Photos by Ray Hamill/HumboldtSports.com – The Eureka defense has done enough the past couple of weeks to keep the Loggers in both games.

Something has to give between two teams looking for their first win of the season on Friday night, when the Eureka Loggers travel to Santa Rosa to play Montgomery.

Both teams are 0-3, although the Loggers have been far more competitive in their games, dropping the past two by a combined seven points and being in all three until late in the fourth quarter.

The Vikings, on the other hand, have been outscored 92-20 in their three games.

For the Loggers, inexperience has been the biggest problem on a young team that features just three returning full-time starters from a year ago, Miles Meynell, Chase “Biscuit” Steubing and Lamarie Dunn, two of whom have missed time due to injury.

“Honestly, what’s probably hurting us the most is our lack of experience,” Eureka head coach Jason White said. “We had three kids on offense last week that had never started a game.”

That inexperience has led to breakdowns at key times, on both sides of the ball, with too many penalties in last week’s 14-10 loss at Foothill.

Eureka junior lineman Mathew Justice

“We had 12 penalties for 100 yards,” White said. “Those are drive killers right there.”

Through their opening few games, the Loggers have done a decent job both moving the ball between the 20s and holding their opponents when they needed to the most.

A “bend but don’t break” type of defense has seen Eureka hold its past two opponents to just two TDs each.

Many of the wounds, however, have been self-inflicted, and eliminating penalties and finishing drives will both be key this week.

“For us, right now, we have to improve our red zone offense,” White said. “That’s been a focus for us all week. And defensively we need to follow our game plan, do our assignments and tackle better.”

Despite the losses, there have been plenty of positives for a young Loggers team.

“The kids have played hard every game,” the head coach said. “Giving perfect effort is one of our big things, as I’m sure it is for every coach. It’s something that’s important for us.”

Meynell, an all-star lineman who has been sidelined with a leg injury since the opening game, is expected back in the lineup next week.

###

Ray Hamill writes at humboldtsports.com, where you can read lots more about sports in Humboldt County.