Eureka, fortuna put up undefeated streaks
Both teams enter season finale with unblemished records
Week 5 of football action in the Humboldt-Del Norte League will see the only two teams currently standing with perfect 4-0 records pitted against each other tonight.
Fortuna High and Eureka High have conquered the opposition during the abridged spring 2021 season.
Fortuna, with a solid senior base has staged highscoring performances at home and on the road to secure their four wins, including a shutout win in the Milk Can game over Eel River Valley rivals Ferndale High.
Eureka has staged momentous, come-from-behind wins this season going as far as Week 1, showing great composure and attitude throughout.
Going into Friday night’s match, the teams’ coaches looked back on the season and the upcoming game.
Fortuna coach Mike Benbow sees having the opportunity to play this spring as a blessing after so much uncertainty.
“I think there’s a lot of appreciation for having the opportunity to play,” he said.
He is particularly thankful for his senior year players having the opportunity to suit up and play out their final year.
“It’s been a lot of fun being together, a lot of fun giving them their last season and they’ve been great. I’m just really proud of their efforts,” Benbow shared. “Most of these young men have been a part of our program for all four years.”
He also praised his underclassmen. “Breck Bishop is a junior and he’s been on both sides of the football. Three of our starting five are juniors and they have been very very good and that includes Keith Chittenden, Weylon McNight and Tobiah Bruckner, there’s also Logan Miranda. They have definitely stepped up and followed the lead of our seniors,” the Huskies’ coach said
Eureka High head coach Andrew Haraldson came into the position with a smaller class size due to COVID restrictions and with a younger cohort, including nine sophomores in the varsity team.
However, the team’s coaching staff paired with the group’s determination to work has been key in the team’s wins.
“They’ve been very bought into working hard and being good people,” Haraldson said. “You’re going to get good when you have kids who want to work hard.”
The coach praised his athletes’ determination to never quit and cited this as a factor in the comeback wins.
“People are struggling during COVID and Eureka is a diverse town, we have kids in different situations and we tell them to keep going, do not quit, never stop,” Haraldson said. “As a coach it’s a great sign kids aren’t giving up because you’re always going to have a chance if you don’t quit. It’s hard to beat a team that is not going to quit.”
The prospect of finishing the season with a perfect
record is a big motivator at the Loggers camp.
“We’re going to prepare with everything we have, and the kids are very bought in to that philosophy,” the Loggers’ coach said. “They’re excited for that challenge.”
Benbow is looking to make the last game the best one of the season.
“Most seasons you never know when it’s your last one. We always say ‘last one, best one,’ and so with this situation we’re looking at this as a blessing since we know when the last game is. It’s a game of lasts and that’s what’s motivating the guys right now,” he said.
Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. tonight at Fortuna High.