Photos by Ray Hamill/HumboldtSports.com – The St. Bernard’s Crusaders are No. 3 in this week’s Power Rankings.
By Ray Hamill — Anyone who may have doubted the Ferndale Wildcats were handed a timely reminder why many people consider them the team to beat here on the North Coast this fall.
The Cats kicked off their new campaign over the weekend, one week later than most of their league rivals, and thoroughly dominated the Timberwolves in Fort Bragg.
Ferndale scored nine touchdowns in a 57-0 win, scoring on offense, defense and special teams and ending the game as a contest long before the final buzzer.
More challenging matchups await this team, including this weekend’s home opener against a Fall River program that is 2-0 and the No. 2 ranked Division-5 team in the Northern Section, according to MaxPreps.
But for now, the Wildcats remain atop the Humboldt Sports Power Rankings for the third straight week.
Two Big 4 teams, however, remain right on their heels and look poised for big seasons.
The Del Norte Warriors are off to a 2-0 start, including a big 42-13 win at Ashland on Friday night.
And they look as dangerous as ever with their relentless ground attack and dominance in the trenches.
And speaking of dominating in the trenches, the St. Bernard’s Crusaders are also 2-0 and have looked very effective on both lines while outscoring their first two opponents 67-6.
This week, the Warriors remain No, 2 in our rankings for the third straight week, while the Crusaders remain No. 3 for the third straight week.
But that doesn’t mean there aren’t any changes in this week’s rankings.
After a disappointing first half in their home opener against Shasta on Saturday night, the Eureka Loggers drop one spot to No. 4.
The Loggers would outscore the Wolves in the second half, but it wasn’t quite enough in a 32-24 loss.
With that defeat, Eureka dropped to 1-1 on the season, but this is a team that still looks dangerous and could make some noise in the Big 4.
The Fortuna Huskies, meanwhile, had a bye this past weekend and are tied with the Loggers at No. 4.
Fortuna is 0-1, having dropped its opener at St. Helena, and the Huskies will try for a first win at Ukiah this week.
POWER RANKINGS
1 — Ferndale (1-0)
Wildcats lived up to expectations in their opener
2 — Del Norte (2-0)
The Warriors pulled away late at Ashland
3 — St. Bernard’s (2-0)
Crusaders have outscored their first two opponents 67-6
4T — Eureka (1-1)
Early mistakes proved costly against Shasta
4T — Fortuna (0-1)
Huskies are coming off a bye
