Fortuna’s Leo Vargas reacts late during Tuesday’s league-clinching win at Arcata.
By Ray Hamill — A statement performance in a statement win earned a Eureka standout athlete of the week honors this week.
Senior Gavyn Haberman scored three touchdowns in a dominating 41-6 win in football for the Loggers over their crosstown rivals St. Bernard’s at the Redwood Bowl on Saturday night.
The team performance sent a message to the rest of the Big 4 teams and nobody played a bigger role in the outcome than Haberman.
The outstanding senior cornerback/running back scored on both sides of the ball and found the end zone twice in the third quarter, including a 60-yard pick six, to help his team pull away.
But he wasn’t the only local standout this week.
Arcata senior Madyson Nelson capped an outstanding season in girls golf with a good showing at the North Coast Section tournament.
Nelson, who claimed a second straight H-DNL title last week, led her team at the NCS tournament with a round of 99 at Rooster Run Golf Club in Petaluma earlier this week.
And that earns her athlete of the week honors.
Team of the week honors go to a pair of soccer championship squads.
The Eureka girls stepped up their game late in the Big 4 schedule to overtake rival Fortuna on the way to clinching the championship with a 1-0 win over McKinleyville on Tuesday.
After going 2-2 during a four-game stretch midway through conference play, the Loggers rallied to win a third straight league title by posting a tie and two wins in their final three games.
The Fortuna boys team was equally impressive on the way to winning this year’s H-DNL championship.
After dropping two of their opening six games in league play, the Huskies rallied to win all six of their games over the second half of league play, including a 2-0 win at Arcata on Tuesday in their league finale to edge their rivals Arcata and Del Norte for the pennant.
ATHLETES OF THE WEEK
Gavyn Haberman
Eureka Football, Senior
Haberman set the tone for his teammates in Saturday’s big win, as the Loggers got their first conference victory since 2021.
He opened the scoring for Eureka on a 17-yard TD run late in the first quarter and would add two more touchdowns in a high-scoring third quarter to help seal the impressive lopsided victory.
For more on his big game, see Loggers end long conference losing streak with statement win …
Submitted photo
Madyson Nelson
Arcata Golf, Senior
Nelson dominated the rest of the H-DNL all fall and had the low score in all seven rounds of league play.
The league championship is the second straight for Nelson, who also led the Arcata Tigers to a team league title.
Nelson and the Tigers closed out the fall season at this week’s NCS tournament in Petaluma.
Submitted photo – The Eureka Loggers were crowned Big 4 champions on Tuesday.
TEAMS OF THE WEEK
Fortuna Boys Soccer
Eureka Girls Soccer
The Huskies and Loggers would not be denied.
Both teams grew in stature as the season progressed and both came into the final day of action with plenty of work still remaining.
But they did not disappoint their fans and both teams prevailed on the final day of league play with key wins.
The Huskies had to battle to beat longtime rivals Arcata to the boys title, while the Loggers stood firm and did just enough to get past McKinleyville for the girls pennant.
Head coaches Daniel Holmes of Fortuna and Melania Valdez of Eureka both deserve a lot of credit for guiding their teams to the championships and getting the best out of the players when it mattered most down the stretch of the campaign.
Both teams will now turn their attention to the upcoming NCS playoffs, which get under way next week.
For more on the Fortuna boys, see Huskies shut out the Tigers, claim league title …
For more on the Eureka girls, see Eureka girls close out strong, win another league title …
