Photos by Ray Hamill/HumboldtSports.com

By Ray Hamill — Get ready for a packed couple of days of North Coast Section football playoff action, with seven H-DNL teams playing, three on Friday night and four on Saturday.

Only one of them will get to host an opening-round game and two others face huge challenges against unbeaten No. 1 seeds.

Interestingly, four of the H-DNL teams are playing in a 4/5 seed game, and those are always the toughest to call.

Five of the seven games will also be streamed live on the NFHS Network, while two will be broadcast on local radio.

First up, on Friday night, Big 4 champ Del Norte (8-2) heads to Hayward to play Tennyson (8-1) in a Division-4 matchup at 7 p.m.

The Warriors were left disappointed when they were denied a home game to open, but they’ll have to quickly put that disappointment behind them as they get set for a tough Tennyson team that has won five straight games

“I thought realistically we’d get the four seed,” head coach Nick White said. “It was disappointing not to get a home game.”

Del Norte is seeded No. 5 and Tennyson is No. 4.

The game will be broadcast live on KPOD 97.9 FM, as well as through DelNorteSports.com, and will also be streamed live on the NFHS Network.

Click here for the link.

Closer to home on Friday, the Little 4 champion Panthers will host Willits at 7 p.m. in Division 7.

This is the second meeting this season between these two teams, with the Wolverines taking the first game 3-0 in a defensive matchup back in September in Willits.

The No. 5 Panthers are 6-4 on the season, including a 5-1 mark in the Little 4, while No. 4 Willits is 8-2 and has won three straight.

St. Bernard’s Grant Omey

This game will also be streamed live on the NFHS Network and you can click here for the link.

Rounding out the Friday night action, No. 3 South Fork plays at No. 6 Tomales in the eight-man bracket.

The Cubs are 6-4 on the season, including a 6-2 mark against eight-man teams, while the Braves are 3-4 in games played.

This game will also be streamed live on the NFHS Network. Click here for the link.

Four more local teams — Arcata, Fortuna, Hoopa and St. Bernard’s — will be in action on Saturday.

The Tigers (5-5) are seeded No. 8 in Division 6 and will open at No. 1 Saint Mary’s (10-0) at 1 p.m. and it will be a tough challenge going up against the undefeated Panthers.

McKinleyville’s Mettah Kuska

Arcata will, however, carry some momentum into the game after winning four of its last five games to become playoff eligible.

This game will also be streamed live on the NFHS Network. Click here for the link.

The No. 8 Warriors (6-4), meanwhile, will face an equally difficult task in Division 7 when they play at No. 1 St. Vincent de Paul in Petaluma, also at 1 p.m.

Hoopa closed out the regular season with a big 37-0 win at Ferndale last week to help secure a playoff spot and is 6-4 on the season, while the Mustangs are 10-0.

The Warriors have been competitive in all of their games with their four losses coming by an average of just three points, including a one-point loss to St. Bernard’s and a two-point loss to McKinleyville.

This game is not scheduled to be streamed live on the NFHS Network.

On Saturday night, two Big 4 rivals head south for their quarterfinals, both at 7 p.m.

In Division 5, the No. 5 St. Bernard’s Crusaders play No. 4 De Anza in the opening round for the second straight year.

Last year, the Crusaders won 14-7 in Eureka, but this year they have to travel to El Sobrante in the East Bay for the matchup.

The Crusaders are 5-5, while the Dons are 6-4 and have won five of their last six games.

This game will be streamed live on the NFHS Network. Click here for the link.

In Division 6, meanwhile, just three miles away at the same time, No. 5 Fortuna will play at No. 4 Pinole Valley.

The Huskies are 4-5 and will be playing their first NCS playoff game since 2019.

The game will be broadcast live on MIX 95.1 FM but is not scheduled to be streamed on the NFHS Network.

Submitted photo