Photos by Ray Hamill/HumboldtSports.com – Senior Jack Clancy and the McKinleyville Panthers will tip off the Big 5 at home to Del Norte on Wednesday night.

By Ray Hamill — Get ready for what should be a fun month in local high school basketball, with three of the four league races appearing to be wide open this year.

With the exception of the Big 5 girls, where the Eureka Loggers will be heavily favored to repeat as champions, multiple teams will fancy their chances in the other three league races, with little to separate the frontrunners in each.

And all three will feature key matchups in the first week that could go a long way towards deciding the pennants.

The Big 5 boys championship, in particular, should be fun.

As the first H-DNL team to post 13 wins this season, the McKinleyville Panthers (13-3) have been arguably the most impressive team through the first month, although the Fortuna Huskies (10-5) have also enjoyed a strong start and will be considered the favorites by some.

The Huskies’ challenge could take off or stumble in the opening three days, with two massive games on tap, at home to Arcata on Wednesday and at McKinleyville on Friday.

Of course, every game this year will be key for any team wanting to mount a serious challenge, but taking on arguably their two biggest challengers in the opening week will test the Huskies right off the bat.

The defending champion Tigers (7-6) will also fancy their chances, as a young lineup has taken some hits and made some big strides over the first month of the season.

Are they ready for what will be a grueling few weeks in league play?

Time will tell, but more than one opposing coach has told me they expect the Tigers to be in contention once again in the final week of league play.

Two wild cards are the Del Norte Warriors and Eureka Loggers, each of whom has had an up-and-down campaign so far.

The Loggers are 5-7 and have already posted a four-game winning streak and a three-game losing streak.

They have a bye on opening night and will travel to play South Fork in a non-league game on Wednesday.

The busy Warriors, meanwhile, are 7-9, and played more pre-Christmas games than any other H-DNL team.

The Hoopa boys open the Little 4 at Ferndale on Friday.

The Del Norte boys also have the toughest schedule through the opening half of league play with three of their first four games on the road, including a trip to McKinleyville on Wednesday.

If, however, they can get a decent return from those early road games, they could challenge, especially with the best home-court advantage in the Big 5.

The Little 4 boys also will tip off with a bang this week, with defending champion South Fork traveling to play St. Bernard’s on opening night on Friday.

The last league game between these two rivals was a classic, with the Cubs rallying to win in overtime on the way to clinching their first league crown in 29 years.

Whether or not they can repeat as champions remains to be seen, but they will begin league play as the team to beat after an outstanding December that saw them post a 10-3 record.

St. Bernard’s, meanwhile, is 7-6 and has had an up-and-down December, with a four-game winning streak to start and two three-game losing streaks since then.

Eureka head coach Jimmy Rodgers and senior Hans Chalmers.

The Crusaders, however, are always up for league play and don’t expect things to be any different this year.

Ferndale and Hoopa, meanwhile, also will see themselves as contenders.

The Cats are 9-4 and appear vastly improved from a year ago when they were winless in league play, while the Warriors are 4-8, but are coming off a very challenging pre-league schedule that featured many larger programs.

For comparison sake, the Warriors beat Ferndale by one point last month, while also losing to South Fork by 31.

The Cubs also have beaten Ferndale by seven.

Hoopa plays at Ferndale on Friday night.