Photos by Ray Hamill/HumboldtSports.com

By Ray Hamill — The McKinleyville Panthers suffered their second straight loss at Fortuna on Friday night, but with a much-improved performance there was plenty to feel good about.

The Panthers kicked off their 2024 season with a 50-18 loss to Kelseyville two weeks ago and were always going to face a tough challenge in their second game against the Huskies, who were determined to quickly put a disappointing loss to Arcata behind them in their Homecoming showdown.

And the Huskies did exactly that with a 36-0 victory.

But McKinleyville head coach Fel Barlow saw a lot to be happy about with his players.

“I really liked the performance from my kids,” he said. “They bounced back from (the Kelseyville game). It was a lot more disciplined.”

Injuries to key players such as senior running back/linebacker Kaden Waugh and junior quarterback Kyle Johnston didn’t help matters, with the former sidelined for much of the second half.

But their teammates responded and played hard all night.

“We played better. We did what we could do, especially with all the injuries,” Barlow added.

The ever-reliable Steven Graves in particular had a good game in the trenches and he continues to lead the way on a young Mack team that started three underclassmen on the offensive line.

“The offensive line blocked a little bit better than they did last week and we were able to run the ball a little better,” Barlow said. “And our defense did well.”

Juniors Kahlil Edison and Walter Morton made several key tackles on defense and impressed their coach, while fellow junior Jeremiah Smith did a good job running the ball.

“A lot of them are first-year varsity players and they saw the improvement,” the Mack coach added. “We’re young and we’re getting better.”

Fortuna head coach Mike Benbow also paid tribute to the McKinleyville players after the game.

“Hats off to McKinleyville, their boys played hard the entire game,” he said.

A tough schedule for the Panthers continues next week when they welcome an always dangerous University Prep team that is 2-1 to McKinleyville High School.