Ray Hamill/HumboldtSports.com – The Eureka Loggers remain atop our Power Rankings this week.

By Ray Hamill — There is no change at the top of our first Power Rankings of the new year, with the Eureka Loggers holding firm at No. 1.

However, the Big 5 favorites will be tested when they travel to Crescent City to play a dangerous Del Norte team that moves up three spots to No. 2 this week.

The H-DNL teams across the board have impressed through the first month of the season with six of the nine teams ranked in the top-38 in the North Coast Section, according to MaxPreps, out of 139 teams in the section.

And there has been little separate the Nos. 2 through 6 teams in the H-DNL for much of the season and that remains the case.

But for now, the Warriors move up after an impressive win against McKinleyville in their league opener on Tuesday, with the Panthers dropping one spot to No. 3.

Since that loss, however, the Mack girls have bounced back with two straight wins.

The St. Bernard’s girls are also trending in the right direction with a very impressive showing at Arcata on Saturday night.

The Crusaders defeated a shorthanded Del Norte team last month and are now 3-1 against Big 5 programs, with their lone loss against those teams coming against McKinleyville.

The Arcata girls drop into a tie for No. 5 after suffering four losses in their last five games, while the Ferndale girls move into our rankings as they continue to build momentum ahead of league play.

POWER RANKINGS 

1 — Eureka (12-5)

The Loggers tip off league play at Fortuna on Tuesday

2 — Del Norte (12-3)

The Warriors are the big movers this week, but can they beat Eureka? We’re about to find out on Saturday

3 — McKinleyville (12-4) 

The Panthers bounced back from the Del Norte loss with a win over Fortuna on Thursday and a victory over Ferndale on Saturday

4 — St. Bernard’s (12-2)

The Crusaders turned in arguably their best performance of the season at Arcata

5T — Arcata (9-6)

The Tigers have lost four of five games and it won’t get easier with a trip to McKinleyville on Tuesday

5T — Ferndale (11-3)

The Wildcats begin the defense of their Little 4 title at Hoopa on Monday