Photos by Ray Hamill/HumboldtSports.com – Kallen Barrote

By Ray Hamill — The Fortuna Huskies responded to a disappointing defeat at St. Bernard’s in their Big 4 opener with a dominating performance on the ground at Eureka on Friday.

The Huskies improved to 1-1 in conference with a 38-14 win, pulling away in the second half.

And they did it by rushing for 297 yards with six different players contributing.

Quarterback Chad Mussey, who just recently returned from an injury layoff, was instrumental in the win.

“Chad Mussey did a really nice job controlling the game,” head coach Mike Benbow said. “He had one of his best games for us.”

The senior standout rushed for 61 yards on 13 carries and also completed 7 of 13 passes for 93 yards and a touchdown.

The ever-dangerous Jake Houseworth, who has established himself as one of the best players in the H-DNL this season, led the ground attack with 135 yards and a touchdown on 18 carries.

Caden Wilkinson also had a big night and rushed for 98 yards and a pair of TDs on 12 carries, while Tim Still added 10 yards on one carry.

Kallen Barrote led the receivers with four catches for 57 yards and caught a 37-yard TD pass from Mussey.

Still had two catches for 21 yards, while Kadian Thurmon had one reception for 15 yards.

With the win, the Huskies kept their championship hopes alive and they can clinch a share of the Big 4 championship with a win over Del Norte at Husky Field in the regular-season finale for both teams on Friday night.

The Del Norte Warriors won their fifth straight game this past weekend, rallying to beat St. Bernard’s 18-17 in Crescent City.

Del Norte is now 2-0 in the Big 4 and 6-2 overall and clinched at least a share of the Big 4 title with the win.

Fortuna is 6-3 overall.

Also this coming weekend, St. Bernard’s will host Eureka at Crusader Field on Saturday afternoon.