By Ray Hamill — The Milk Can game may not have gone their way, but the Fortuna Huskies have plenty still to play for, including a huge showdown on the final weekend of the regular season.
On Saturday, the Huskies fell 14-0 to their biggest rivals in the annual rivalry game at Ferndale, suffering their second straight shut out in the Milk Can.
On Friday night, they will try to bounce back when they host Del Norte in a showdown that will decide the fate of this year’s Pacific League title.
The Huskies, who are 7-2 overall, have already secured at least a share of the league title for the third time in four years, and a win over the Warriors would lift them to 3-0 in the Pacific League and clinch the title outright.
“We have a championship game next weekend, and that’s what we’re focused on,” Fortuna head coach Mike Benbow said after Saturday’s game. “Right now, we’re all about winning league and getting in the playoffs and making a run.
“Our guys played hard until the end and they didn’t give up, they didn’t crumble, and I’m very proud of our team.”
There some bright spots in Saturday’s loss, most notably an impressive long drive late in the second quarter that ended on downs deep in Ferndale territory.
Sophomore Easton Essig continued to impress for the Huskies and was their most dangerous ball carrier throughout the afternoon.
The young standout racked up 81 yards on 17 carries, and also had 11 yards receiving on two catches.
The problem for the Huskies going up against a very formidable Ferndale defense is the fact that Essig’s 92 yards was more than half of the team’s total offensive production.
A normally high-scoring unit was held to just 168 yards of offense, less than half of its season average.
Turnovers on all three of their second-half drives didn’t help matters.
It was also the first shutout loss for the team since last year’s Milk Can game, and the Huskies had been averaging over 36 points a game in their seven wins this year.
Tiki Bolden added 22 yards rushing on four carries, while another sophomore running back, Bryce Pancoast, added 13 yards rushing on three carries and 29 yards receiving on three catches, showcasing the young depth Benbow has available.
Quarterback Will Shaw also had 12 yards rushing on six carries and completed 5-of-9 passes for 40 yards.
This week’s big game is set for Friday night at 7:30 p.m.
While a win for the Huskies would give them the league pennant outright, a win for Del Norte would see a two- or three-way co-championship with the Warriors and possibly St. Bernard’s.
