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By Ray Hamill — Three years ago the Ferndale Wildcats brought back their JV team full-time after a few years of sporadic play, and it’s safe to say it’s been a successful return.
This fall, the Cats won a third straight Little 4 championship and their first outright since their return, marching undefeated through league play and finishing 8-2 overall.
They had to overcome some adversity and challenges along the way, including some key injuries and several starters making the jump to varsity, but they embraced the challenges at every bump in the road on the path to success.
“The kids were able to put it together and finish it out,” head coach Jim Cook said. “We did achieve what we set out to do (win league) so it was kind of a nice finish for us.”
The Wildcats started out strong with a couple of nice early wins over Fort Bragg and Fall River, but faltered in late September and dropped back-to-back games against their two biggest rivals, Fortuna and St. Bernard’s.
However, the players would respond when conference play opened, and after sharing the title with McKinleyville two years ago and with Hoopa last year, the Wildcats left no doubt as to who was the best team in conference this fall.
“The No. 1 goal for us every year is winning league,” Cook said. “And our No. 2 goal is rivalry games.”
The coach said losing to the Huskies and Crusaders was a “reality check,” but those losses made the players even more determined coming into conference play.
“The kids responded pretty well,” Cook added. “And coming into league we felt that it was our strongest point, as far as getting players back (from injury).”
In particular Liam Bishop, who along with fellow freshman Preston Killingsworth gives the Cats a potent one-two punch at running back and linebacker.
“The two of them together are a pretty good backfield combo,” Cook said. “And it will be a fun one to watch at the varsity level in the next few years.”
Quarterback Cade Renner also played a key role for the Cats this fall.
“He did a pretty good job facilitating the offense and making some plays when we needed them,” the head coach added.
Mason Garrett was moved up to the varsity level along with Bishop when injuries necessitated the switch, but he played a key role in the JV trenches for much of the fall, as did Rigel Hahner and team captain Brandon Bailey, the latter of whom showcased this versatility switching between defensive end and linebacker to accommodate the team.
“We didn’t give up a whole lot of points all year really,” Cook added. “Defensively we feel we played pretty good.”
With so many talented sophomores already at the varsity level, a freshmen heavy JV roster should return a lot of players next fall, and that’s good news for the program, as is the continued success of the Ferndale youth football program, which won another Six Rivers Youth Conference AAA championship on Sunday.
“That’s what it’s all about, trying to build the numbers and get the program back,” Cook said. “And I think we’re accomplishing that. We should have a lot of freshmen back (next year), and the youth football team had a good year so hopefully we’ll get some of them out.”
Overall, Cook was impressed with the dedication his players showed this season and the effort they put into making sure it was a successful season.
“They’re very hard working and determined, because we definitely faced some challenges, especially the sophomores,” he said. “They showed up every day at practice. It’s a pretty selfless group of players.”
Cook also paid tribute to his coaching staff, a group that includes Brandon Brazil (offensive and defensive lines) and Nathan Hansen (defensive coordinator/quarterbacks), each of whom has been with Cook for the past three years since the program was reinstated, as well as Jeff Burns (linebackers/offensive line).
“These guys are rock solid and definitely a key component of what we do,” Cook said.
