Eureka High wins their second in a row
Eureka High cruised past a young McKinleyville High team in their Week 2 matchup, with the Loggers shutting out their hosts 420.
EHS running back Keeb Her put his team on the board with a 14-yard run to the end zone, this after positioning his team up for the scoring play with a 25yard run.
Sophomore running back Rogan Bode doubled his team’s lead after a 28yard touchdown run, putting the Loggers up 12-0 within the first quarter of play.
Sophomore Hans Chalmers also stepped up for the Loggers first half efforts, catching a 12-yard ball from quarterback Hayden Bode seconds before halftime for a partial 21-0 lead.
The Loggers’ seniority and running power were on full display going into the second half, putting the game out of reach for McKinleyville with two touchdowns in two possessions.
Her made his second touchdown run of the night, a 26-yard effort, to resume the game. Brandon Racines followed up during the Loggers’ next possession, eluding the defense in his 28-yard dash.
Despite the result, the Panthers showed a tough collective mentality throughout, continuing to fight regardless of the score.
Individually, McKinleyville’s defensive team did not back down facing off against the larger, more experienced Eureka squad on the line. Most notably, sophomore Panthers player Azure Watrous de Salinas showed off his grit defending against the Loggers’ offensive.
McKinleyville will host Ferndale this Friday at 7:30. Eureka will continue its season away from home at Del Norte High School, with their meeting scheduled for Friday at 7:30 p.m.
In a preceding game full of young talent, St. Bernard’s Academy tested its incoming class of players against Fortuna High’s B team, featuring a large underclassmen contingent.
After a focus on defense in their season opener against Ferndale High, St.
Bernard’s returned to its aggressive identity to secure a 32-6 win over the Huskies’ B side.
Featuring a two running back system, the Crusaders struck early into the game with the team’s two possessions ending in scoring plays.
St. Bernard’s Demetrius Rawson lit up the afternoon scoreboard early with an opening touchdown run. Camerin Goddard ran in the pigskin for his team’s second touchdown of the day. With 5:11 still left in the first quarter, St. Bernard’s led Fortuna B 13-0.
Huskies B player Johnny Cortez cut into the Crusader’s offense with an interception in the first quarter, though Fortuna B could not make good on the following drive’s opportunity to reach the end zone.
The crusaders did not let up on the attack in the second quarter. Senior quarterback Bode Joyner connected with Grant Omey a few yards away, who weaved through the Husky defense and took the ball past the goal line to extend St. Bernard’s lead. Backup QB Drew Sizemore set the final numbers for his team with two touchdowns.
“(St. Bernard’s) very intelligently mixed a variety of passes and runs, consistently gaining the edge on sweeps and splitting the middle of the Husky defense with powerful traps and dives,” Fortuna assistant coach Dennis Rosser shared.
The Huskies found some ground in the second half. Quarterback Asa McKenzie scored on a short run to end his team’s 58-yard drive. The possession saw a 28-yard pass almost intercepted by the crusaders. Quinn Hall captured the tipped throw to keep possession. A 30-yard slant pass to Sam Anderson was run to the Crusaders’ fiveyard line ahead of the scoring play.
The growing St. Bernard’s team will be tested at home, with the Huskies’ A team visiting on Friday night in the HumboldtDel Norte League’s Week 3 schedule.
Meanwhile, Fortuna’s B team will face off against Arcata High on April 3. Starting time was unavailable at press time.