Who will win the H-DNL in boys soccer?

Arcata TigersDel Norte WarriorsEureka LoggersFortuna HuskiesMcKinleyville PanthersSouth Fork CubsSt. Bernard's Crusaders

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POLL HAS ENDED By Ray Hamill — The H-DNL kicks off in boys soccer next week and the race for this year’s championship appears to be wide open.

Local fans can only hope we see a repeat of last year’s league, which was arguably the most exciting we’ve seen in decades and went down to the wire with four schools in contention.

When the dust had settled, the Del Norte Warriors took home the pennant, holding off a very competitive Fortuna team, as well as Eureka, on the final few days of action.

The question now for local fans is can the Warriors repeat or will one of the other league challengers step up and win the title?

“We need to be ready to battle because it’s going to be very close,” Del Norte head coach David Sanyaolu said. “It’s going to be very, very tough and that makes it exciting.

“From what I saw in the (McKinleyville tournament last weekend), it’s going to be one hell of a league.”

Few would argue that opinion.

The good news for the Warriors is that they have most of their players back from the 2023 championship-winning side, many of whom are now seniors and should be even better.

But can they recapture the magic and stellar defense that saw them first over the line in an exciting race last season?

Or will the Arcata Tigers rediscover the form that saw them end a long championship drought in 2022?

Or will the Fortuna Huskies battle their way back to the summit of a league they dominated for the best part of a decade?

And that’s not all.

With a new head coach calling the shots, the Eureka Loggers will be confident they can win a first title since 2008 after coming oh, so close a year ago.

Ray Hamill/HumboldtSports.com

The McKinleyville Panthers, meanwhile, appear to much improved from last year and ready to challenge for the crown.

And then there’s the underdogs, the South Fork Cubs and St. Bernard’s Crusaders, both of whom will be looking to challenge as well and each of whom appears well capable of causing an upset on any given day.

All in all, it should be an exciting fall on the local soccer fields.

Let us know who you think will win this year’s championship.

Readers can vote once a day and we will publish the poll results next week before league play begins.