By Ray Hamill — An 0-3 start to the season must seem like a long time ago for the Del Norte Warriors.
They’re certainly not playing like an 0-3 team right now, and as they get set for the upcoming North Coast Section playoffs the Warriors are playing their best football of the year.
On Friday night they followed a big win over McKinleyville with another strong performance at Fortuna, edging the Huskies 21-20 to clinch a share of a sixth league title in the last seven full seasons.
But the improved team performances over the final two weekends of the regular season are no fluke.
This is a young team — one of the youngest this program has fielded in recent years — and it’s a group of players that are learning on the fly.
“Every game is a learning experience for them,” Del Norte head coach Nick White said of his young players, which included three starting sophomores and two starting freshmen on defense on Friday night. “And they played well. All of them played well.”
The 0-3 start was followed by three straight wins — all coming against teams that have struggled this year — which in turn was followed by two disappointing performances in losses at Ferndale and St. Bernard’s.
But the team has responded late in the campaign, posting back-to-back victories over a pair of quality opponents to build some much-needed momentum heading into next weekend’s playoff opener.
“We had a lot of kids sick and hurt and a lot of shifting players out of position,” White said. “And now the kids are finally learning to play those positions.”
That has been evident the past two weeks, not just with the wins but with the collective performances.
And more impressively, this is a team that is learning how to win tight games and how to overcome adversity.
After the Huskies scored back-to-back TDs on either side of halftime to take their first lead of the night, it appeared as if the momentum had shifted.
But the Warriors would answer in style, scoring TDs on their opening two possessions of the second half, and then coming up with a big stop on a Fortuna two-point conversion attempt late in the game to hold on to a slender one-point lead.
And with senior team captain Ricardo Borges setting the tone in the trenches once again, the Warriors forced a late fumble just as Fortuna was threatening to retake the lead, with Borges recovering the ball to ice the win.
“I thought we played well and took advantage of the opportunities we had,” White said.
“Them coming out in the second half and scoring, and us answering back with a touchdown kind of shifted momentum back in our favor. I think the team responded well.”
One young player who certainly doesn’t look out of place at the varsity level is freshman Elijah Brunson, who pulled in a pair of TD catches from impressive quarterback Trent Cronk.
“He’s a freshman that is very talented and has elite catching ability,” White said. “He competes for the ball and he’s taking full advantage of it, and he’s in the process of getting better.
“It’s exciting to have him on the team, and everyone’s feeding of off him.”
Cronk too has gotten more comfortable with the offense as the season has progressed.
“He’s getting more and more comfortable with his throws,” White said of the senior QB and team captain. “And the great part about him is he’s throwing catchable balls.”
Two other players who have been a steady presence on a young roster are senior team captains Max Borges and Ricardo Borges.
Max has been the team’s most consistent running back and came up with some key gains in Friday’s win, while Ricardo has been an anchor on both lines all season.
“Max played well. He ran the ball hard, and he’s playing good at linebacker too,” White said. “And Ricardo Borges is always solid on the line. He’s one of our best players, if not our best.”
White and his players will find out their playoff seeding on Sunday, although they are expected to receive a high seed in Division 7 or a low seed in Division 6.
They share this year’s league title with the Fortuna Huskies.
A win for St. Bernard’s at Eureka on Saturday night would result in a three-way tie for the championship.
A two- or three-way coin flip on Saturday night will determine which of the two of three league champs receive the league’s automatic berth for the NCS playoffs, although all three schools are expected to qualify.
