Warriors go to camp

At Gold Beach until Thursday

Next season’s Del Norte Warriors football team will test its mettle against 15 other schools starting today.

The Warriors will make the fairly short trek to Oregon as they take part in an annual tradition –– the Gold Beach Football Team Camp.

The squad left this morning and will stay with other teams in the gym at Gold Beach High.

Through Thursday, the Warriors will take part in camp activities such as  drills and 7-on-7 scrimmages involving teams from California, Oregon and Washington.

This includes two 2011 opponents, Brookings-Harbor and  McKinleyville. The Warriors’ season opens Sept. 2 at home against Hidden Valley, Ore.

“We have just finished getting kids into football gear and we’re looking forward to heading to Gold Beach,” Del Norte head coach Ray Rook said Friday afternoon.

Rook, going into his second year in charge of the Warrior gridiron program, said that the camp provides valuable experience. The team just completed spring practices this week.

A key goal at the camp, Rook said, will be “to come together as a family and to come together as a team ... and to show them what they have to do to be competitive.”

He said that 48 players from Del Norte will attend and take part in the camp.

This includes passing and linemen competition, and individual and team speed, agility, and strength competitions.

The scrimmages have proven valuable in past years as the Warriors faced off against a variety of other teams, including bigger schools such as South Medford, which will be at the camp again this year, Rook said.

“It gives us a chance to look at the team in a full-contact scrimmage and gives a chance to see what works and what we need to  do better,” Rook said.

Del Norte will also take part in a football camp in McKinleyville later this summer.

Here is the tentative football schedule.

• Sept 2: Hidden Valley at home

• Sept. 10: at Ferndale

• Sept. 16: Brookings-Harbor at home

• Sept. 23: McKinleyville at home

• Sept. 30: at Arcata

• Oct. 7: Fortuna at home

• Oct. 14: Bye

• Oct. 21: Eureka at home

• Oct. 28: at Fortuna

• Nov. 4: Arcata at home

• Nov. 11: at McKinleyville