By Ray Hamill — The Crusaders knew what they had to do on Saturday and they delivered.

One week after a disappointing loss at Fortuna, and one day after the Huskies beat Eureka to clinch at least a share of this year’s Big 4 championship, St. Bernard’s hosted Del Norte knowing the team needed a win to be crowned co-champion.

And the Crusaders came out ready to play, scoring touchdowns on their first four possessions of the afternoon to open up a 28-0 lead, and after that there was no way back for the Warriors, who have likely seen any hopes of making the North Coast Section playoffs disappear with the loss.

The performance by the home team was a gutsy response to last week’s loss at Fortuna, which was their first of the year.

“I was extremely happy with how much better our tempo was offensively,” St. Bernard’s head coach Matt Tomlin said. “We got the ball snapped a lot quicker and we spread the ball around, and that’s something we really emphasized this week.”

It’s also something that should make the Crusaders a dangerous prospect in the upcoming North Coast Section playoffs, which kick off next weekend.

Especially with the way junior quarterback Trenten Hagler is throwing the ball this year.

After splitting time as the team’s starting QB in each of the last two seasons, Hagler has made the position his own this year and the Crusaders are benefiting tremendously from that and the way he is working with the team’s new offensive coordinator, Jack Rice.

Hagler threw for four touchdowns in Saturday’s win, with four different receivers coming up with at least one TD catch each.

“He’s been a great QB1,” Tomlin said. “He does everything for us, whether we need him to run the ball or pass the ball. I’m really excited with the way he’s playing.

“He’s gotten better every year, and coach Rice does a tremendous job working with him.”

The loss unfortunately almost certainly will eliminate the Warriors from playoff consideration.

“Defensively, we were not very good in the first half,” Del Norte head coach Darren LaFazio said. “But our kids tried their hardest. Our offense stepped up a little in the second half, and I’m proud of my kids. They played hard.”

The Crusaders opened the scoring on their first possession of the game.

On a fourth-and-five at the Del Norte 16-yard line, kicker Tyler Hinrichs took the direct snap and completed a TD pass to Braedon Simpson.

Hinrichs, who is enjoying an outstanding season, helped set up a second TD after recovering a fumble on the ensuing kickoff, and the SB offense quickly went back to work.

Less than a minute and a half after the opening score, the home team doubled its advantage on Hagler’s first TD pass of the day.

But he got plenty of help from the fleet-footed Kuron Devlin who made an outstanding play at the back of the end zone, somehow keeping his feet in bounds to complete the 25-yard score.

“That was amazing,” Tomlin said.

Check out video highlights of the catch above …

Devlin had a second TD catch early in the second quarter, this one good for five yards, before Garrett Shanahan added a four-yard TD reception four minutes into the period.

Hinrichs’ fourth successful PAT made it 28-0 at that stage and it looked as if the hosts were on cruise control.

A plethora of penalties over the final eight minutes of the half, however, drained the game of any real rhythm for much of the quarter.

On their fifth possession of the day, the Warriors pieced together a nice drive that resulted in a three-yard TD run by quarterback Kanyon Starkey to get the visitors on the scoreboard.

The Del Norte senior signal caller earned the respect of his opposing head coach with his play.

“He’s one of the toughest kids I’ve coached against,” Tomlin said. “He battles for four quarters. He’s a tough kid and a great leader for Del Norte.”

The Del Norte defense finally got a stop on the ensuing drive, but neither team was able to add to its tally before the break.

Hagler would throw his fourth TD of the day to stretch the lead back to four scores in the third quarter, connecting with Quentin Ikeya from 10 yards out, before Del Norte added two late TDs to make for a more flattering score.

Hagler completed 29 of 41 passes for 293 yards, the four TDs and no interceptions.

Freshman Jack Omey also had a good game running the ball for the Crusaders after being called up to varsity just two days before.

St. Bernard’s has suffered multiple injuries at running back, including senior starter Riley Nantz and freshman Bryce Pancoast.

Ikeya also had an interception on defense to close out the opening half as the Warriors threw a Hail Mary pass on the final play.

While the Warriors, who finished 2-4 in conference and 5-5 overall, appear unlikely to qualify for the postseason, the Crusaders are certain to be included after finishing 9-1 (5-1 in conference).

Tomlin believes they will likely receive a top-three seed in Division 6, which means they will almost certainly avoid Little 4 champs Ferndale, which will likely receive the No. 2 seed in Division 5, one spot behind St. Vincent de Paul.

Tomlin also believes the Fortuna Huskies (5-1 in the Big 4 and 6-4 overall) will likely be the only other H-DNL team to qualify and should be a low seed in Division 6 or a high seed in Division 7.

That could give the league three teams in three different divisions, and there’s every reason to believe all three of them can compete for a section crown.

The NCS seeds and brackets will be released on Sunday.