By Ray Hamill — The Eureka Loggers will be tested right out of the starting gates this weekend, as they get set to open the new high school football season against Windsor.
The Jaguars are a Division-3 program and have plenty of experience under center with senior quarterback Carter Vose III back for his third year as a varsity starter.
The Loggers, meanwhile, are looking to turn the corner and have not posted a winning campaign since the COVID-shortened season in the spring of 2021.
Since then they have gone 10-38 overall, including a disappointing 2-19 mark in conference.
But it’s a new year and Eureka fans are cautiously optimistic they can be relevant again this year, especially if they can avoid the plethora of injuries they suffered in 2025.
“We’re getting better every day,” head coach Sam Edmonds said. “Our defense is starting to get everything dialed in.”
Edmonds believes the Eureka defense is the team’s strength right now with several players poised for big campaigns, a group that includes sophomore lineman Jaden Lincourt and senior lineman Tyler Johnston.
Senior cornerback Quincy Smith has also impressed the coaches during the preseason, along with safety Bryson Burns, linebacker/safety Scotty Brogan and safety Shawn Her.
“Our whole defense has been stepping it up and doing a great job,” Edmonds said. “It’s definitely our biggest strength.”
The Jaguars will test that belief this weekend in what is always a challenging matchup for the H-DNL school.
In addition to their experience under center, the Jaguars also have some size in the trenches.
“I expect a tough team coming up here,” Edmonds said of Windsor. “They’re not going to give us anything, that’s for sure. I know they have a very good quarterback and Windsor always has a big offensive and defensive line.
“It’s a good opponent to see where we’re at.”
A couple of early-season injuries will leave Eureka fans nervous of a repeat of last year, but Edmonds picked up a couple of additional players this week to help ease those concerns, and there has been no major longterm setbacks thus far.
The head coach got a look at his players in action at the annual H-DBL preseason jamboree last week and he liked a lot of what he saw, although they struggled a little against St. Bernard’s spread offense.
“I think we did really well,” Edmonds said of the jamboree. “(The scrimmage against) St. Bernard’s was a little rocky. It was the first time we scrimmaged against another team, but it was kind of nice to see how we looked against a spread team.”
Senior Ben Klein will start at quarterback against Windsor, but Eureka fans can also expect to see Burns at the position as well as Edmonds looks to get the best out of the dynamic playmaker.
Klein, according to the coach, knows the offense better and he wants to take advantage of Burns’ athleticism by lining him up in different positions.
In the backfield, senior running back Easton Taerea will also see plenty of the ball and is quickly emerging as a team leader.
“He’s vocal and he leads by example,” Edmonds said. “It’s his second year and he’s really taken on the challenge to step up.”
Along the offensive line, junior Thomas Breazeal has also been stepping up this preseason and is expected to help anchor the unit, along with senior Jaxon Davis.
Junior tight end Orrin Kelley wis also expected to help set the tone in the trenches.
Saturday’s game will be played at the Redwood Bowl and kicks off at 7:30 p.m.
“I’m just excited and lookin forward to watching my boys compete this Saturday,” Edmonds said. “They’ve put in a lot of hard work.”
The Eureka JVs will also be in action, kicking off at 5 p.m.
