Photos by Ray Hamill/HumboldtSports.com – The Warriors will play the Loggers on Friday night.

By Ray Hamill — The game of the season so far will take place in Crescent City on Friday night when the top two teams in this week’s Power Rankings face off against each other.

Both Del Norte and Eureka will carry a two-game winning streak into the big showdown, which will serve as a major litmus test for each.

Are the Warriors really the best team in the H-DNL?

Or are the Loggers better?

We’ll know more on Friday night in what will be the first of two meetings between these two rivals this fall.

(Friday’s game is a non-league game, with both teams meeting again later in the season in a Big 4 showdown in Eureka.)

The game in Crescent City is one of three all-local matchups this week, and one of two involving top-five matchups.

Ferndale and McKinleyville have been tied for fifth in our rankings for the past two weeks and the two teams will meet at Mack High on Friday night as they kick off the Little 4.

St. Bernard’s, meanwhile, remains No. 3 in our rankings this week after a lopsided win over Arcata on Saturday.

The Hoopa Warriors also continued to roll with their second straight win at Trinity over the weekend, keeping them at No. 4.

Hoopa plays Arcata in its home opener on Saturday afternoon.

The Eureka Loggers have won two straight.

POWER RANKINGS

1 — Del Norte (4-1)

The Warriors’ four wins have each come by at least 42 points

2 — Eureka (3-1)

The Loggers appear to be the most likely local team to challenge Del Norte right now

3 — St. Bernard’s (2-2)

The Crusaders will play at Oakland Tech on Friday

4 — Hoopa (3-1)

After more than a month of traveling for games, the Warriors will finally play at home this week

5T — Ferndale (2-2)

The Cats are coming off a bye

5T — McKinleyville (1-3)

The Panthers have dropped three straight, but to quality opponents