Photos by Ray Hamill/HumboldtSports.com
By Ray Hamill — The Wildcats won a sixth consecutive postseason game in typical Ferndale fashion on Saturday afternoon, wearing down a dangerous albeit undisciplined Vallejo team with their relentless ground attack and punishing them with some decisive play action passes.
The defending 7-AA state champs and the second most successful program in North Coast Section football history kicked off their 2024 postseason campaign with a 35-20 win over the Redhawks in Ferndale to set up a Division-7 semifinal showdown against Piedmont next Saturday.
The Wildcats, who are seeded No. 2 in the bracket, will host that game against the No. 3 Highlanders, who defeated Fortuna 42-26 in their playoff opener on Friday night.
The Wildcats trailed early in Saturday’s game, but after being forced to punt on their opening possession of the afternoon they would score touchdowns on five of their next six possessions on their way to the victory.
Quarterback Tanner Pidgeon accounted for four of his team’s touchdowns, running in for two and passing for two, and added a pair of two-point conversion runs.
But it was the powerful running of fellow junior Prescott Langer behind another big performance by a physical Ferndale offensive line that paved the way to victory.
Defensively, the Cats had problems containing a potent Vallejo passing attack, led by athletic quarterback David Buddha Bernstine and receiver Darrell Hurd, who combined for all three of the visitors’ touchdowns on the day.
The visitors scored first, capping an impressive opening drive when Bernstine threw a 35-yard TD pass to Hurd.
But the Ferndale defense would grow into the game and held a penalty-prone visiting team to just two more first downs for the remainder of the half.
After the early punt, the Wildcats offense also began to settle into the game and pieced together a pair of long second-quarter touchdown drives that limited the dangerous Redhawks offense.
Junior Rolland McClurg opened the scoring for the home team on a three-yard TD reception from Pidgeon midway through the quarter.
Check out highlights of all five Ferndale TDs and a pair of two-point conversions below …
McClurg was wide open in the corner of the end zone for the play action pass and the score capped a relentless run-heavy 12-play, 47-yard drive.
Pidgeon would add a two-point conversion and the Cats never trailed again for the remainder of the afternoon.
After a quick three-and-out on Vallejo’s ensuing possession, the Ferndale offense quickly went back to work doing what they do best.
With 2:42 remaining in the half, Pidgeon found the end zone on a six-yard run to cap an eight-play, 78-yard drive, and after he added a second two-point conversion the home team led 16-7.
The Redhawks would threaten before the break and began to move the ball thanks in large part to the sure-handed Hurd and the scrambling ability of the athletic Bernstine, who reportedly has committed to play baseball for Cal after graduation.
But persistent penalties would prove costly and they were unable to add to their tally before halftime.
The Wildcats received the ball to start the third quarter but they were unable to get much going on their opening possession of the half.
The visitors, on the other hand, began the half well and pieced together a nine-play, 93-yard TD drive, with Bernstine connecting with Hurd on a 17-yard TD pass to pull within two (16-14).
But that was as close as they would get and the Wildcats added back-to-back TDs to open up a 28-14 advantage late in the third quarter.
The first of those touchdowns was scored by impressive freshman Liam Bishop, who has had an immediate impact with the varsity team since moving up from the JVs a few weeks ago.
Bishop scored on a 42-yard reception on another play action pass from Pidgeon that capped a six-play, 80-yard drive, with Langer pounding his way for many of those yards behind another big drive by the Cats line.
Pidgeon would add his second TD run of the afternoon on the Cats’ next possession after Jacob Kurwitz recovered a Berstine fumble, which was caused after he was pressured in the back field by Jonah Anderson and stumbled as he coughed up possession.
With a quarter still to go, however, a two-touchdown lead was far from safe against a dynamic Vallejo passing game and the visitors would pull within eight on Hurd’s third TD catch of the day just two plays into the fourth quarter.
But once again, the Cats answered and they would seal the win with another long, time-consuming drive.
Garyn McClurg, who has become an ever-more important part of the Ferndale rushing attack as the season has progressed, capped a 13-play, 76-yard drive with a six-yard touchdown run to put his team up 35-20 with just 4:13 remaining.
And that was more than enough for the Wildcats, who have now won four straight games since falling to Arcata in mid October and 16 of their last 17 games dating back to last year.
Next Saturday’s semifinal is set for 1 p.m., and the winner of that game will advance to the D-7 NCS championship game against either No 1 Moreau Catholic or No. 4 Del Norte the following week.
