Fresh off a bye, Del Norte comes together in time to face the Loggers

Got a name for the Eureka High-Del Norte High football rivalry?

Warriors head coach Ray Rook and former Loggers head coach Garrett Montana kicked around the idea of anointing the game with a specific moniker in years past, but nothing ever stuck.

“I’m still looking for suggestions,” Rook said with a laugh.

Rook and current Eureka head coach Mike McGuire may come up with a name one day. That day will certainly not be Saturday, with the schools’ junior varsity teams playing at 4 p.m. and varsity teams following at 6:30 p.m. at Eureka High’s Albee Stadium.

“They’re our rival,” senior lineman Lane Reichlin said. “It isn’t going to be hard to get ourselves motivated.”

Del Norte Senior Patrick White crosses the finish line of the boys’ varsity 5,000-meter race. Del Norte Triplicate/ Bryant Anderson

 Warriors post season-best placements at Del Norte Golf Course

What happened to the real cross country weather?

No chilly wind, rain and mud were to be found at Del Norte Golf Course on Thursday. Instead, the Humboldt-Del Norte League cross country meet, hosted by Del Norte High, was run under blue skies and a warm sun.

“Overall, you couldn’t ask for a better day of running,” Del Norte assistant coach George Hartman said. 

Every Warrior runner finished in the top 25 in each race, all three of which had more than 30 competitors.

Unlike other HDN meets, the meet was split into three races — a 3,200-meter junior varsity boys race, a 5,000-meter varsity girls race and a 5,000-meter varsity boys race. (Other meets have two gender-specific races.) Del Norte did not field enough competitors in the two varsity races to qualify for team titles.

This 37-pound chinook salmon was taken from the Klamath River late September by Robert Barnard of Costa Mesa. Courtesy Green Water Fishing Adventures

Closer fishing action can be found in the estuaries of the Smith and Chetco Rivers, as well as bottom fishing in the ocean before the North Coast’s season closes Oct. 31.

Lower Klamath R.

A decline in salmon catches in the lower Klamath should be expected this time of year, but considering the mammoth forecast of salmon projected by the Department of Fish and Game, it seems early for the slow-down.

The Del Norte High girls soccer team locked down on St. Bernard’s Catholic of Eureka, winning their nonleague road game 1-0 on Wednesday night.

The Warriors (3-8-1, 0-5 Humboldt-Del Norte Big 5 League) outshot the Crusaders 10-0 in the game but did not break through themselves until the 76th minute. Senior Wendy Morales received a pass from sophomore Silvia Cajita and scored from 15 yards out.

Del Norte’s boys and girls teams travel to Miranda on Saturday to face South Fork at 11 a.m. (girls) and 1 p.m. (boys).

The Del Norte High girls tennis team dropped to 4-3 overall this season with a 5-4 loss to Arcata at Del Norte High School Tuesday.

Taylor Cleland, Jordan Babich, Panhia Yang and Debbie Yang each won singles matches for the Warriors, but the Tigers swept the doubles matches for the team win.

Del Norte travels to Arcata Saturday to face North Coast Prep at 10 a.m.

Fortuna High’s Nicole Johnson leapt up for the kill, and Del Norte High’s Regin Loftin and Ashton Smedley went up for the block.

Neither Loftin nor Smedley stopped the shot. Instead, the ball pinballed between them and fell to the ground, assuring a 19-25, 26-24, 25-20, 25-20 victory for the Huskies.

While Fortuna did not overwhelm the Warriors (4-5 overall, 1-2 Humboldt-Del Norte Big 5 League) with exceptional hitting or enveloping defensive coverage, the Huskies found defenders just out of position — the last point was a microcosm of this — or ill-prepared to receive the ball.

“It was just a poor showing,” Del Norte coach Pablo Lorenzi said. “We’re just not very mature. We’re not doing what is required to win.”

Maready leads Del Norte with 10 kills

The Del Norte High volleyball team went into Thursday night’s home match against Eureka without its best outside hitter, junior Kaitlyn Clemann. Her absence on the court was noticeable but not vital, as long as the Warriors played to their strengths.

Ultimately, to the dismay of Del Norte coaches Debbie and Pablo Lorenzi, the Warriors executed their offense ... defensively.

“They played to keep the ball in and were afraid of losing,” Debbie Lorenzi said. “You can’t play afraid.”

Del Norte made enough mistakes when it mattered most to lose to the Loggers in a 3-2 thriller — 25-19, 17-25, 25-19, 23-25, 15-8. 

Del Norte places third in home tourney

The Del Norte High girls golf team posted its second-best score of the 2012 season at home, taking third place in the fifth Humboldt-Del Norte Big 5 League tournament of the season at the par-71 Del Norte Golf Course Thursday.

The Warriors’ top five golfers combined to shoot 586 on the day, behind tournament champion McKinleyville (534) and runner-up Arcata (551). Eureka (620) and Fortuna (621) took fourth and fifth places, respectively.

“Thursday was another step in the right direction, but we still have our sights on finishing second in one of the next two tournaments,” assistant coach James Haban said.

Freshman Siera Fitzhugh carded Del Norte’s best score on the day, a 35-over 106, good for seventh place overall. The score represented her best round of the season.

An improving Del Norte girls golf team entering tournament at Del Norte G.C. today

Through the first month of its season, the Del Norte girls golf team can accurately claim that it has gotten better every week.

The Warriors have improved in combined scoring in each of the past three tournaments, averaging 605 strokes among their top three scorers. Five of Del Norte’s nine golfers produced their best scores of the season in the past two weeks.

The Warriors’ season total of 2,433 strokes in four Humboldt-Del Norte tournaments is good for third place in the Big 5 League, 11 strokes better than fourth-place Eureka but 172 strokes behind second-place Arcata. (McKinleyville is the class of the league to date, shooting a combined 2,155.)

Del Norte freshman JV players sharpen their skills in ‘fifth quarter’

Del Norte Triplicate / Bryant Anderson Members of the Del Norte High junior varsity football team have been playing in a “fifth quarter” against Humboldt-Del Norte Big 5 League competition to gain experience and familiarity with schemes.

Neither team left the field once time expired. The Warriors sent out an offensive unit composed entirely of freshmen to run additional plays. The Panthers countered with an all-freshman defense.

With a snap of the ball, the fifth quarter had begun.

Audience members and press box personnel alike were confused as to what was happening — the game was over, and few had been made aware that extra football was to be played.