File photo – The Hoopa Warriors beat South Fork in double overtime Saturday afternoon.

For the second straight weekend, the Hoopa Warriors had to travel for a scheduled home game.

This time, however, the journey back home was more enjoyable.

On Saturday afternoon, the Warriors got their first win of the season, beating South Fork 28-20 in double overtime and improving 1-1

The game was switched to Crusader Field in Eureka because of the wildfires and smoke conditions in the Hoopa area this week.

Last week, the Warriors traveled to Crusader Field and lost 47-6 to St. Bernard’s.

But this week’s game was far more competitive and it took two extra periods to separate the two teams.

Tied at 14-14 after four quarters, both teams then traded touchdowns in the first overtime.

The Warriors, however, secured the victory in the second overtime.

No scoring details were immediately available for Hoopa.

The game was scheduled to kick off at 2 p.m. but was pushed back 45 minutes while the teams waited for an ambulance to show up.

“It was a tough game for us,” said South Fork head coach Karl Terrell, whose team dropped to 0-2 on the season. 

The Cubs have a mixed roster, with a handful of experienced players as well as several inexperienced players and it’s been a challenging couple of opening games as the new players try to adjust to the varsity level.

“I think our biggest opponent is ourselves right now,” Terrell added.

There were, however, some bright spots for the Cubs, who are back playing 11-player football for the first half of this season before retuning to eight-player football for league play and the North Coast Section playoffs.

Senior Justin Freitas and junior Wesley Way both played well on both sides of the ball, as did senior Broc Contreras.

No scoring details were immediately available for South Fork either.

We’ll have more on that early next week.

A pair of senior linemen also stood out for the Cubs, with Josey Paula and Lucas Genolio leading the way in the trenches.

“They did a good job on the offensive and defensive side,” the head coach said of the experienced duo.

The Cubs offense ran the ball effectively, but miscues cost them late in the game.

After committing seven penalties through the opening three quarters, the Cubs were flagged nine times in the fourth quarter alone.

Hoopa, according to Terrell, looked better this week than in their season opener against the Crusaders.

Things won’t get any easier for the Cubs next week when they travel to play a Ferndale team that will have plenty of confidence and momentum after  a big comeback victory at Fort Bragg on Friday night.

Hoopa, meanwhile, will travel to play Arcata at McKinleyville High School next weekend.