Photos by Ray Hamill/HumboldtSports.com – The Del Norte players celebrate a goal against Eureka in the final week of the regular season.

By Ray Hamill — It will go down as one of the most exciting high school boys soccer seasons we’ve seen in some time here on the North Coast.

Four teams battled neck and neck for the league title, which was not decided until the final week of play, with several twists and turns along the way and plenty of excitement.

When all was said and done, the Del Norte Warriors took home a first league pennant in 28 years, claiming just their second-ever league title.

And they achieved that with an outstanding defense and a junior-heavy team that should only continue to grow together and could be even more dangerous next season.

Arcata, Eureka and Fortuna pushed them all the way, with the Huskies placing second and finishing just one point behind the league champs.

The Fortuna boys would go further than any of their league rivals in the North Coast Section playoffs and reached the semifinals in the Division-1 bracket before eventually bowing out.

The league coaches voted Fortuna’s Hector Dominguez as the 2023 H-DNL Outfield MVP and Del Norte’s Isidro Montanez as the MVP Goalkeeper and both players enjoyed outstanding seasons leading their respective teams.

But they weren’t the only stars to impress in what was a thrilling season for local fans.

Here then are the Humboldt Sports end-of-season awards …

COACH OF THE YEAR 

David Sanyaolu

Del Norte

The Del Norte Warriors are known more for their success in sports like football, volleyball, wrestling and basketball, but Sanyaolu is doing his best to change that perspective.

He has been one of the most respected soccer coaches in the H-DNL for several years and led the Warriors to an NCS final in 2018 before they eventually lost in overtime to Fortuna.

Clearly he has put his stamp on the program and arguably did his best job yet this past fall when he helped the school to win a first league title since 1995 and just a second ever.

Sanyaolu had his team playing as a cohesive unit this year and had the Warriors well prepared for a tough stretch run that saw them win road games at Arcata and Eureka in the final week on the way to clinching the elusive title.

Once they got going, no team seemed to play with a greater belief this year than the Warriors and the head coach deserves much of the credit for that.

TEAM OF THE YEAR 

Del Norte Warriors

It wasn’t just the fact they won a league title for the first time in almost three decades, nor the fact they were the team that rose to the challenge more than any other in what was an extremely competitive and close campaign.

But rather the manner in which they won the pennant is what makes them my choice for team of the year.

The Warriors were outstanding on defense, where a cohesive unit played well beyond the sum of their parts.

After losing two of their first three league games, the Del Norte boys posted an incredible eight shutouts in their final nine games and at one stage did not give up a goal in more than 520 minutes of play.

And with most of their players expected back next year — along with their coach — it looks like the best is yet to come from this group.

PLAYER OF THE YEAR 

Izaiah Grosveld

Arcata, Junior

No player caused more problems for opposing teams than the Arcata junior playmaker, who was relentless in the middle of the field and the heart and soul of his team.

Grosveld’s game has taken some big strides over the past few seasons and his time with the Olympic Development Program is clearly paying dividends.

The Arcata standout was a threat every time he touched the ball and always had to be accounted for.

The Tigers may have fallen short in their bid to retain the league title they won a year ago, but Grosveld helped to keep them in contention until the final week and was a force every time he took the field.