Photo by Phoebe Becker

By Ray Hamill — The history making South Fork Cubs are this week’s Humboldt Sports Team of the Week.

After securing a first-ever North Coast Section championship in football for the school, the Cubs have set a new standard for the program.

South Fork defeated Stuart Hall 44-22 in the eight-player Division-1 final in Miranda on Saturday.

“It means a lot to the program, the community and the school, and hopefully the youth football (in the area) will keep this thing going and we can get back to 11-man football,” head coach Karl Terrell said after his team’s historic victory. “That’s always the goal.”

The win also avenged an earlier defeat to the Knights and was the team’s sixth straight to close out the season.

In addition to being this week’s team of the week, the Cubs close out the season ranked No. 7 in the state among eight-player programs, according to MaxPreps.

This week’s athletes of the week, meanwhile, are a pair of talented senior cross country runners who also enjoyed big weeks.

McKinleyville’s Damian Dinan and Eureka’s Sequoia Ashby both qualified for their weekend’s CIF state championships in Fresno after big performances at Saturday’s NCS championships in Hayward.

Dinan placed fourth overall in the boys Division-5 race, completing the three-mile course in a time of 16 minutes, 4.8 seconds.

Ashby, meanwhile, placed 15th in the girls Division-3 race, finishing in a time of 19:19.6.

Submitted photo – Damian Dinan, fourth from right, celebrates his state qualification on Saturday.

ATHLETES OF THE WEEK 

Damian Dinan

McKinleyville Cross Country, Senior

It has been a remarkable couple of years for Dinan, who has won all 10 of his regular-season H-DNL races since the beginning of his junior year.

This year he was also crowned league champion for the boys on his way to qualifying for the NCS championships and he has stepped up with his best performances in the biggest races of the season.

His time at the section meet was a PR for three miles.

For more on his big week, see Dinan, Ashby qualify for state championships after big day at NCS …

Submitted photo – Eureka’s Sequoia Ashby, left, celebrates her state qualification on Saturday.

Sequoia Ashby

Eureka Cross Country, Senior

Ashby has been equally impressive this season and also was crowned league champion on her way to qualifying for the section meet.

The impressive Eureka senior posted a pair of PRs in her past two races, one for a 5K race at the league championships and one for a three-mile race at the section championships.

Ashby won four of her five league races this season.

For more on her big week, see Dinan, Ashby qualify for state championships after big day at NCS …

Photo by Phoebe Becker

TEAM OF THE WEEK

South Fork Football

In true championship style, the South Fork players played their best football down the stretch of the season and it paid off for them.

After losing to the Knights in a regular-season game back in September, the Cubs got some pay back in the biggest game of the season last weekend and dominated in all facets of the game.

From the coaches to the players, the Cubs out-performed the Knights on the way to the NCS pennant, securing the win with a relentless ground attack that saw them rack up 351 yards and five touchdowns on 59 carries.

For more on their big week, see South Fork Cubs win historic NCS championship …