Wednesday.

Picking up just where they left off in the spring, the Fortuna Huskies got the better of a spirited Del Norte team at Fortuna, winning 3-1.

RJ Rexford, Antonio Garcinuno and freshman Jesus Herrera each scored for the Huskies, who improved to 4-0 overall and 1-0 in league play.

The Huskies led 1-0 at halftime, before Del Norte’s Yahir Alanis equalized from the penalty spot early in the second half.

But the home team responded like champions when it re-took the lead almost immediately.

In addition to Alanis, goalkeeper Isidro Montanez also had a good game for the visitors, who were playing their first game of the year, as did Junior Ramirez, Chase Gardner and Jin Vue.

“As always, I’m proud of my players for their effort today,” Del Norte head coach David Sanyaolu said. “I think we stood toe to toe with Fortuna till late in the game.”

Fortuna head coach Daniel Holmes was happy with the win and had words of praise for the Warriors.

“I wouldn’t sleep on Del Norte,” he said. “They looked good. They looked strong in places. They definitely have improved. Hats off to them.”

Eureka 1, McKinleyville 1

After losing all three games to the Loggers in the spring, the Panthers got a well-deserved tie against them in their league opener in very foggy conditions on Wednesday.

Flynn Creighton scored 10 minutes in off an assist from Isaac Lien to put Mack ahead, but the visiting Loggers answered just a few minutes later when freshman Trenton Gerber found the back of the net.

“We came out a bit flat footed and sloppy in the first half and McKinleyville made us pay,” Eureka head coach Eddie Garcia said. “In the second half we were a lot more composed and stole possession from McKinleyville and pinned them back.”

Captains Vic Vang in midfield and Ty Bauer in center defense both played well for the Loggers, as did sophomore winger Eli Ladika.

“We have some things to work on. McKinleyville was causing us a bit of trouble on the counters,” Garcia added. “But overall the team played well.

On the other side of the ball, the Mack defense had a solid start to the league campaign, with Gino Dolson-Gonzalez leading the way.

“Our back line held up,” Panthers head coach Ryne Deppe said. “They kept us in the game.”

The result was probably a fair one for both teams.

“It just kind of shows us how even the league is this year,” Deppe said.