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Mark Lourenzo
Beacon Correspondent
Last week, the Ferndale and Fortuna varsity boys earned important league wins, both utilizing their home court advantage in close games. While Ferndale hopes to contend for a league crown this season, Fortuna is just trying to steal a win whenever possible to avoid a losing season.
Meanwhile, the Ferndale varsity girls stole a win on the road over the Arcata Tigers, only to lose their league matchup with Hoopa two nights later. The Fortuna varsity girls took the biggest hit last week as they dropped a pair of league games to McKinleyville and Eureka, then lost their star player, Kelsey Jacobs to injury.
The Ferndale Wildcats took the first important step in their quest for a Little Four Conference title with their home win over the Hoopa Warriors last Friday. The Cats overcame a sluggish start and red-hot shooting by Hoopa. The Warriors jumped to a 13-5 lead while still in the 1st quarter and Hoopa had another surge in the 2nd quarter to maintain the lead, which stood at 30-22 at the half. Hoopa's quickness and shooting was as expected and the Cats just tried to weather the storm and climb back into the game.
Ferndale was a different team after the halftime break as the home loss possibility sunk in. The 3rd quarter Wildcat energy was enough to get the contest to even and the Cats were starting to wear down the short-handed Warriors. Yet, Ferndale had to maintain their composure once more in the 4th quarter as Hoopa answered with more 3-point shots.
The Warriors still had intentions to steal the win and even regained the lead with 2 minutes to play. The Wildcats however came up with the plays in the final two minutes to hammer out the 60-54 win.
Hoopa was led by Justin Hutt who canned 27-points and as a team the Warriors shot 38 "3" point attempts.
The Cats answered with balanced scoring as James Slade had 13 points, while Jon Losa, Andrew Matyshock and Cole Salmon each added 10 points. Adam Coppini (9), Chance Ambrosini (5) and Jordan Wilkinson (3) closed out the Wildcat scoring. In a game of momentum in which the visitors led for 2/3 of the game, the Cats had the great run in the pivitol 3rd quarter and once again in the final minutes of the contest.
The Ferndale JV team won as well in the prelude. In a very similiar game as the varsity contest, the Cats had to deal with a scrappy team from Hoopa. The Warriors pressed and used their quickness against the bigger Ferndale lineup. However the Wildcats prevailed in the end, 58-42. Led by Monet Bessingpas-Hamor's 15-points and a dozen more from Wyatt Townsend the Cats improved to 12-3 on the season.
Across the river, on the same evening, the Fortuna Huskies came up with a much needed win in their league game with Eureka. After a slow start in which points were hard to come by against the Eureka defense, the Huskies fighting spirit finally paid off in the end.
Fortuna scored only 6 points in the 1st quarter and only 8 more in the 2nd period, yet the Huskies trailed by just 5 points at halftime. Fortuna scored the first two baskets of the 2nd half and took their first lead at the 1:58 mark of the 3rd quarter, however, the contest would go back and forth the rest of the way.
Neither Fortuna nor Eureka could go on a run to put the game away so it went down to the final possessions. Fortuna's Tyler Moody and Brady Shaha accounted for critical points on drives to the basket in the 4th quarter. The Huskies managed to hang on for the win despite Eureka having a chance to tie or win the game from the free throw line and the field on their last possession of the game.
The home crowd was so loud down the stretch it seemed as though they willed the Loggers into missing their shots. Fortuna holds on for an exciting 39-37 win.
Moody and Shaha led the effort with 9 points apiece, T.J. Rice and Landon Stone each added 7 points. Helping out down low in a battle with Eureka's big men, Tyler Lewis had 9 rebounds and 3 steals, Daniel Wiggins had 6 boards and 4-points. The Fortuna offense sputtered in the beginning but improved the point production in each quarter as the game played out.
The Fortuna junior varsity boys lost a heart-breaker in the final moments of their contest against Eureka. The Huskies fought back several times in the game, including after trailing by 6-points in the 4th quarter.
But a single free throw by Eureka broke a tie game and Fortuna's final possession, with a chance to win the game, came up empty on an in-bounds play. Zach Cahill and Jamie Olea led the team with 8-points each, Kevin Wills and Tyrol Chamberlain also scored 7-points apeice. The freshman team waged a battle with the Loggers but came up short 62-58. Zach Lumley led the team with his 19-points.
