POLL CLOSED By Ray Hamill — Conference play begins for the Little 4 football teams this week, with a pair of big games on tap.
The defending champion Arcata Tigers kick off against the McKinleyville Panthers on Friday night, and on Saturday afternoon the Ferndale Wildcats will entertain the Hoopa Warriors.
Friday’s game is set for 7:30 p.m., while Saturday’s game gets under way at 2 p.m.
And the big question as we get set for conference play is can anyone prevent the Tigers from a second straight championship?
The Wildcats appear to be the best positioned to do so after a pair of very impressive wins over the last two weeks.
Since the Tigers last played a game, the Cats have knocked off a pair of Big 4 opponents with outstanding team performances against both Fortuna in the Milk Can and at St. Bernard’s this past weekend.
In fact, these two schools, who are each 4-0, could be the best two teams in the entire H-DNL right now and they boast a combined 5-0 record against Big 4 schools through the early season.
Last year’s two conference games between the Tigers and Cats both went Arcata’s way after epic second-half comebacks in each.
Just how much the Wildcats learned from those two losses remains to be seen, but the defending 7-AA state champs currently boast an H-DNL best 10-game winning streak and are playing with a swagger and confidence that suggests they won’t be intimidated by the high-flying Tigers.
For what it’s worth, MaxPreps currently has Ferndale ranked slightly ahead of Arcata, with the two L4 rivals coming in at Nos. 26 and 29, respectfully, in the entire North Coast Section.
They will face off twice in the coming weeks in a pair of showdowns that will go a long way towards deciding the fate of this year’s title, including a regular-season ending showdown at Ferndale on Nov. 9.
And then there’s the Hoopa Warriors and McKinleyville Panthers, each of whom will be looking to upset the odds along the way and will fancy their chances of competing for a conference crown.
Two years ago, the Panthers receive just 12 percent of the votes in our Little 4 poll and went on to win the title under the guidance of head coach Fel Barlow.
Can they repeat that magic after a tough pre-conference schedule that saw them go 0-4?
The players will believe they can.
The Hoopa players will also believe they can win it all.
The Warriors have won two straight since suffering a last-minute loss to Etna and are 2-2 going into conference play.
And a team that features a core group of talented juniors continues to show signs of improvement as the season progresses.
Let us know who you think will win this year’s Little 4 championship.
Fans can vote once every 24 hours and we’ll publish the poll results before Friday night’s conference opening game.
Categories: Arcata, Ferndale, Football, Hoopa Valley, McKinleyville, polls
