Nick White eager to get started on return to Del Norte football

By barstoolfanatics on January 8, 2026 • ( Leave a comment )

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By Ray Hamill — The Warriors will welcome back an old friend this year, with former football head coach Nick White returning to the program.

White stepped away after the 2022 season for personal reasons, but he will be back on the sidelines this coming fall after taking over as head coach from Darren LaFazio.

And the new coach, who has just finalized his staff, is eager to get started.

“I’m excited and humbled to back coaching the football program,” he said. “I missed being a part of the culture of football.

“I’m very excited for the opportunity to coach these kids again.”

During his four years in charge of the Warriors from 2019 to 2022, the former Humboldt State player oversaw the most successful run in program history.

He led Del Norte to three Big 4 championships in his three full seasons — there was no official league during the COVID-shortened spring season of 2020 — while posting an outstanding overall record of 34-8 (12-0 in the Big 4).

He also guided the Warriors to first-ever North Coast Section and NorCal titles in 2019 and the program’s only ever state championship appearance.

White will meet with the players later this month as they get set to begin their offseason program in the weight room, but he has been busy putting together a staff, which will include his twin brother Chris White, who will return as offensive coordinator, as well as LaFazio.

LaFazio, who also enjoyed tremendous success with the program and won two Big 4 titles in his three years in charge, stepped away after the 2025 season because of family obligations, but will be back on the sideline this coming season as the team’s defensive line coach.

The new staff will also include Brandon Katkisuka and Garry Graffort.

“The first thing I did was to put together my staff on varsity,” Nick White said. “I think it’s one of the best staffs I’ve had yet.”

The new staff features four former college players, including the White brothers, who both played at Humboldt State (now Cal Poly Humboldt) along with Katkisuka, while Graffort is a former Cal player who played for Jeff Tedford.

The returning head coach also believes the Warriors have the players to be competitive once again this fall after seeing their run of five straight Big 4 championships come to and end in 2025.

“I’ve been watching film and I think the kids coming back have potential,” he said.

The Warriors will begin their preparation for the 2026 season when they start their weight room program later in the month.

“We start in the weight room, building the program in the weight room,” Nick White said. “The next phase will be spring football in May, and then starting the summer program with the freshmen coming in, and just going from there. But there’s a lot of work to do between now and then.

White joins a Big 4 conference that features some of the most proven coaches in the North Coast Section, a group that includes state-championship winning head coaches Matt Tomlin of St. Bernard’s and Mike Benbow of Fortuna.

But he has matched up against those coaches in the past and is looking forward to the challenge of doing so again.

“The H-DNL has some great coaches,” he said “We look forward to he challenge to coach against some of the best coaches in Northern California for sure.”