Middle-school basketball tournament will contribute to scholarship fund

Middle-school boys basketball teams from across Del Norte County will participate in a tournament this Friday and Saturday honoring the late Crescent Elk Middle School physical education teacher Eric Epperson and contributing to a scholarship fund in his name.

The Epperson Memorial Classic pits 22 teams of seventh- and eighth-graders from Del Norte and Humboldt Counties in four divisions of play. Games will be played at Crescent Elk, Redwood Elementary School, Foursquare Church in Crescent City and at Del Norte High School’s Thunen Gymnasium and small gymnasium. 

“The origin of this tournament came about through (Crescent Elk eighth-grade coach) John Horner and (Redwood eighth-grade coach) John Nuszkiewicz, and Horner’s coaching experience with Epp,” said Jason Costello, founder of the Eric Epperson Memorial Scholarship and a lifelong friend of the late Epperson. “As much as anything, it’s a way ... to just spend a day and remember him.”

Humboldt County schools participating include Zane Middle School (Eureka), Toddy Thomas Middle School (Fortuna), Sunny Brae Middle School (Arcata), Hoopa Valley Elementary School (Hoopa), Jacoby Creek Elementary School (Bayside) and Trinity Valley Elementary School (Willow Creek). Each team paid an entry fee to enter the tournament; the proceeds are earmarked for the Eric Epperson Memorial Scholarship.

“These are top-tier (Humboldt-Del Norte) teams coming up,” Horner said. “It means a lot to a lot of people.”

The inclusion of Del Norte County’s smaller schools, Klamath River Early College of the Redwoods and Uncharted Shores Academy, carried additional importance to Horner.

“We play in five tournaments a year,” Horner said regarding his Crescent Elk A squad. “A lot of other teams don’t get that opportunity. It’s an opportunity for (teams like) KRECR to play in other tournaments.”

DNHS basketball games on tap 

The end of the Humboldt-Del Norte Big 5 League season is fast approaching for the Del Norte High boys and girls basketball teams.

The boys play Fortuna High today at Del Norte High School. The freshman teams will play at 4:30 p.m., followed by the junior varsity (6 p.m.) and varsity (7:30 p.m.). The radio broadcast for the Eureka game begins at 7:30 p.m. on KPOD (97.9 FM). Del Norte is 7-11 overall this season (2-4 HDN Big 5). 

The Warriors will be honoring seniors Jacob Dorosz, Doug Ovick, Blair Westbrook, Raul Zepeda and Sean DeArman for their contributions to the program.

The Del Norte girls travel to Fortuna on Wednesday to take on the Huskies. The freshman teams will play at 4:30 p.m., followed by the junior varsity (6 p.m.) and varsity (7:30 p.m.). The Warriors are 10-10 overall this season (1-5 HDN Big 5), having snapped a 14-game league losing streak on Jan. 30.

Babe Ruth sign-ups coming soon 

Del Norte Babe Ruth will be holding sign-ups for the 2013 season today, Wednesday and Thursday from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the Peterson Park snack bar, 525 7th Street, Crescent City.

Evans, Plechaty, Hawk Mattz place at Redwood Empire

Del Norte High sophomore wrestler Nicole Mattz finished in third place in the 108-pound weight class at the California Interscholastic Federation North Coast Section Girls Wrestling Championships, held Friday and Saturday at Pittsburg High School in Pittsburg.

Mattz went 4-1 during the competition, defeating Emily Mackey of Rancho Cotate  High in Rohnert Park (15-0, technical fall), Lauren Adona of San Leandro High (fall, 38 seconds), Wendy Ho of James Logan High in Union City (4-2 decision) and Mariah Damaso of Irvington High in Fremont (fall, 2:43) in the third-place match. 

Mattz’s only loss came in the quarterfinals to Sierra Egger of Middletown High, a 9-8 defeat. She did not allow a point to her opponents in three of her five matches.

“I’m pretty happy. I’ve just got to train harder,” said Mattz, who finished fifth at NCS as a freshman in 2012. “I was physically stronger than pretty much everyone I wrestled.”

Mattz qualified for the CIF Wrestling Invitational, held Feb. 22–23 at Lemoore High School in Lemoore.

Tsunami Siren Chloe “Ole Chole” Joesten (second from left) lays a block on a jammer from Southern Oregon Roller Girls on Saturday. Del Norte Triplicate / Bryant Anderson

Sirens take 60-7 lead in first 6 minutes and never let up against Southern Ore. Roller Girls

The Tsunami Sirens roller derby squad had its game face on on Saturday — specifically, undead and zombie makeup for each player.

