Photos by Ray Hamill/HumboldtSports.com – Action from Saturday’s game at Ferndale.
By Ray Hamill — Saturday afternoon reminded us of why November football in Humboldt County is so special.
In a North Coast Section Division-7 semifinal at Coach Carlson Wildcat Field in Ferndale, one team came ready to embrace the elements, while the other was anything but prepared because of the elements.
And neither for the first time nor the last, an H-DNL school won a playoff game in wet, muddy and grueling conditions and marched on to a championship game, while their opponents were left wondering what might have been and handed a reminder of what old school football is all about.
“I thought that these young men were really, really ready and excited to play,” Ferndale head coach Clint McClurg said after watching his players grind out a 43-7 win against a Piedmont team that could not match the home team’s physicality in the tough conditions. “Our young men love this great game, and part of playing this great game is the elements.
“I’m proud of the way they played. They accepted the challenge against a strong opponent.”
And because of that, the Wildcats secured a seventh straight postseason win and advanced to a second straight NCS championship game.
When the final buzzer sounded, no one in attendance was left in any doubt as to who was the better team.
There were several heroes on the day for Ferndale.
Less than 24 hours after Arcata quarterback Luke Lemke continued to make a strong case for being the best quarterback and most influential player in the H-DNL on a night that will go down as one of greatest in Tigers football history, Ferndale junior quarterback Tanner Pidgeon reminded us all that he too should get some strong consideration for Little 4 MVP.
The dynamic playmaker was outstanding once again, and he was so on both sides of the ball.
As a quarterback, he ran in for five touchdowns, including a 71-yard score, while from his safety position he added an interception and continued to set a physical tone all afternoon.
And he wasn’t the only Ferndale player to do so.
Check out two of Tanner Pidgeon’s touchdown runs below …
Sophomore Luke Dixon has been outstanding on defense all year, but he was equally influential at receiver on Saturday, pulling in two key third-down receptions that would set up a pair of TDs.
“21 has been an absolute monster on defense all year long, just the way the way he plays with a high-level physical style,” McClurg said of Dixon. “He’s also got outstanding hands. The way he squeezed the ball not once but twice is about skill and preparation.”
Both Ferndale lines also impressed and were anchored as always by the tone-setting Ethan Weitzel, who led the way in the trenches and made sure the visiting Highlanders knew they were in a dog fight.
Weitzel and the offensive line — a unit that also includes Ruben Peredia, Jacob Kurwitz, Mason Garrett, Angel Zaragoza and Henry Westfall — dominated the visitors all afternoon and yet again paved the way to victory, wearing down the Piedmont defense.
“He plays with a tone-setting physical style of football,” McClurg said of Weitzel, who switched to nose tackle on defense this week, an astute move by the coaching staff that paid huge dividends. “The way he plays on the line of scrimmage is a very high level.”
Check out Braeden Rice’s interception and long return during Saturday’s win …
The entire offensive line earned the respect of their coaches.
“I think that’s what their mentality is about,” McClurg said of their physical approach to the game. “They understand that our success is behind the front five.”
The Highlanders knew they were in for a challenge when they saw the muddy Coach Carlson Wildcat Field — which actually didn’t look as bad it normally might for a wet November game — and they knew they were in the fight of their lives before the opening quarter was over.
The Wildcats capped a long, time-consuming, run-heavy first-quarter drive with Pidgeon’s opening TD on a one-yard QB sneak.
A two-point conversion pass from Pidgeon to the always dangerous Jonah Anderson made it 8-0.
The Ferndale defense then forced a quick three-and-out on the ensuing Piedmont drive and the Cats offense wasted no time adding to the advantage when Pidgeon broke free for a 71-yard TD run on the very next play from scrimmage.
Christian Enriquez’s successful PAT put the Cats up 15-0.
The visitors would cut the deficit to eight with a touchdown on their next possession, but that was all they would muster on offense for the entire game.
It mattered little to the Wildcats, who added a third TD on their next possession, this one on a three-yard Garyn McClurg run, a score that was set up on a key 30-yard Anderson reception on a fourth down play.
They would add a fourth touchdown later in the quarter when Pidgeon ran in from five yards out to cap another impressive drive, and when Ferndale carried a 29-7 lead into the interval you got the sense the game was getting away from a Piedmont team that is more accustomed to playing on an all-weather field, as are many of the Bay Area schools.
There was no way a Piedmont team that scored 22 third-quarter points in last week’s win over Fortuna was going to do the same in these conditions.
The visitors’ frustration continued in the second half as the Wildcats continued to have success moving the ball and stopping their opponents.
Pidgeon would cap a 13-play, 66-yard drive with a nine-yard TD run on the Cats’ opening possession of the third quarter.
On the very next play from scrimmage, Pidgeon the safety intercepted a pass to set up Pidgeon the quarterback’s fifth TD of the afternoon, this one coming on a 44-yard run late in the third quarter.
That was the end of the scoring for the game, but there was no way back for the Highlanders and late interceptions by Ferndale’s Anthony Kasso and Braeden Rice, the latter featuring a long return, merely served to remind them of how overmatched they were on this occasion.
“These Wildcats just continue to improve as a football team,” Clint McClurg said. “And I can’t speak enough about their joy for each other and their love for the game.”
The win was the fifth straight for Ferndale, which improved to 11-1 on the season.
Next weekend’s championship game will take place at Hayward High School on Saturday night.
