POLL CLOSED … By Ray Hamill — I’m not sure we’ve seen a more wide-open race for the Big 4 in football since the conference went to its current format in 2018.
That was the year St. Bernard’s joined the larger schools and switched from the Little 4.
Since then, the Loggers won the pennant in 2018, followed by three straight outright championships by the Del Norte Warriors in 2019, 2021 and 2022, before a three-way tie for the title last fall, when Del Norte, Fortuna and St. Bernard’s shared the spoils. (There was no official Big 4 during the COVID year of 2020.)
The race for this year’s title, however, could be even closer than in 2023 and all four teams will fancy their chances.
The action gets under way this weekend with a pair of games on Saturday night.
Fortuna plays at Del Norte and Eureka hosts St. Bernard’s at the Redwood Bowl.
For comparison sake, MaxPreps has St. Bernard’s as the top-ranked Big 4 team (No. 43 in the North Coast Section), followed in order by Eureka (48), Fortuna (53) and Del Norte (54).
We’ve already seen a pair of non-conference games between the conference teams, with Fortuna shutting out Del Norte 22-0 on opening night back in August and Del Norte edging Eureka 7-6 in Crescent City this past weekend.
What does that tell us?
Well, not a whole lot really.
Del Norte has won five of six games since that opening night loss, including four straight, but a one-point win over Eureka suggests there will be little to separate the two schools when they meet again at the Redwood Bowl next week.
St. Bernard’s, meanwhile, has arguably been the most impressive — or at least most consistent — of the four conference programs and comes into conference play with a record of 6-1.
The Huskies, on the other hand, have lost five of their last six games, including four straight, but they have played a much tougher schedule than either St. Bernard’s or Del Norte, something that could stand to them when they kick off the Big 4.
The Loggers also have played a very tough pre-conference schedule and that could also benefit them over the next three weeks as they look to end an eight-game conference losing streak dating back to 2021.
In fact, the Loggers have struggled in the Big 4 since they dominated on their way to the championship back in 2018, and have lost 14 of their last 15 Big 4 games since that season.
Whether or not they can end that run this fall remains to be seen, but one thing’s for sure as we get set to kick off the 2024 conference schedule.
All four teams have a shot at winning it all and it should be a fun few weeks because of that.
Fans can vote up to once a day in our poll and we’ll publish the results early on Saturday.
Categories: Del Norte, Eureka, Football, Fortuna, St. Bernard's
