Photos by Ray Hamill/HumboldtSports.com

By Ray Hamill — The Fortuna Huskies got the Big 4 off to an impressive start on Friday night as they celebrated their Homecoming with a 31-14 victory over the Del Norte Warriors.

Quarterback Will Shaw threw for four touchdowns and the Fortuna defense held the visitors scoreless for the opening three quarters with a statement performance.

After opening the season with three straight losses, including a lopsided loss to rival Ferndale, the Huskies have now posted back-to-back wins to get their season back on track.

And more importantly, at least for one night they sit alone atop the Big 4 standings.

“That was a good win for us,” Fortuna head coach Mike Benbow said. “I really feel like our kids stepped up and played at a very high level.

“I’m super proud of our kids. There are a lot of distractions at Homecoming and our kids showed up and played hard and I couldn’t be more proud.”

Shaw and the Huskies aerial attack enjoyed a very productive night.

The junior QB threw two TDs each to Gavin Mayberry and Michael Shaw, while running back Mako Limon added a late 33-yard TD run to cap a good night for the home team.

“He is so calm and cool,” Benbow said of his quarterback, who battled an injury early in the season but appears to be fully healthy again. “He’s finally getting healthier and getting into his groove, which we knew he would.

“And our kids caught the ball. He put it in playable spots.

“I was super proud of our whole offense, and our whole team. Our defense played well too.”

The home team started fast and never really looked in danger of losing this one despite a late rally by the visitors that saw them cut the deficit to 10 with a little over four minutes remaining.

That was as close as they would get in what was a disappointing conference opener for the five-time defending Big 4 champs.

Fortuna received the opening kickoff and efficiently marched 51 yards to the end zone, with Will Shaw and Mayberry connecting on a 30-yard TD pass on a fourth-and-six.

After the Huskies defense forced a quick three-and-out, the offense went to work again, with the junior QB throwing a 31-yard scoring pass to Michael Shaw, who made an impressive catch near the goal line and rolled into the end zone to double his team’s advantage.

The Del Norte offense looked outmatched in the first half, with the Warriors’ only two first downs of the opening quarter coming on Fortuna penalties, and they trailed 12-0 going into the second quarter.

After taking over on downs on the first play of the period, the Huskies wasted no time adding to their tally with Will Shaw finding Mayberry on a slant that the latter took 73 yards to the end zone, and they led 18-0 barely two minutes into the second quarter.

Once again, the Del Norte offense could manage little on the ensuing possession as the Huskies defense forced another quick three-and-out.

Just two plays later, however, Del Norte senior linebacker Jason Murphy announced his return from injury with a fumble recovery that appeared to give his team some life.

The Warriors would then drive deep into Fortuna territory thanks to a couple of fourth-down conversions, but the home defense made a big goal-line stand to end the half and the Huskies carried an 18-0 lead into the break.

“That was huge,” Benbow said. “It definitely gave us momentum going into halftime.”

Things didn’t change much in the third quarter, with the Huskies forcing another quick three-and-out and then adding to their advantage when the two Shaws — who are not related — connected on an 82-yard scoring pass that all but ended the game as a contest.

The Warriors would make things a little interesting in the fourth, when they scored a pair of touchdowns to pull within 10.

Quarterback Kanyon Starkey threw a 31-yard TD pass to Max Borges with five minutes remaining in the game, and less than a minute later Starkey connected with Sawyer Fry on a 40-yard TD pass.

A two-point conversion by Tobias Meyers made it 24-14 and the Warriors appeared to have some life.

But the home team would have the final say, with Limon’s TD run ending any hopes of a dramatic comeback for the defending conference champs.

“Our kids were able to take care of business,” Benbow said. “Del Norte made us (go to the passing game). They did a great job stopping our run game.”

Fortuna finished the night with 263 yards passing and 103 on the ground.

Michael Shaw had two catches for 121 yards, both of which went for TDs, while Mayberry had three catches for 101 yards.

Kavi Bolden also had a reception for 39 yards.

Limon finished with 74 yards rushing on 16 carries.

With the win, the Huskies are now 1-0 in conference and 2-3 overall, while the Warriors dropped to 0-1 and 3-2.

In JV action, the Huskies won 24-15 to go to 1-0 in the Big 4 and 3-2 overall.

Del Norte dropped to 0-1 and 3-2.

Also on Friday night, the Ferndale Wildcats continued to roll with a 71-0 win at Hoopa in both schools’ Little 4 opener.

Witt the win, the Cats improved to 1-0 in conference and 5-0 overall, while Hoopa dropped to 0-1 and 1-4.

In JV action at Hoopa, the Cats won 34-6.