DNYF plays at home for 1st time this season on Sun.

Adam Kell of the Del Norte Youth Football League AAA team goes up for a reception during practice on Wednesday.

While it has been a little bit of a wait  to finally play in Crescent City this season, the good news is that being away from home hasn’t stopped the teams, which feature kids 8-14 years old, from having good starts.

Out of five teams, three squads, the A Gold team, the AA Blue team and the AA Gold team are undefeated at 3-0. Last season, all five DNYF teams made the playoffs and the AAA squad won the title.

The Del Norte High girls soccer team tied South Fork 1-1 on the road Wednesday after dropping its first three games of the year.

The Warrior boys soccer squad struggled against the Cubs, falling 4-2 to drop to 0-2-1 for the year.

In the girls game, South Fork scored first in the 23rd minute.

Warrior head coach Clar Byers said that his team had four shots on goal in the first half, all by senior Molly Lambert, but she could not  get the ball in the net for a goal.

The Del Norte High girls tennis team had another solid showing on the courts, defeating Northcoast Prep 5-4 at home Saturday to improve to 2-0 for the year.

“Overall, we all played well and stepped up our match play,”  Del Norte head coach Sara Miller said. “I’m happy with our first-week results.”

Last Tuesday at home, the Warriors downed Arcata 6-3 to open the Humboldt-Del Norte Conference season.

In No. 1 singles play on Saturday, Del Norte senior Kathryn Gustafson downed Hannah Puttre 6-3, 6-2.

Passing game, defense make strong showings

The Warriors defense swarms over the Bruins’ Jacob McKinney during Friday night’s game at Mike Whalen Field. Del Norte dominated the proceedings to improve to a sterling 3-0 record for the season. The Bruins dropped to 1-2 for the year. For more photos, go to triplicate.com/photos The Daily Triplicate/Bryant Anderson

While the Warriors’ running game dominated in the first two contests of the year, the passing game was also quite active Friday night, going 10-for-10 in the first half with a score.

The defense were also beasts, picking up two fumbles for scores.

“When you get to scoop up two passes and your defense scores twice you’re having a good night,” Del Norte head coach Ray Rook said.

WWhen I think of Terry DeGross I can’t help but think of another Warrior from the same era.

When former Del Norte graduate Matt Kelley was working for me as an assistant football coach in Yucca Valley, the only Warrior teammate he talked about was Terry DeGross. I could tell he felt a very strong bond with Terry. When I talked to Terry I found the feeling was mutual.

Terry was a 1958 Del Norte graduate who during his four years as a Warrior left his mark on the football, basketball and baseball programs. He was a three-year varsity letterman in football. In his senior year he was a running back on a good football team. He didn’t get as many carries as he would have liked, but averaged over 7 yards per carry and never lost yardage. As a former football coach these are pretty impressive statistics.

The Del Norte high girls soccer team fell to Eureka 6-0 at home Wednesday night.

After losing to the Loggers, considered one of the better teams in the Humboldt-Del Norte conference, 10-0 and 8-0 last year, Warriors head coach Clar Byers saw some marked improvements this time out.

He was pleased with the way the team was aggressive in the first half and was able to attack offensively and keep the Loggers at bay for more than 20 minutes as neither team could score.

Sher Lee of Del Norte High goes after the ball during a home game against Eureka on Wednesday. For more photos, go to triplicate.com/photos The Daily Triplicate/Bryant Anderson

The Del Norte High Warriors boys soccer team dropped its home opener against the Eureka Loggers 3-0 on Wednesday.

Things were highly contested for the majority of the first half in the Humboldt-Del Norte Conference contest, with both teams getting a fair share of scoring chances.

Del Norte got a few solid shots at goal but could not get the ball in for a score. The Warriors had seven shots at goal for the game, with the majority of those shots coming in the first half of play.

The Del Norte High varsity volleyball team bounced back from a tough tournament performance over the weekend by defeating Brookings-Harbor High in three games on the road Tuesday night.

The Warriors won 25-21, 25-23, 25-18 to improve to 6-9 overall.

“They played great,” Warrior head coach Robyn Parker said. “The girls were really excited and were proud of each other.”

Del Norte downs Arcata at home

The Del Norte High girls tennis team started the Humboldt-Del Norte Conference season strongly, defeating Arcata 6-3 on Tuesday at home.

“I’m happy we were able to win,” head coach Sara Miller said. “Hopefully we can keep the momentum going.”

There was a surprise in store in No. 1 singles play for the Warriors.

It was supposed to be a battle this year in the HDN between Del Norte senior Kathryn Gustafson and Arcata junior Abi Black. Last season, the two were the clear-cut two top players in the conference, with Black downing Gustafson in a close three- set battle in the HDN singles championships. Gustafson went on to win the HDN doubles title along with Sam Bausch.

Squad wins a few titles despite the extreme heat

The Del Norte High girls tennis team opened the 2011 season in the extreme heat of Redding.

Despite the difficult conditions, with temperatures hitting more than 105 degrees, the girls persevered and had several top performances at the tournament, which took place Friday and Saturday,

“It was record-breaking temperatures so the girls were dying from the heat,” head coach  Sara Miller said. “A lot of them struggled with nausea and dizziness.”