By Ray Hamill — Two Redwood League schools saw streaks end on what was a busy Friday night for the H-DNL teams.
At Hoopa, the Arcata Tigers finally got their first win of the year, beating the Warriors 20-0 and ending an eight-game losing streak that dated back to last season, while at McKinleyville the host Panthers ended Ferndale’s 20-game regular-season winning streak that dated back two years with a stunning come-from-behind victory.
Senior Lucas Jones nailed a 35-yard field with just 11 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter to give the Panthers their first lead of the night, and they held on for a 32-29 win.
For more on that game, see A night to remember for Mack Town as Panthers stun the Cats with late field goal …
In other games on Friday night, the Fortuna Huskies took a big step towards a third league title in four years, and this time they may not have to share it.
A dominating 41-14 win at Eureka stretched the Huskies’ winning streak to five straight, but more importantly it leaves them within one win of an outright Pacific League crown.
With the win, they improved to 2-0 in league and 7-1 on the year.
Head coach Mike Benbow and his players will be crowned at least co-champs if Del Norte loses at St. Bernard’s on Saturday, and if the Warriors win that game it would set up a true championship game between Del Norte and Fortuna in two weeks.
Rounding out Friday night’s local games, the South Fork Cubs got back to winning ways in eight-player football.
One week after a blowout loss to Priory, the Cubs traveled to play Swett and won 56-0.
With the victory, the Cubs improved to 2-1 in league and 6-2 on the season.
At Eureka, the Huskies scored all 41 of their points in the opening half.
And they won with a big night passing the ball, something we don’t often see from Fortuna, which racked up 225 yards through the air.
Easton Essig had two receptions for 127 yards and a TD, while Braeden Timmerman had one catch for 55 yards, which he took to the end zone.
Senior quarterback Will Shaw threw for both of those TDs.
Tiki Bolden also had a huge night in the win, rushing for 73 yards on four carries and scoring three touchdowns, while Brice Pancoast also ran in for a TD.
Eureka’s two TDs came on Bryson Burns runs, as the Loggers dropped to 0-2 in league and 2-6 overall.
With their win at Hoopa, the Tigers improved to 1-1 in the Redwood League and 1-7 overall, while Hoopa fell to 0-2 and 1-7.
Incredibly the Tigers can still claim a share of this year’s league title with a win over McKinleyville in two weeks.