The Fortuna varsity girls took a severe hit last week as they fell on Tuesday night up in McKinleyville by a score of 56-41. McKinleyville suceeded in making the contest a half court game and took away most of Fortuna's transition game. However, missed free throws and shots from the field hurt the Huskies chances.
Two nights later the Huskies hoped to rebound with a win against the visiting Eureka Loggers. Fortuna got off to a slow start in the game and Eureka took an early lead as the Huskies looked to find their rhythm.
Fortuna was just starting to catch fire and Lili Herrera converted a 3 point play on a fast break basket and subsequent free throw to give the Huskies their first lead at the 5:26 mark of the 2nd quarter. Kelsey Jacobs followed that with a steal on the defensive end and attempted to go coast to coast for a layup at the other end.
Jacobs was fouled hard from behind as she elevated for the rim. She went down in a heap, out of bounds as the crowd groaned, then fell silent. Jacobs was carried off the floor by her coaches and after some time the game resumed.
The contest was pyhsical and close throughout and the Huskies showed alot of fight as they moved on without Kelsey Jacobs. The home crowd expected that Fortuna would hit their stride and go on a run to distance themselves from the opponents. But every run by the Huskies was brief and Eureka always found a way to counter. Eureka's uncanny ability to attack the left side of the basket combined with offensive rebounds and 2nd chance points made the difference. The Loggers scored 29-points in the final period to pull ahead and win the game 69-65.
Lili Herrera scored 18 points to lead the Huskies, Jade Hudson scored 15 points and Nochella Ozard added 10-points. Freethrows continue to haunt the Huskies as they made 18 of 38 free throw attempts. Prior to being injured, Kelsey Jacobs grabbed 4 rebounds, made 3 steals, had 2 blocks and scored 2-points.
Her knee is the main concern and though x-rays proved negative, she is scheduled to see a specialist this week and undergo an MRI scan. In one horrifying moment, the Fortuna faithful lost a rising star, possibly for the rest of the season. Jacobs was a 3-time MVP in preseason tournaments, she has already signed to play college ball with Wichita State University.
The Fortuna JV girls lost out in their battle with Eureka by a score of 50-34. Mellisa Morrison had a terrific effort with 16-points and 17 rebounds and Kenzie Rice added 10-points. But as a team, the Huskies shot 7 of 24 free throw attempts. The freshman girls logged the only win of the evening.
The Ferndale varsity girls logged a terrific win, on the road up in Arcata back on the 12th of the month. Desirae Keyes led the team with 14 points, Kaitlyn Regli added 13-points and the Lady Cats held on for the 40-36 win against the Tigers. It was a much needed win after two losses prior to Big Five schools. Two nights later the Cats came up short up in Hoopa. The Warriors rained down the 3-point shots on Ferndale until enough went in the basket.
The Warriors took 42 attempts from beyond the arc and the Cats fell by a 73-44 score. Desirae Keyes again led the effort with her 12 points, Amber Early also hit double figures with 10-points. The Wildcats are looking forward to a game down in South Fork this week then a much needed 8-day break in the schedule.
Ferndale JV girls also lost up in Hoopa. The game was close for a half but Hoopa pressed in the 2nd half and hit some 3-point shots to pull away for the win.The end of this week finds the Fortuna boys hosting South Fork on Friday.
The Ferndale boys travel to Lower Lake on Saturday. The Fortuna girls are on break until next week, as are the Ferndale girls teams. In high school wrestling, Ferndale and Arcata will be at Fortuna High for a duel meet on Tuesday, Jan. 26.
photos by Mark Lourenzo/Beacon
1. Tyler Moody works the ball around the perimeter challenging the defense of Eureka's Mitchell Hash. The varsity Huskies saw their first home games of the season last week and rewarded the home crowd with a thrilling 39-37 win over the Eureka Loggers.
2. Ferndale's Andrew Matyshock takes it to the hoop against the Arcata big guys as the Wildcats hosted the Tigers last week. Matyshock was a catalyst to the Cats 2nd half effort to come from behind and beat the Warriors 60-54.
3. Fortuna's Kelsey Jacobs brings the ball up the court in last week's home game versus Eureka. Minutes later Jacobs was the victim of an intentional foul on a fast break and landed hard on the gym floor.
4. Fortuna junior varsity guard Kevin Wills drives to the basket against the Eureka Logger defense in last week's home game. The JV Huskies lost an absolute heart-breaker to the Loggers 46-45.
