Photos by Ray Hamill/HumboldtSports.com
By Ray Hamill — Here we go again.
Another week, another change at the top of the MaxPreps H-DNL rankings.
For the third straight week, the top two teams locally have switched places.
This week sees Ferndale (6-0) re-claim top spot from St. Bernard’s (6-0) after the Wildcats’ dominating win over McKinleyville last weekend.
The Cats, who have been the top-ranked program in all eight Humboldt Sports Power Rankings this fall, hold steady at No. 27 overall in the North Coast Section for the second straight week, according to MaxPreps.
Despite a hard-fought win over Fortuna on Saturday, the Crusaders drop five places to No. 28, just one spot behind the Wildcats.
There are also some changes in the Division-7 rankings this week.
Ferndale also remains steady in the division rankings, holding on to the No. 3 spot, but St. Bernard’s drops two spots to No. 4.
St. Vincent de Paul (6-0) remains No. 1 in Division 7, while Salesian (6-0) moves up two spots to No. 2.
Interestingly, the top five teams in the Division-7 rankings — which also includes No. 5 St. Helena (7-0) — are undefeated, and the top four all feature in the top 28 overall in the section.
A very strong St. Vincent de Paul team is now No. 10 in the NCS, while Salesian is No. 26.
If the playoffs began today, it’s likely that the top-four D-7 teams would all land in the Division-5 bracket because of their high NCS rankings.
Under the NCS regulations, no team can move up more than two divisions for the postseason.
One other H-DNL team is ranked in the top 50 out of 104 11-player NCS programs, with Fortuna (2-4) coming in at No. 48.
The Huskies, who dropped three spots after a four-point loss at St. Bernard’s, hold steady at No. 3 in Division 6 for the second straight week.
The next highest-ranked team in the H-DNL is Del Norte (4-2), which dropped two spots to No. 54, followed by Arcata (3-3), which is down five spots to No. 56.
No. 70 Eureka (1-5), No. 82 McKinleyville (2-4) and No. 91 Hoopa (1-5) round out the H-DNL rankings.
Arcata is also down one spot to No. 7 in Division 4, while Eureka holds steady at No. 7 in Division 5.
In Division 6, Del Norte drops one spot to No. 5 and McKinleyville moves up two spots to No. 8, giving the H-DNL three teams in the top eight in that division.
Hoopa dropped one spot to No. 11 in a loaded Division 7.
In eight-player football, South Fork (4-1) is now No. 4 in the NCS.
Categories: Arcata, Del Norte, Eureka, Ferndale, Football, Fortuna, Hoopa Valley, McKinleyville, South Fork, St. Bernard's
If the rankings stay where they are, then the four Division 7 teams would move up to Division 5.
However, keep an eye on St. Vincent de Paul, who is at #10 in the section rankings. They are two spots away from the top 8. Teams that are in the top 8 will go to the Open Division/Division 1 regardless of the base division they were assigned. I think they got about a 15% chance to crack the top 8.
There is still four weeks left in the regular season. A lot can change between now and then. That is something to keep an eye on between now and Selection Sunday.