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The Fortuna Huskies enjoyed the better of exchanges early in their game at Ukiah on Saturday night, but the Wildcats rallied in the second half on the way to securing a 26-12 victory.

The loss drops the Huskies to 0-2 on the new season, as they now turn their attention to their big annual rivalry game against Ferndale next week.

And while they were unable to get their first win of the campaign at Ukiah, head coach Mike Benbow was happy with his players’ collective effort.

“I felt like our kids came out and played hard,” the coach said. “We played for four quarters (but) came up short.”

Led by the dynamic duo of Mako Limon and Kavi Bolden in their offensive backfield, the Huskies impressed with their ground attack and rushed for more than 300 yards in the loss.

Limon finished the night with 198 yards rushing, while Bolden added 98 yards.

The visitors led 12-6 at halftime, but the Ukiah coaches made some good adjustments and outscored Fortuna 20-0 in the second half.

“They kind of figured out our soft spots and took control from there,” Benbow said. “But we fought hard, and I’m super proud of our kids.

“Mako and Kavi were studs.”

Tyson Evanow also had a good game for the Huskies on the defensive side of the ball.

Ukiah, a school of 1800 students, improved to 2-1.

And Benbow believes his Division-6 team will benefit from the experience of playing a Division-2 program when the Big 4 gets under way early next month.

“Ultimately it was a great team effort tonight,” he said. “We play these games for league.”

He added that there were some positives.

“Absolutely,” he said. “We’re not going to lay down and we’re not going to quit. Our kids played all four quarters and that’s all you can ask as a coach.”

The Huskies will host neighbors Ferndale in the annual Milk Can game next Friday night in their home opener.