Photos by Ray Hamill/HumboldtSports.com – The Crusaders will travel across town to play Eureka this Friday night.

By Ray Hamill — This week’s schedule features a pair of intriguing all-local matchups, as the H-DNL teams begin to build momentum with league play fast approaching.

First up, on Friday night, the Eureka Loggers will host the St. Bernard’s Crusaders under the lights at Albee Stadium in what could be the most anticipated matchup of the weekend.

The Loggers dropped to 1-1 after a 13-6 loss at Ukiah on Saturday night and will be eager to get back on track against their crosstown rivals.

The Crusaders, meanwhile, are also 1-1 and coming off a bye after their inspirational win over Hoopa in week two.

For comparison’s sake, St. Bernard’s is ranked No. 3 among North Coast Section Division-5 teams, according to MaxPreps, while Eureka is No. 6. 

Friday night’s game is set for 7:30 p.m. and will be broadcast live on MIX 95.1 FM.

A second all-local matchup will take place on Saturday afternoon, when the Ferndale Wildcats welcome their biggest rivals, the Fortuna Huskies, for the annual Milk Can Game.

Always one of the most anticipated games of the season here on the North Coast, this year’s showdown should be wide open.

Both teams are 1-2, with the Huskies getting their first win of the season at Kelseyville this past weekend, while the Cats fell 33-18 to Clear Lake.

Tag Wotherspoon and the MIX 95.1 FM crew will also broadcast this game live, with kickoff set for 2 p.m.

Two other games are scheduled for the North Coast on Friday night, with Del Norte (2-1) hosting West Valley (2-0) and McKinleyville (1-1) hosting University (3-0).

The Warriors will be looking to get back to winning ways after a 21-7 road loss against a tough physical South Medford team.

If anything, you can expect the Del Norte players to benefit from that loss and learn from it.

The Panthers also suffered their first loss of the season this past weekend, when they fell 3-0 at Willits in a defensive battle.

McKinleyville should be tested against a University program that usually fields very competitive teams and one that is 3-0 on the season and has outscored its opponents 87-26, including a 41-19 win over Fortuna on opening night.

University will be playing its first road game of the fall and kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m.

Rounding out a busy Friday night for H-DNL teams, Hoopa (2-1) will play at Trinity (2-0) and South Fork (1-2) will play at Potter Valley (1-0).

The Warriors are coming off a nice 30-16 win at Fort Bragg, while the Cubs comfortably defeated Laytonville 47-0 for their first win on Saturday.

The game at Trinity kicks off at 7:30 p.m., while the Cubs and Bearcats kick off at 6 p.m.

Arcata (1-2) has a bye this week.