Warriors fall in road playoff opener

Del Norte loses to the Dragons 41-0 on Friday

The Del Norte Warriors were taken down 41-0 by the Bishop O’Dowd Dragons in the first round of the Northcoast Section Division III playoffs Friday night in Oakland.

While Del Norte moved down the field in the first half they could  not get points on the board. The Dragons had little trouble scoring as they took a 27-0 advantage at the half.

Head coach Ray Rook was pleased with the way the team moved down the field in the half, but said the problem was “we were unable to finish drives.”

In the second half,  the Dragons continued to put points on the board for the 41-point victory.

Del Norte was the No. 11 seed while Bishop O’Dowd came in as the No. 6 seed. Del Norte ended the season 7-4 overall while Bishop O’Dowd ran its win streak to nine games and improved to 9-2 overall.

“I’m really happy with how the kids competed,” Rook said. “They left it on the field and did what we asked of them.”

Division III is considered the toughest division in the NCS with some of the best teams in the Bay Area as members. The Dragons proved that Friday night.

Del Norte received the ball first as Bishop O’Dowd tried an onside kick, which Del Norte recovered with great field possession on their own 47-yard line.

The Warriors did not seem intimidated as they went down the field thanks to long runs by running back Collin Taylor and quarterback Aaron Fitch. Del Norte got all the way to around the Dragons 15-yard line but the drive stalled. They went for it on fourth down but could not get the ball to the first down marker.

While Bishop O’Dowd was very deep in their own territory the Dragons quickly got down the field thanks to a 31-yard throwing strike. Later, a 56-yard touchdown run got them on the board with the two-point conversion missed.

Warrior Darien Simpson  had a big kickoff return to the Dragon 45-yard line to give them great field position.

 Del Norte got a needed first down on a penalty, which moved  them to the Dragons 26-yard line.

But on the next play, the Dragons picked the ball off and ran  down the field for a 70-yard score with 3:18 left in the first quarter.

Later, on a punt by Del Norte, the Dragons were called for a  penalty and the Warriors maintained the ball on their own 45-yard line. On a 4th down and 1 from the Dragons 45, Del Norte went for it.

 Fitch was able to bust loose for a 7-yard gain and a first down with 8:55 left in the half but could not capitalize.

 With 3:12 left in the half, the Dragons scored from 55 yards out with 3:12 remaining. The kick was good to give Bishop O’Dowd the 20-0 advantage. The Dragons scored once more to take a 27-0 advantage at the half.

At the start of the second half the Dragons had a 21-yard run on their first offensive play and moved fairly easily down the field. With the Dragons deep in Warrior territory near the goal line the ball got loose and Kody Osborne recovered the ball for  the Warriors around the 15-yard line. Del Norte could not capitalize and had to punt the ball away.

Bishop O’Dowd moved down the field again, but Del Norte was able to stop the Dragons right at the goal line and got the ball back. However, they could not move down the field and had to punt with a little more than a minute left in the quarter.

Bishop O’Dowd scored on a 26-yard run with 47 seconds left.

In the fourth quarter, Fitch was covered by a group of Dragons players but made the catch for a 41-yard Del Norte gain, which was a highlight for Del Norte.

The Warriors had a fourth down and nine around the 39 of the Dragons and Del Norte decided to punt.

Unfortunately, the Dragons took it to the house for 95 yards for the score.

While disappointed with the loss, Rook said it does not take away from a good year.

 “It was a successful season,” he said. “Obviously it was not the way we wanted to end it... We move on and learn from it. We will keep trying to get better and keep building the program.”