McKinleyville and Ferndale served up another exciting and closely-fought game in Sunday’s Six Rivers Youth Football AA championship game at Fortuna.

Playing in wet and muddy conditions, just one score separated these two rivals for the second time this season, with McKinleyville prevailing 6-0.

For many of these young McKinleyville players it was their third straight conference championship, having also won at the Single-A level in each of the past two seasons.

“It was tough going for both teams,” McKinleyville head coach Jason Benge said. “Our defense played lights out. They did a really good job stopping Ferndale. And their defense played well.”

Fullback Crew Hicks scored the decisive touchdown late in the third quarter and that was just enough for a stellar Panthers defense, which has set the tone all year long and helped pave the way to an undefeated 11-0 season.

Several players stepped up all season for McKinleyville on that side of the ball, none more so than the impressive trio of Hicks at linebacker and Rowdy Furber and Colton Hawkes at defensive end.

“Our defense played outstanding all year long led by those three,” the head coach added. “They did a tremendous job.

“And our offense was explosive.”

Hawkes and Lavell Washington led the way on offense and gave the young Panthers a potent one-two punch at running back alongside Hicks, who grounded out the tough yards behind an impressive offensive line.

The line featured several standouts, including Eli Lockard, Reylan Benge, Owen Lyons, AJ Secor and center Jack Ahrens.

Lockard, Benge and Lyons also featured in the trenches on defense, helping to set the tone on that side of the ball as well.

Sundays’ win was the second this season over a hard-nosed Ferndale team and both games were close.

The regular season meeting resulted in a 15-12 win for McKinleyville, with Washington nailing a 20-yard field goal for the victory.

Submitted photo – The McKinleyville players and coaches celebrate their win on Sunday.

Despite losing both of those games, the young Mustangs earned the respect of the McKinleyville players and coaches.

“Both of our games with Ferndale were really good games,” Jason Benge said. “Ferndale was tough. They’re a really good team.”

The success for the Panthers began in late summer, when the players showed up for the first team practice.

And since then, they have continued to work hard and improve.

“They have a great attitude,” the head coach said. “At the start of the year, in our first practice, they came out with a good attitude, wanting to work hard, wanting to get better.

“The season’s just over and I’m missing them already. They were a fun group and they worked hard to get better every game. And they had to going against a team like Ferndale.”

Assistant coaches Nate Combs Ryan Ahrens, Junior Alofaituli, Shawn Lockard, Chris Lyons and David Todd also played a key role in the team’s success this year.

The Panthers roster also included Reece Combs, Maverick Utt, Cooper Jones, Tanu Alofaituli, Tyler Bradfield, Evan Gould, Tyler Hanks, Jackson Stemper, Tatum Brock, Oren Baugh, Zane Niehaus, Garrison Lockard, Blake Smith, Tanner Cowman, Ryot Arneson, Henry Workman, Cruz Young, Eli Pimentel, Avery Aguilar and Landen Harris.