File photos

It was always going to be a tough challenge for the Hoopa Warriors going up against a Ferndale team that is setting standards we’ve rarely, if ever, seen in the H-DNL.

The two schools faced off in their conference opener at Hoopa on Friday night, and the Wildcats rolled to a 73-0 win, posting a fifth straight shutout to start the season.

Unfortunately for the host Warriors, however, injuries continued to take their toll on an already small roster and Hoopa had just 12 players available for much of the night.

And while the result was obviously a disappointing one for the home team, the effort the players are giving was not.

“Right now, Hoopa football we’re so thin in numbers,” head coach Curtis Kane said. “I’m just telling my guys to do their best.”

The loss dropped Hoopa to 1-4 on the season and 0-1 in the Little 4.

But Kane likes the fight his players are showing, with several of them battling the entire game despite the overwhelming deficit.

Brian Richards has been playing at an all-conference level for much of the season and that continued to be the case on Friday night despite having to play a different role because of the many team injuries, particularly along the line.

Richards is playing inspiring football for his team and appears willing to do whatever he needs to to help his teammates, moving to tackle and embracing the new challenge.

Likewise with fellow senior Allen Kane, who epitomized the Warriors’ fighting spirit with a gutsy performance.

“He dogged up,” Curtis Kane said of the senior quarterback. “He played the entire game and he kept getting back up.”

Uriah Cheng is another senior who has not given up the fight and came up with some key receptions in Friday’s loss.

“Uriah caught every ball that was thrown his way,” the Hoopa coach said. 

Senior Daniel Peralta and junior Joshua Moon also impressed and continued to battle to the final buzzer.

“Daniel Peralta had a great night making plays wherever he was,” Curtis Kane said. “And Joshua Moon caught the ball well from the slot position. He gave us a couple of key first downs.”

The Warriors will now turn their attention to another tricky matchup at Arcata next week and the coaches are not expecting to have more than 13 or 14 players available with some of the recent injuries season ending.

But Curtis Kane expects his players to continue to battle no matter the odds.

“I know my boys will finish the game,” he said. “They won’t give up. They fought the entire game (on Friday). They were trying their best to make plays.”