By Ray Hamill — Fortuna took a big step towards a Pacific League championship with a 28-21 win over St. Bernard’s at Husky Field on Thursday night.
With two more league games to go, the job is a long way from done just yet, but a seven-point victory over a program they shared the title with a year ago, and a team many people believe is their biggest rivals for the championship, at the very least puts them in the driver’s seat.
Also in action on Thursday night, the South Fork Cubs opened league play in the NCL II with another huge win.
The Cubs welcomed Cornerstone Christian to Miranda and rolled to a 78-36 victory over the No. 4 ranked eight-player program in the North Coast Section.
With the win, which was the team’s fourth straight, No. 2 South Fork improved to 5-1.
It was the third time this season that South Fork has scored at least 68 points.
The big game of the night, however, took place at Fortuna and it was an entertaining showdown for a large crowd in attendance.
Both teams pieced together multiple long drives and the game remained in the balance deep into the fourth quarter.
On their opening possession of the night, the Huskies drove 75 yards on 14 plays and took the lead on a one-yard TD run by senior quarterback Will Shaw with just 21 seconds remaining in the opening quarter.
The visitors wasted little time responding, quickly driving 43 yards on three plays and opening their account on a four-yard Trenten Hagler TD run just two plays into the second quarter to tie the game at 7-7.
The Huskies would retake the lead just 73 seconds later.
After recovering an onside kick, they marched 55 yards on two plays and scored on a seven-yard TD run by sophomore Brice Pancoast, a score that was set up on a 48-yard pass from Shaw to sophomore Easton Essig.
The score remained 14-7 going into halftime, but the Crusaders came out stronger in the second half.
Fortuna received the ball to start the third quarter, but the SB defense would force a quick three-and-out, before the team’s offense drove 65 yards on seven plays and scored on a seven-yard Hagler run.
A blocked PAT, howrever, would leave the Crusaders trailing by one.
The Huskies responded with another long scoring drive on their next possession, marching 69 yards on 11 plays and scoring again on a two-yard Shaw run.
The senior quarterback would add a two-point conversion run to put the home team up by two scores, 22-13.
The Fortuna defense held the visitors on their next two possessions, before Shaw added his third TD of the night on a one-yard run with just 3:15 remaining in the game.
That score put the Huskies up by 15 and it appeared as if the game was won.
However, the Crusaders had other ideas, and sophomore Mason Long would return the ensuing kickoff 70 yards to the end zone to keep the fans in their seats.
A successful two-point conversion pulled St. Bernard’s within seven, but the Huskies would recover the ensuing onside kickoff and were able to run out the clock.
The win was the third straight for the Huskies, who improved to 5-1, while the loss was the second straight for the Crusaders, who dropped to 4-2.
The visitors were missing multiple players for the second straight game for various reasons, including a pair of injured influential seniors, Garrett Shanahan and Robert Sirrine.
We’ll have lots more on the big game on Friday, including some video highlights and coaches’ reaction.
The Fortuna JVs also won on Thursday night, beating St. Bernard’s 20-18.
