A night to remember for Warriors

Collin Taylor scored 5 TDs in the opener

Collin Taylor on the sideline during his five-touchdown game. The Daily Triplicate/Bryant Anderson

When your running back goes off for five touchdowns, you know it’s a good night.

Senior running back Collin Taylor rumbled for 250 rushing yards, including an 80-yard touchdown run, as the Warriors clobbered Hidden Valley, Ore., 60-7.

Running through the holes a talented offensive line opened up for him, Taylor put on a clinic, rushing for three touchdowns, catching a TD pass and scrambling 85 yards for another score on a kick-off return.

It was one of the best single-game performances for the Warriors in a long time.

He showed top-notch cutting ability and had a knack for finding the open seam and getting large chunks of yardage.

“Everyone blocked well and I was able to run through the holes,” Taylor said during practice Tuesday.

“It felt good. Everyone was working together,”  junior offensive lineman Lane Reichlin said during practice. “We were able to open the holes and Collin broke them. He did great. We did our job.”

Warrior head coach Ray Rook knows the football season could rest on the broad shoulders of the offensive line and the speed, power and elusive play of the running game. The O-line includes a number of guys weighing in at 240-275 pounds and standing more than 6 feet tall.

“That is the strength of our team,” Rook said Tuesday. “I think what’s going to make or break us is how we do in the trenches.”

 Taylor downplayed his efforts Friday night, saying right after the game:  “I give great credit to my line. They blocked well for me. I had holes you could drive a truck through.”

Rook commended Taylor for his desire to improve and getting bigger and stronger during the off-season.

“He’s improved and can now put his foot in and cut back against the grain better,” Rook said. “He worked his butt off in  the offseason and he’s certainly more comfortable in his role.”

On Tuesday, Taylor said he has gained more agility and quickness through rigorous offseason workouts, including taking part in cross fit, a strength and conditioning program hat combines weightlifting, sprinting, gymnastics, powerlifting, kettlebell training, plyometrics, rowing and medicine ball training.

“I think it’s helped me in the open field,” he said.

Many of the Warriors have played together since youth football, which has helped tremendously, Taylor said.

“We work well together and we have a good bond, which helps,” he said.

Rook agreed.

“They work hard  and pay attention,” he said. “They all get along well. They have committed hard on every snap 150 percent.” 

While Friday was a night to remember, it would be ill-advised, the coach and his players said, to be overly confident.

“I’m not getting overly excited,” Rook said. “We still got a lot of work to do. We know we’ve got to keep going and keep improving each game.”

“We all know we have to get better,” Reichlin said. “We made mistakes and we have to improve.”

Rook said Del Norte will face a much tougher opponent on Saturday in Little 4  power Ferndale, which opened the season Saturday with a 25-8 win over Bay Area opponent McClymonds. Ferndale has defeated Del Norte the past two seasons  The game begins at 2 p.m. in Ferndale.

Del Norte’s starting offensive line took part  in all the offseason workouts and summer football camps, Rook said, and this commitment and desire to get better proved well worth the effort Friday night.

Senior Luis Galindo, a starting offensive lineman, said a key was the “good tempo” the Warriors found.

“Without good tempo you lose focus,” he said.

Galindo said he and his fellow linemen are proud of the way they can block and give the offense, from the quarterback to the running back, time to do its job.

“We take a lot of pride on the line,” he said.

Besides Galindo and Reichlin, the starting offensive linemen are Barrick Sala, Tyler Nelson and Kaiser Perez.