Forget about the slow and uncoordinated movements of traditional zombies, however; the Sirens were swift and physical, running around and sometimes over the Southern Oregon Roller Girls of Medford en route to a 256-118 victory.

It was a dominant performance to open the Sirens’ second full year of competition — to the extent that the scoreboard used at the Del Norte County Fairgrounds main building couldn’t account for 200 points by a team. About 400 fans made the event a standing room-only affair.

“We had gone through our initial season (last year) and got the butterflies out,” Sirens coach Jack “Old Xchool” Gollaher said. “We started working on our strategy and plays. This was the first time we put it all together. Everything went really well.”

The Sirens were wailing from the first whistle.

Jammer Chloe “Ole Chole” Joesten scored two grand slams — passing all five SORG players on the track — to give the Sirens an 11-2 lead after the first jam. Janee “Tootsie Rollin” Strauss scored 19 points in the bout’s third jam, and Joesten followed that with a 30-point jam (six grand slams) to give the Sirens a 60-7 lead over Southern Oregon.

Ana “Autopsyana” Jaime stretched the lead to 75-16 in the fifth jam, and the Sirens never looked back. The Sirens led 136-65 at the half and led by as many as 152 points in the second half.

Siren Macy “Macebomm” Bommelyn broke her collarbone in the first half and did not return to the bout. Bommelyn’s injury was the lone down note on a big night for the Sirens.

Del Norte High junior Jackson Evans defeated McKinleyville High wrestler Edin Burns by fall in 1 minute and 19 seconds in the Warriors’ 45-30 dual meet loss to the Panthers on Wednesday. Evans was one of four Del Norte wrestlers to win a contested match; all four pinned their opponents. Del Norte Triplicate / Bryant Anderson

With two early forfeits against them, the Warriors put Panthers wrestlers’ backs on the mat in the middle weight classes.

Ten of the 11 contested matches were ultimately decided by falls, but McKinleyville walked away with a 45-30 victory over Del Norte.

“I think we didn’t wrestle badly. We wrestled well,” Warriors head coach Aaron Schaad said. “It’s all minor adjustments right now. The technique’s there for the kids.”

Holes in the Del Norte lineup didn’t help matters. The match began at the 182-pound weight class, which both teams forfeited. McKinleyville used its advantage in the lower weight classes to build a 42-6 lead before the Warriors’ strongest wrestlers took to the mat. 

Del Norte’s Robert Boulby faced off against McKinleyville’s David Poston at 145 pounds in the lone match decided by points. Poston recorded two early takedowns in the first period to build up a 4-0 lead, but Boulby inched back to within one point, 6-5, early in the third period after a takedown.

Poston escaped from Boulby at the 5:42 mark of the match for a two-point advantage and Boulby could not take Poston down in the time remaining, losing 7-6.

Del Norte wrestlers David Plechaty (195 pounds), Eric Turner (170), Jackson Evans (152) and Skiler Haddad (138) each pinned their opponents, all in the first period. Turner pinned the Panthers’ Bique Razo in 35 seconds; Haddad took down McKinleyville’s Abel Melecio in 36 seconds.

“Haddad came out with pistols blazing, right after that kid,” Schaad said.

Chalk up one more accomplishment for the Del Norte High girls basketball team this season.

The Warriors have already won five times as many games in 2012–13 as in 2011–12, and now one of those is a Humboldt-Del Norte Big 5 League victory.

Senior Brittany Maready scored 16 points and grabbed eight rebounds for Del Norte in a 53-41 upset over Eureka High in Eureka Wednesday. 

The Warriors (10-10 overall, 1-5 HDN Big 5) entered the game in last place in the HDN Big 5 League but walked out having dealt the Loggers (12-6 overall, 4-1 HDN Big 5) their first league loss of the season. Eureka now stands tied with Arcata (4-1 HDN Big 5) at the top of the Big 5, with Fortuna (3-3 HDN Big 5) and McKinleyville (2-4 HDN Big 5) right behind.

“They were elated,” Warriors head coach Mike Ernest said of his players. “This is a good win for the program, for the parents, for the players. We just went out and won this game.”

Indeed, Del Norte parlayed a two-point first-quarter advantage into a 26-18 halftime lead. “We played tremendous defense and we rebounded well,” Ernest said.

