Photos by Ray Hamill/HumboldtSports.com – The Arcata Tigers have been the top-ranked team in our Power Rankings for seven straight weeks.

By Ray Hamill — As we head towards the final three weeks of the 2024 regular season, two things are clear.

One, the Arcata Tigers are the best team in the H-DNL right and only a fool would argue that assessment.

And two, this year’s Big 4 is as wide open as it has been in some time, with little to separate the four schools.

And that makes for an intriguing Power Rankings, and a list that is bound to create plenty of discussion.

Obviously, after their big win against Ferndale last week, the Tigers remain a firm No. 1 in this week’s Power Rankings.

This is the seventh straight week Arcata tops the rankings and it’s difficult seeing that changing anytime soon.

The Tigers have now beaten six of the other seven 11-player H-DNL teams this fall, and all but one of those games — the Fortuna game — was a blowout.

The Ferndale Wildcats, meanwhile, remain No. 2 in the rankings despite last week’s disappointing loss.

This is the fifth straight week the Cats are No. 2 and this is a team that has done more than enough this season to deserve the honor, with earlier victories over St. Bernard’s and Eureka.

After that, however, is where it gets interesting and that’s why we’ve seen changes in the top five in seven of the nine Power Rankings this season.

Of course, we’ll know more in the coming weeks, but all Big 4 schools appear ready to challenge for this year’s conference championship and there appears to be little between them heading into conference play.

For now, St. Bernard’s moves up two spots to No. 3, while Del Norte moves back into the top five again at No. 4 after edging Eureka last week.

Barely.

Fortuna and Eureka round out the top five, but realistically you could make a case for all four of the Big 4 teams to be tied at No. 3 right now.

And that means all four have something to prove over the next three weeks.

It should be a fun Big 4 this year.

POWER RANKINGS

1 — Arcata (7-0, 3-0)

The Tigers are clearly the top team in the H-DNL this fall

2 — Ferndale (6-1, 2-1)

The Wildcats will get another shot at Arcata on the final day of the regular season

3 — St. Bernard’s (6-1)

The Crusaders kick off conference play against Eureka this week

4 — Del Norte (5-2)

The Warriors have now won four straight games

5T — Fortuna (2-5)

After a tough pre-conference schedule, the Huskies are better than their record suggests

5T — Eureka (2-5)

The Loggers played the Warriors close in Crescent City and will get another shot at them next week