Ray Hamill/HumboldtSports.com

By Ray Hamill — Here we go again.

The Hoopa Warriors find themselves in a familiar position heading into the stretch run of the season, needing to win both of their final two games to have any shot at a league championship.

They also need to close out strong to secure a North Coast Section playoff spot and are currently ranked No. 9 in Division 7 and on the bubble, according to MaxPreps.com.

But they don’t have to look very far for inspiration.

In fact, many of the same players were in a familiar position just 12 months ago.

With their postseason hopes on life support, the Warriors remarkably won their final three games in 2021 to qualify for the NCS playoffs.

And incredibly they won those three games in just nine days after several schedule changes caused by COVID protocols.

The stretch run this year won’t be quite as crazy, but after dropping two of their last three games they will need to win their final two to have any chance at a co-championship, and they likely will need to win both of them to secure a playoff appearance.

Playing so many road games this year hasn’t helped the Warriors (5-3), whose first four games were away from home.

In fact, only three of their 10 scheduled games are at home.

However, they will get to host a particularly important game this weekend, when the McKinleyville Panthers travel to Hoopa.

The game is a must-win for the Warriors and the big showdown is set for Friday night at 7:30 p.m.

Hoopa then closes out the regular season at Ferndale the following weekend.

The Warriors certainly have been competitive, with their three losses coming by an average of just 3.3 points.