By Ray Hamill — It was business as usual for the Ferndale Wildcats on Friday night.

Sort of.

The Wildcats traveled to McKinleyville High and came away with another dominating victory to go to 9-0 on the season and clinch at least a share of a second straight Little 4 championship.

But their streak of not allowing any points all season came to an end as the home team did what no other school has managed this fall and scored two touchdowns against them.

That, however, would prove to be nothing more than a minor blip for the high-flying Cats, who led 35-0 before McKinleyville scored and would run out to an 82-12 victory.

It was their highest points tally of the year.

With the win, the Cats improved to 5-0 in the Little 4, and with one game remaining they are guaranteed at least a share of the conference crown.

Also on Friday night, the Arcata Tigers traveled to Hoopa and won 34-7 to go to 4-1 in conference and 5-4 overall.

The Tigers, who shared the L4 title with the Cats a year ago, can still claim a co-championship this season if they beat Ferndale in both teams’ regular season finale next weekend.

In the first conference matchup between these rivals at Ferndale two weeks ago, the Wildcats won comfortably by a score of 72-0.

On Friday night, the Cats came ready to go once again and scored TDs on their first six possessions of the night, including four touchdowns in the opening quarter, to end the game as a contest long before halftime.

After the Ferndale defense held the home team to a quick three-and-out on the opening drive of the night, Prescott Langer opened the scoring on a 13-yard TD run barely four minutes into the game.

Quarterback Tanner Pigeon doubled the advantage on Ferndale’s next possession, scoring on a 38-yard TD run and breaking multiple tackles near the goal line on his way to the end zone.

A McKinleyville fumble on the ensuing kickoff reception gave the Cats excellent position and they took full advantage, stretching the lead to 21 points on a 31-yard Langer TD run with 5:19 still remaining in the first quarter.

Garyn McClurg would close out a big opening quarter with a six-yard TD run to widen the gap to 28.

The Panthers, however, would settle into the game despite the early onslaught and began to move the ball effectively on offense, something we’ve seen from very few of the Cats’ opponents this year.

On their fourth drive of the night, quarterback Ruger Baxter began to find a rhythm with his receivers, and the Panthers drove deep into Ferndale territory before Tristen Titus intercepted a pass to end the threat and give possession back to the visitors.

On the very next play, Langer broke free down the sideline for a 61-yard TD run and Christian Enriquez’s fifth successful PAT put the Cats up 35-0.

The Panthers, however, continued to have success with their short passing game and would finally end Ferndale’s 404-minute scoreless run when Baxter connected with receiver Trevor Marsh on a six-yard TD pass.

Up to that point, the Cats had outscored their opponents 552-0 this season.

They would respond almost immediately, with Liam Bishop taking the ensuing kickoff return deep into McKinleyville territory to set up a five-yard TD run by Pidgeon.

The Panthers continued to move the ball well and almost added to their tally before halftime, but their drive stalled at the Ferndale nine-yard line with 12 seconds remaining in the half as the visiting defense held firm.

Despite giving up their first points of the season, the Wildcats continued to rack up the scores after the break, adding 41 more points in the second half to bring their season tally to an incredible 599 points.

“They’re a really good team, and I’m just excited to see how far they go,” McKinleyville head coach Jason Benge said of Ferndale. “Go get state and make Humboldt proud. I’m really pulling for them.

“That’s the best defense in Northern California.

“Their boys are so respectful. It’s just a good group of boys.”

Baxter and Marsh would connect for a second Mack TD in the third quarter, as the home team continued to move the ball well on offense.

And they did so despite having to battle sickness on the offensive line.

“Ruger probably played his best game since I’ve been with him,” said Benge, who added of his line, “We had a hard time this week with sickness on our offensive line, and they really stepped up in their pass blocking.

“I have to give a lot of credit to our offensive line. They came through and played.”

The coach also praised the play of Jeremiah Smith for picking up the Ferndale blitz in the offensive backfield and Orphao Grande, who “did a lot of stuff” at receiver.

Ferndale also won the JV game by a score of 22-0 to clinch the Little 4 championship outright.

The young Cats are now 5-0 in conference and 9-0 overall.