The Huskies came face to face with one of the best Division-2 teams in the North Coast Section on Friday and suffered their first loss of the season.
Fortuna welcomed the Ukiah Wildcats to Husky Field and lost 27-13.
The visitors, who came into the game ranked No. 20 in the section and No. 4 in Division 2, never looked in danger of losing this one as they gradually pulled away, opening up a 21-0 lead early in the third quarter.
One big bright spot for the Huskies, however, was the continued impressive play of sophomore standout Easton Essig.
One week after he rushed for 219 yards at University Prep, Essig gained 143 yards on the ground against Ukiah and scored two touchdowns for the second straight week.
Essig broke free for a 99-yard TD late in the game to give the final score a more flattering look.
He had 14 carries.
A run-heavy Fortuna offense did put up some good numbers, running for more than 300 yards for the second straight game.
They finished the game with 309 yards rushing on 42 carries.
Senior quarterback Will Shaw had 80 yards on 10 carries, while junior Tiki Bolden added 85 yards on 16 carries.
The Wildcats, however, scored four touchdowns to go to 3-0 on the season and they have put 118 points in their first three games, which also included a 41-0 shutout at Arcata last week.
The 2-1 Huskies will have a bye next week, before traveling to play McKinleyville in two week.