The Loggers fought back in the third quarter with a 10-0 run that threatened to derail the Warriors’ promising start. Del Norte responded by outscoring Eureka 27-13 over the remainder of the game, going 12-21 from the free throw line.

New rules aim to create ‘more intense’ bouts

The Tsunami Sirens roller derby team has made great strides entering its second full season as both an organization and a competitive squad.

The Sirens’ season debut bout — they host Southern Oregon Roller Girls of Medford at 6:30 p.m. today at the Del Norte County Fairgrounds — will be a test of a different stripe. Women’s roller derby’s governing body, the Women’s Flat Track Derby Association, has implemented rule changes for 2013 that require the Sirens to adjust their strategies.

Among them: Jams, or two-minute scoring periods, will start on a single whistle. In the past, blockers went on one whistle to set themselves up, with point-scoring jammers following on the second whistle.

“That changes everything,” said Siren Amanda “Amazon Chic” Graves. “You have to be on right away.”

The WFTDA has also eliminated the concept of minor penalties. Every illegal hit will send a player to the penalty box right away.

“I think it’s going to make the sport better,” Graves said. “It’ll be more about playing the game than knocking people down — even though that’s my favorite part.”

Del Norte High School fans and students finally got to celebrate a home win in boys basketball Tuesday night as the Warriors defeated Eureka, 52-42. Rally squad and band members also got in on the action. See Sports on A6 for more coverage, and see more photos at triplicate.com/photos. Photos by Bryant Anderson.

Junior Aaron Fitch (left, 23) added four points as the Warriors defeated Eureka High, 52-42, Tuesday night at Del Norte High School. Del Norte Triplicate / Bryant Anderson

Post defense, outside shooting lead to Warriors’ first home win of season

Home has been where the heartbreak is for Del Norte High boys basketball this season. 

The Warriors entered their Tuesday night Humboldt-Del Norte Big 5 League contest against Eureka High winless in five games in Thunen Gymnasium this season. The bigger, stronger Loggers looked to avenge a Jan. 9 loss in Eureka.

Ultimately, Del Norte used physical interior play and timely outside shooting to defeat Eureka, 52-42, and improve to 2-4 in HDN league play (7-11 overall). 

Warriors senior Sean DeArman led all scorers with 20 points and combined with fellow posts Brandon Japp, Aaron Fitch and Raul Zepeda to limit the Loggers’ best big men, Eli Savage (seven points) and Nathan Madsen (one point). Marcus Finney led Eureka (6-12 overall, 0-5 HDN Big 5) with 10 points.

“They thought we had mismatches,” Lopez said. “Guys did a good job of double-teaming and dropping down (to close the painted area).”

Del Norte led 24-18 entering the third quarter but saw its lead dissipate to three points. The Warriors rallied to outscore Eureka 9-2 in a five-minute span and regain control of the game.

The Loggers had another comeback in them in the fourth quarter, hitting two straight baskets to pull within eight points. Del Norte sophomore Josh Gruden hit a three-pointer with 4:27 remaining to put the Warriors up 45-34 and stave off further comeback attempts.

Del Norte High senior Sean DeArman (right, 43) scored 20 points as the Warriors defeated Eureka High, 52-42, Tuesday night at Del Norte High School. Del Norte Triplicate / Bryant Anderson

Anglers on the Chetco River have been consistently putting up better numbers of steelhead than on the Smith River, although fishing guides said hookups unexpectedly took a plunge on the Chetco as well mid-week.

Without rain in the forecast for either drainage until next Tuesday, steelhead fishing conditions should only get worse.

But as fishing guide Al Kutzkey put it, there’s no better way to check than by hitting the river yourself.

“Just go out, and see what you can do,” he said.

Chetco River

Despite having Goldilocks flow, color and weather, boats on the Chetco went from posting five to nine steelhead per boat over the weekend and on Monday to just one to three fish per boat, according to Kutzkey.

“Conditions are great but the bite just went down a little bit” on Tuesday and Wednesday, Kutzkey said, “On Monday we did very well with seven or eight fish and then — boom! We’re down to two fish.”

Although the bite slowed, Kutzkey said the steelhead caught  Wednesday were trophies, with three over 15 pounds.

On the best days in the last couple weeks, guide Tony Sepulveda said anglers were posting double-digits for steelhead on the Chetco.

Guides are side drifting bait, sometimes with yarn and usually fish pills.