By Ray Hamill — Off to their best start in more than three decades, the McKinleyville Panthers will face their biggest challenge of the season thus far when they host the Fortuna Huskies on Friday night.
Both teams feature in the top four in this week’s Humboldt Sports Power Rankings after impressive starts to the new campaign for each.
The Panthers are 3-0 for the first time since 1989, while the Huskies are 2-1 after back-to-back wins over St. Helena and University Prep to open the season, followed by a tough loss to a physically dominating Ukiah team that is now ranked No. 12 in the North Coast Section.
Thus far, both teams have succeed with different-look rosters.
The Panthers, who have beaten Cloverdale, Fort Bragg and Arcata, feature a strong sophomore class that has looked very impressive through the early going, including quarterback Corbin Green, who has displayed a composure well beyond his years in his first three varsity starts.
Green threw for more than 300 yards in his last start, a 27-0 win over Arcata.
The Huskies are led by a large senior class that has been setting a physical tone in the trenches, and as usual they run the ball well with some dynamic playmakers in the offensive backfield, led by sophomore Easton Essig, who is enjoying an outstanding start to the season.
Both teams are also coming off a bye week, giving each plenty of time to prepare for this weekend’s game of the week.
“Any time you have a bye week, you want to rest up and get dialed in for the long haul,” Fortuna head coach Mike Benbow said. “And I think we had a good two weeks.”
McKinleyville head coach Jason Benge echoed the sentiment.
“We’ve had a pretty good week of practice,” the second-year McKinleyville head coach said. “We’ve had a bye week and that’s really helped us to get healthy.”
The Huskies may have to play without senior quarterback Will Shaw, after the second-year starter suffered an injury against Ukiah, and Benbow says it will be a game-time decision.
If he is unable to go, which appears likely, Essig will get the start at quarterback.
“He’s all set and ready to go,” Benbow said of Essig, who has been practicing as if he will start all week.
Conversely, the Panthers will welcome back junior lineman Tait Conroy, who was injured in week two at Fort Bragg but is available again.
“We’ll have all of our players ready to go,” Benge said.
Whether that will be enough to beat one of the most consistently competitive teams in the H-DNL and a section finalist last year remains to be seen, and Benge knows he’s in for a battle against a Fortuna program that has shared the Redwood League title in two of the past three seasons.
“They’re just a tough program,” Benge said of the Huskies. “It’s going to be a battle for us. They’ve got a powerful offense.
“It’s going to be a good test for us to see where we are as a program.”
The Panthers, however, won’t lack confidence after their fast start, and Benbow also is expecting a battle as inter-league play in the H-DNL kicks off.
“They’re doing great this year,” the Fortuna head coach said of the Panthers. “They have great coaching, and their kids are working hard and getting better, so we’ve got a battle on our hands.
“I’m expecting a really good game. I know our boys are looking forward to getting back out there.”
As usual, limiting mistakes and making plays will be key for both teams.
“We have to execute,” said Benge, whose team overcame a lot of mistakes to beat Cloverdale in week one but has shown a lot of improvement since then. “We can’t have that type of game against a team like Fortuna. We have to eliminate those mistakes.”
The Huskies obviously will also be looking to play mistake-free football and show no rustiness after a two-week layoff.
“We need to take care of the football of course, and not turn it over,” Benbow said. “And we’ve got to make tackles in space, and if we do that we’re going to be fine. And we have to control the clock.”
Despite the loss to Ukiah, this is a Fortuna team that has shown a lot of fight this year, something the coach appreciates about his players.
“This group fights,” Benbow said. “They keep pushing forward and doing what we ask them to do. When someone steps out, someone else steps up. The whole group is working as one team, and I really enjoy working with them every day.”
Game time is set for 7:30 p.m.
