Photos by Ray Hamill/HumboldtSports.com – Tanner Pidgeon features among the NCS leaders in four different individual categories.

By Ray Hamill — Several local football players feature among the North Coast Section leaders in multiple categories.

That group includes Ferndale junior Tanner Pidgeon, who is fourth in the section in touchdowns scored with 13 and fourth in scoring with 84 points (21 points a game).

His 13 TDs, which he has managed in just four games, are just two off the section lead, which is held by Richmond’s Marcus Burke.

St. Bernard’s Tyler Hinrichs also features among the NCS scoring leaders, despite missing a game through injury.

Hinrichs is tied for sixth in scoring with 72 points at an average of 14.4 a game, including seven touchdowns.

The outstanding junior, who plays multiple roles for the Crusaders and has established himself as the most reliable kickers in the H-DNL, also is tied for third in kick scoring with 28 points, including making 22 of 23 PATs so far this season.

Arcata’s Luke Lemke also is enjoying an outstanding season and is eighth in total yards with 1,275 in four games.

Only three players in the entire section have a better average per game than Lemke, who remarkably is accounting for 318.8 yards a game.

The electric junior has 785 yards passing (196.2 a game), which is 24th best in the NCS, and 490 rushing.

Lemke also has passed for 12 TDs.

Pidgeon also features among the section rushing leaders with 597 yards, which is 13th best.

And that’s not all for the Ferndale junior.

He also has three interceptions, as does Arcata senior Cal Tucker, each of whom are tied for seventh in the NCS and just one off the section leader.

Hinrichs’ teammates Jahseree Bailey and Michael Manzi also are enjoying standout seasons.

Bailey is tied for fourth in the section with six sacks, while Manzi is 15th in receiving yards with 401 in five games (80.2 a game).

Manzi is coming off back-to-back big games and has three receiving TDs.

Another Arcata player, Jackson Strand, is 13th in the section in punt return average with 18.4 yards a game.

Three Ferndale players also feature among the leaders in punt returns.

Braeden Rice is 18th best with a 16-yard return average, while Pidgeon is 23rd with 14.5 yards a return and Tristen Titus is 25th with a 13.5 average.

Hoopa’s standout receiver Brandon Romero also has been making some noise in a couple of different categories. 

The Warriors senior is 24th in receiving yards with 358 in four games (an 89.5 average) and has four TD catches.

He also is 49th in the section in scoring with 36 points (six TDs total).

Ferndale’s Prescott Langer, who scored four touchdowns in last weekend’s win at St. Bernard’s, is 44th in the section in scoring with 38 points and he now has six TDs on the season.

It’s important to remember that not all teams and coaches in the NCS include their stats for consideration.