File photo
Not too many teams will want to face the Huskies in the upcoming North Coast Section playoffs.
After starting the season 0-3, including a lopsided 49-0 loss to rival and neighbors Ferndale, and having to overcome multiple early injuries, the Fortuna players began to find their groove just before conference play and would carry that form into the Big 4.
Since then, they have been almost unstoppable, winning six of their final seven games, with their only loss in that time coming at St. Bernard’s by just four points.
On Friday night, they welcomed the Eureka Loggers to Husky Field on senior night and cruised to a comfortable 39-0 win.
With the win, the Huskies close out the regular season 6-4 overall and 5-1 in the Big 4, and they have clinched at least a share of the Big 4 championship.
St. Bernard’s, which split the two conference matchups with Fortuna, can still claim a co-championship with a win over Del Norte at Crusader Field on Saturday afternoon.
But whatever happens on Saturday, Friday night was a good one for the Huskies.
“I am super proud of our kids,” Fortuna head coach Mike Benbow said. “It was senior night and our guys came out and took care of the things we asked them to take care of.”
The turnaround from the early-season struggles has been impressive.
“Our kids started believing,” Benbow said. “I think when you start a season you’re not sure where you fit, and definitely injuries had a huge part in it.
“But once we got the adjustments and our kids started believing in what we do, they came every day and worked super hard for us.
“It’s all about them and their work ethic. It’s just a really great group of kids.”
The team defense also played a pivotal role in the turnaround.
Since their 0-3 start only one team has managed to score more than 20 points against Fortuna.
“I think our defense is playing really well,” Benbow said. “We’ve got a lot of guys doing a lot of good things.”
On Friday, the Huskies scored on their opening five possessions of the night and led 32-0 at halftime.
The standout running back tandem of Mako Limon and Kavi Bolden each scored two first-half TDs.
Limon got the party started on a two-yard TD run less than four minutes in, and Bolden would make it a two-touchdown advantage on a 47-yard TD run later in the quarter.
With the Huskies firing on all cylinders and playing well in all facets of the game, Bolden stretched the advantage to 19-0 with 22 seconds remaining in the first quarter when he broke free for a 65-yard TD run.
Bolden, whose return from injury earlier in the campaign coincided with the Huskies’ turnaround, had 124 yards rushing and two touchdowns in the opening quarter alone.
Limon would add his second TD to make it 26-0, before quarterback Will Shaw connected with Kye Hawthorne on a 20-yard TD pass late in the half, and the home team carried a 32-0 lead into the break.
Michael Shaw scored on a 33-yard TD midway through the third quarter to close out the scoring.
But the Fortuna backups, who saw plenty of action in the second half, secured the shutout, which was the second of the season for the team.
The Loggers, who closed out the season 0-6 in conference and 1-9 overall, were held to just one first down in the opening half.
No local team has suffered more injuries this season than the Loggers.
But, as usual, the Eureka players kept battling to the end and earned the respect of the opposing coach.
“Hats off to Eureka,” Benbow said. “Their kids kept playing hard. They’ve had a challenging season, but they kept at it.”
The Huskies will now turn their attention to the NCS playoffs, which get under way next week.
The section brackets and seeds will be announced on Sunday, and Benbow says he has no idea where his team may end up but that they’ll relish the opportunity to keep playing.
“I think our potential is yet to be reached,” the Fortuna head coach said. “And I’m super proud of our kids. So many of our kids did the things we needed them to do.”
The longtime coach also praised the play of the Fortuna backups.
“The kids that got opportunities in the second half, they kept playing hard,” he said.
In JV action on Friday night, the Eureka Loggers secured the conference title with a 6-6 tie.
With the tie, the young Loggers closed out conference play with an undefeated 5-0-1 record (6-1-2 overall).
The Huskies finished second in conference with a record of 4-1-1 (6-3-1 overall).
