A short-handed Cubs team dropped its season opener at home to Fort Bragg on Friday night, falling 42-27.

South Fork was missing three starting linemen for various reasons and the absences took their toll against the Timberwolves.

“We played like it was the first game of the season,” head coach Karl Terrell said. “That’s what it felt like. We made some mistakes and we had three starting linemen out and a second string defensive back.”

It wasn’t all bad, however, with some big performances for the home team, most notably the play of Wesley Way and Justin Freitas, on both sides of the ball.

Way rushed for a game-high 127 yards on 24 carries and scored a touchdown, while Freitas added 99 yards on six carries and scored a pair of rushing TDs, as well as pulling in a reception for 20 yards.

Quarterback Shevy Bero-Vanmeter completed six of nine passes for 88 yards and no interceptions and also rushed for 25 yards and a TD on nine carries, while receiver Brock Contreras pulled in four catches for 68 yards, including a 50-yard reception.

“We put up some scores and even without the linemen we ran for 255 yards,” Terrell said. “We hung in there, we’ve just got some things to work on.”

Freitas also led the Cubs in tackles with seven, including three solo, while Max Kent and Camren Washington each had six tackles and Lucas Genolio and Travis Way each had five

Bero-Vanmeter had South Fork’s only sack of the night, as well as a fumble recovery.

Freitas capped a good all-around performance with five kickoffs for an average of 37 yards.

The Cubs will try to bounce back when they play at Hoopa this Friday night.

As of Monday afternoon, it appears the game will go ahead in Hoopa, although that could change depending on the nearby wildfires.

Terrell is hoping to have all three of the starting linemen back for the game.