Improve to 4-2 in HDN play

Del Norte High No. 1 singles seed senior Kathryn Gustafson swings at the ball during her match against McKinleyville on Saturday in Crescent City. The Warriors won all nine of their matches and improved to 4-2 overall in Humboldt-Del Norte Conference play. Del Norte Triplicate/Rick Postal

The victory improved Del Norte to 4-2 in the Humboldt-Del Norte Conference.

This week, the squad faces Eureka at home today at 4 p.m. and Arcata on the road Saturday.

“I hope my team doesn’t take this win lightly,” head coach Sara Miller said. “We need to continue to work hard this week on our physical endurance and team morale to continue to improve this season.”

The Del Norte High boys soccer team earned its first win of the year 6-1 at Ferndale on Saturday.

“It was a very exciting and open game with lots of scoring chances,” head coach David Sanyaolu said.  “I was very happy with our passing and transition from defense to attack. However, we still need to convert more scoring opportunities.”

Salvador Ochoa was on fire for Del Norte, as he scored four goals for the game.

Warrior grad Goacher starts at Siskiyous

John Goacher, above, a 2010 Del Norte High graduate, is now a starting left tackle with the College of the Siskiyous Eagles in Weed. Goacher sat out last year and the first game of 2001 due to injury and is happy to be back. Photo submitted by Sherri Adams

“It’s a great feeling,” he said. “I’ve been working hard.”

A 2010 Warrior graduate, Goacher had to wait awhile before making his debut with the Weed school, but said it was all worth it when he finally took to the field a few weeks back.

Goacher, a 6 foot 5 inch, 250 pound left tackle, sat out last year due to an injury and likewise sat out the first game of 2011 because of a concussion suffered during practice.

Taylor rushes for 151 yards and 3 scores

The Del Norte Warriors notched another win Friday night, taking care of the Arcata Tigers 33-12 at Humboldt State University.

Del Norte senior running back Collin Taylor rushed for 151 yards and three touchdowns, moving his scoring total for the year up to 17 and his rushing yards to a sterling 903.

Del Norte is now 5-0 for the year and 2-0 in the Big 5 Conference. Arcata is now 2-3.

In a five-game battle against rival McKinleyville, the Del Norte High volleyball team lost 23-25, 25-17, 25-19, 21-25, 15-8 on the road Thursday night in the squad’s Big 5 Conference opener.

It was the first time in more than two weeks Del Norte had played.

While the first game was a tight battle, the Panthers found a way to pull away for the victory.

Del Norte head coach Robyn Parker said the long layoff certainly had an affect on her  Warriors.

“They were woking out the kinks,” she said.

DN Warriors and Arcata Tigers slug it out in a 1-1 tie

Facing the big, bad Arcata Tigers, known as the elite boys soccer team in the Humboldt-Del Norte Conference for years, the Del Norte Warriors displayed a lot of determination and grit as they battled the Tigers to a 1-1 tie at home on Wednesday.

Coaches and players could not recall the last time Del Norte tied or defeated the Tigers, who have soundly beaten the Warriors for quite a while.

While it would have been nice to come away with the victory, Warrior  head coach David Sanyaolu was more than proud of the way his team played in a contest that had the fans of both teams yelling and screaming with excitement from start to finish.

ABOVE: K’Marie Magray runs the ball. BELOW: The Wildcats team huddles up. The Daily Triplicate/Bryant Anderson

So the Redwood School seventh-grader joined the school’s flag football team. Currently, Magray is the only girl taking part in the league, coaches said.

“It’s really fun,” she said. “I’m a daredevil. I wanted to try something new.”

Middle school squads begin season today

Kyle Cleland of Redwood School tries to elude two Smith R. students in a scrimmage. See more photos at triplicate.com/photos The Daily Triplicate/Bryant Anderson

Spectators shouted “go, go, go.” He darted through the defenders, his teammates opening a path as he ran in for the touchdown, touching off a wild celebration.

 For  Richards, a Crescent Elk student, and the rest of the players in the middle school flag football league, the sport has given them an opportunity to show their stuff on the gridiron.

DN Warrior girls tennis team downs Crusaders

The Del Norte High Warriors  girls tennis team defeated the St. Bernard’s Crusaders of Eureka 8-1 at home on Tuesday in Humboldt-Del Norte Conference action.

The win broke a two-game losing streak as Del Norte improved to 3-2 for the year, as all six singles seeds won.

“Today, everyone played excellent in their singles matches,” Del Norte head coach Sara Miller said. “Overall, this was definitely a positive change from last week’s losses and hopefully our team can keep the momentum going.”