By Ray Hamill — There’s a reason the Ferndale Wildcats are the No. 1 team in the Humboldt Sports Power Rankings and they showed us why once again on Saturday afternoon.
The Cats welcomed Fall River to The Cream City for their annual matchup in what has become an intriguing rivalry in recent years and they dominated on the way to a 62-0 win.
Through their opening two games, the Wildcats have outscored their opponents 119-0.
And they’re winning with some outstanding defense and special teams play, as well as their trademark physicality.
“Fall River posed a different type of challenge and our defense really responded,” Ferndale head coach Clint McClurg said. “And it was nice to see them play physical again and start hot.”
The Cats did that and more, opening up a 41-0 lead midway through the second quarter and ending the game as a contest long before halftime.
Senior Rolland McClurg had two first-half TD runs, while outstanding sophomore Liam “Big Play” Bishop scored on two punt returns, both in the second quarter, one from 45 yards out and one from 37 yards out.
Bishop, who also scored on a punt return last week at Fort Bragg, took full advantage of some outstanding blocks from his teammates while going largely untouched on the way to the end zone on both scoring returns.
He would add a 45-yard TD run in the second half to cap a huge day individually.
Check out some game highlights above, including some of the outstanding blocks on Bishop’s punt returns…
But he was far from the only standout on a Ferndale team that has a ton of depth for such a small school.
Senior quarterback Tanner Pidgeon also had a good game, scoring on a pair of TD runs, one in each half, including a 45-yarder early in the third quarter before the coaches brought in back-up QB Rolland McClurg for the remainder of the game.
Pidgeon also threw a short TD pass to junior Luke Dixon, another player who has begun the season well.
Tyler Broderick also had a second-half 19-yard TD run, while Prescott Langer continues to play a hugely influential role on the team with his physical running and blocking and tone-setting play.
Langer provided a key block at the goal line on Bishop’s second punt return for a TD.
“It was great execution by the team,” McClurg said. “We have playmakers all over the field.”
Ferndale also has an outstanding offensive line, a unit that includes left tackle Angel “Sent From Above” Zaragoza, left guard Ruben Peredia, right guard Jacob Kurwitz and right tackle Mason Garrett.
Those four, along with senior center and team captain Ethan Weitzel and tight end Brandon Bailey, continue to set the tone in the trenches — many of them on both sides of the ball — and have been a nightmare matchup for opposing teams early in the season.
Weitzel could be the best lineman in the H-DNL right now and is a returning co-defensive MVP of the Little 4.
“Those six are playing at a pretty high level,” Clint McClurg said.
So too are the Ferndale linebackers, a group that includes Dixon, Broderick and Garyn McClurg.
“They really do set a physical dominating tone,” the head coach said of the linebackers.
While admitting there is still room for improvement and a long way to go this season, Clint McClurg has reason to like a lot of what he’s seeing so far from a group of players that come to work every day and appear to be relishing their time playing together.
“They want to play, they want to execute and they want to put concepts into play,” the head coach said.
Christian Enriquez also had a good day kicking the ball and nailed eight of nine PATs.
The loss was the first of the year for Fall River (2-1), which came into the game as the No. 2 Division-5 team in the Northern Section.
The Ferndale JVs also won their game, beating Fall River 41-0 and improving to 2-0.
Next up, the Cats will make the short trip to Fortuna for the annual rivalry Milk Can showdown against the Huskies, which is always one of the most anticipated games of the season here on the North Coast.
