POWER RANKINGS — Tigers closing in on perfect regular season

By barstoolfanatics on November 7, 2024 • ( Leave a comment )

Photos by Ray Hamill/HumboldtSports.com – The Del Norte Warriors

By Ray Hamill — With one more game to go in the regular season, the Arcata Tigers are closing in on a perfect regular season.

The Tigers improved to 9-0 on the season while clinching at least a share of a second straight Little 4 championship with another dominating victory last weekend, this time against Hoopa.

And for the ninth straight week they remain atop the Humboldt Sports Power Rankings as the best team in the H-DNL.

They can clinch the conference title outright with a win at Ferndale on Saturday afternoon, although they will likely have their hands full against a Wildcats team that feels it has plenty to prove after suffering a lopsided loss at Arcata a few weeks back.

It should be an exciting and hard-fought game and a closer showdown than we saw earlier in the season.

But until somebody proves they’re better than the Tigers, they remain a firm No. 1 in our power rankings.

The Wildcats, meanwhile, stand firm at No. 2, although they’re joined this week by a Del Norte team that is growing in stature and confidence as the season progresses.

No team has shown more improvement since week one than the Warriors, who essentially dominated the Eureka Loggers at the Redwood Bowl last weekend on the way to their sixth straight win.

Earlier in the season, the Warriors were dominating weaker opponents, but over the past few weeks they have been just as impressive going up against some of the top teams in the area, including two wins over the Loggers and another over Fortuna.

Could they beat Ferndale in a matchup right now?

Del Norte fans believe so, but the Wildcats have been every bit as impressive and more consistent throughout the entire season with just one loss — to Arcata — in their last 15 games dating back to last year.

Both Ferndale and Del Norte are very physical at the point of attack and both have made a habit of wearing down opponents as the games go on.

Both also will advance to the North Coast Section playoffs no matter what happens this weekend.

The Cats will be playing for a share of the Little 4 tile when they host Arcata in front of their home fans, while Del Norte will try to clinch the Big 4 title outright when they visit St. Bernard’s, with both games being played simultaneously on Saturday afternoon.

The Loggers, meanwhile, remain at No, 4 in this week’s Power Rankings.

They may not have been able to match Del Norte’s physicality this past weekend, but they remain in contention for a share of the Big 4 championship and a place in the upcoming section playoffs.

They need to win their regular-season finale at Fortuna on Friday night and hope St. Bernard’s can close out strong and knock off Del Norte the following afternoon.

And rounding out our top five are the Fortuna Huskies, who got back to winning ways with a much-needed victory over St. Bernard’s last weekend.

Despite their struggles for much of the season — in the face of a very tough schedule, it has to be said — they go into the final week of the regular season with a chance at sharing the Big 4 championship for the second straight season and qualifying for the NCS playoffs.

After two straight losses, St. Bernard’s drops out of the Power Rankings for the first time this season.