Six is enough

Warriors earn 6-0 win over Mustangs in season opener

Junior running back Brandon Kakitsuka, center, runs with the ball against Hidden Valley Friday night at Mike Whalen Field. (The Daily Triplicate/Bryant Anderson)

The score was deceiving as Del Norte controlled the game in all aspects.

The problem was that the Warriors could not get into the end zone despite their fair share of chances. The team finally scored in the fourth quarter.

The Mustangs threatened to score and potentially win the game at the end of the final quarter but a resilient group of Warriors on defense denied them that chance.

The win occurred in front of a packed Mike Whalen Field home crowd pumped up and curious to see what the Warriors would do under new head coach Bob Hadfield.

Hadfield, his coaches and  the  players showed themselves to be cool and collected even though it was the first game of the year.

For the contest Del Norte gained 303 total yards compared to 204 for the Mustangs.

Del Norte gave a surprise  to the fans after warmups. When they returned to start the game gone were their old uniforms and  they came out with  new  gold uniforms to make a fashion statement  to begin the season.

The Warriors looked fairly well oiled in the first half. The only problem was that they could not get into the end zone.

Senior quarterback Thor Hadfield gets ready to have the ball snapped to him against Hidden Valley on Friday night. (The Daily Triplicate/Bryant Anderson)

But neither could the Mustangs.

On the Warriors’ first possession Del Norte ran an efficient drive and steadily gained yards, but the drive stalled in Mustang territory at around the 31 yard line.

The Warrior defense gave the Mustangs nothing to work with and Del Norte got the ball back.

The running game hummed along nicely with junior Brandon Kakitsuka looking sharp, proving to be elusive between the tackles with senior Christian Alexandre pounding the ball well inside. Senior Shane Endamano also got in some runs and looked solid. Later in the game he had one of the biggest plays of the contest.

Thor Hadfield, the senior signal caller starting his first varsity game, was efficient making throws and being in control of the offense.

The Warriors eventually made it all the way to the one yard line.

But on fourth down Hadfield was denied on a run and the score remained 0-0.

The Warriors kept being stout on defense and gave the Mustangs nothing to work with.

For the game several Warriors were all over the field causing havoc. 

Those that stood out included Kyle Eggen, Ridge McLennan and Barrick Sala to name only a few.

Near the end of the second quarter Del Norte moved the chains again and found themselves down to the seven yard line with time running out.

But while the Warriors could go down the field fairly well they could not score again as halftime came and the game remined 0-0 .

In the third quarter the Warriors moved the ball down the field on their first possession of the half, including a nice pass from Hadfield to Travis Shellabarger for a first down and nice tough runs by Kakitsuka and Alexandre.

Del Norte made it all the way to the nine-yard line but again,  the Warriors were denied.

The Mustangs capitalized and connected on a long pass on a third down all the way to the 45 of Hidden Valley. A short time later they rumbled down for a 20 yard gain and made a dent  in the Warrior defense. But a penalty on the Mustangs pushed them back deep into their own territory.

A short time later on a  long throw senior Roy Ward intercepted the ball on a perfectly timed leap as the crowd roared with approval.

Ward showed himself to be tough and to have the ability to bounce back since he was the player who gave up the long  catch to Hidden Valley earlier in the drive.

Del Norte got the ball back on its own 36-yard line  with 56 seconds left in the quarter.

On a hook and ladder   Endemano received  the ball on a pitchback from Austin Carpenter   and rumbled down the field for a 40-yard gain.

On a third down on the four yard line Kakitsuka gained enough for the first down inside the one yard line.

Could the Warriors gain that needed touchdown? You bet your sweet Warriors.

Kakitsuka was handed the ball and he cashed it in for the score as the fans, players and coaches breathed a sigh of relief to go up 6-0. The Warriors decided to go for two points but Alexandre was denied.

Later in the quarter the Mustangs had a huge 40-yard play to get the ball all the way down to the Del Norte 25 yard line and were threatening to score and take the lead.

But the Mustangs were given a holding penalty that took the ball back and helped the Warriors’ cause with 4:23 left in the contest

On a third and 20 Hidden Valley QB Taylor Bars had time to throw and connected with his receiver for a gigantic first down all the way to the 13-yard line with 2:47 left.

But the Warriors were tough in the trenches with the Mustangs’ chances at taking the lead slipping away.

On a long fourth down the Mustangs connected on a pass that appeared to be picked off with 53 seconds left.

 But the Mustangs came up with the ball. The referees came out with the yard sticks to see if Hidden Valley got the first down.

It was discovered that the drive came up short as the Warriors players and fans celebrated dodging that last bullet.

As the game ended the players got out the water coolers and Bob Hadfield got drenched by his players as the team celebrated the first win of the Hadfield era.

The Mustangs fell to 1-1 for the year. In the junior varsity game the Warriors lost 12-0.

Del Norte next faces Ferndale at home at 7:30 p.m. on Sept.  18.