Football

Warriors looking good for the playoffs after big win

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The Hoopa Warriors appear to have done enough to qualify for the North Coast Section playoffs after closing out the regular season with a dominating 37-0 win at Ferndale.

The result, coupled with St. Helena’s loss to Middletown on Friday night, should extend Hoopa’s season.

The Warriors came into the weekend as the No. 9 ranked team in Division 7 in the NCS, according to MaxPreps, one spot behind St. Helena.

The Saints, however, do not appear to be playoff eligible after Friday’s loss.

Regardless of other results, the Hoopa players wanted to make a statement in their finale and they did that and more.

“We came out in different formations and we kind of messed with them, because they have film on us,” Hoopa head coach Floyd “Cowboy” Billings said. “We ran a lot of misdirection on them and went to our power game inside the 30.”

Having a fully healthy Bear Little back also helped. 

The senior lineman had been limited the past few weeks because of injury but returned to the defensive line and was a force alongside Gerard Marshall.

“If we have them both, we are a hard team to run on,” the head coach said. “They accommodate each other well.”

Andrew Hunsucker, Darvin Davis IV and Rodney Clark each ran in for a touchdown, while quarterback Lane Campbell completed two TD passes to sophomore Brandon Romero, who is starting to play a bigger role on offense.

The skill players got plenty of help from an offensive line that “just dominated,” according to Billings. 

Defensively, Clark had a big game at middle linebacker, while Davis continues to flourish at free safety.

“We slowed down their passing game,” Billings added.

The Warriors will find out their playoff fate on Sunday.

They close out the regular season with a record of 6-4, including a 3-3 mark in league.

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