Photos by Ray Hamill/HumboldtSports.com

By Ray Hamill — Believe it or not, we have reached the final weekend of the regular season in local high school football.

And for most of the nine H-DNL programs, there’s still plenty to play for at both the varsity and JV levels.

On Friday night, in the Little 4, Ferndale plays at Arcata, McKinleyville plays at Hoopa and Eureka travels to Fortuna.

The weekend action continues on Saturday, with Del Norte at St. Bernard’s and South Fork hosting Elsie Allen.

In varsity action, unbeaten Ferndale (5-0 in conference and 9-0 overall) has already won at least a share of the Little 4 title, something the Cats will be hoping to clinch outright with a win over Arcata (4-1, 5-4).

The Cats and Tigers shared the conference crown a year ago, but Ferndale has not won it outright since 2019.

Arcata, of course, remains in contention for a share of the title, but the Tigers need a win, and to get that they will need a big turnaround from the first meeting between these two schools this year, which Ferndale won 72-0.

The Cats are also looking to close out an undefeated regular season for the first time since 2009.

The playoffs may be out of reach for McKinleyville (0-5, 2-7) and Hoopa (1-4, 2-7), but this weekend’s matchup is a winnable game for both schools and each will be eager to close out strong and carry some momentum into the offseason.

The Warriors won the first matchup between these two teams on the coast three weeks ago by a score of 34-29.

The race for the Big 4 championship, meanwhile, remains in the balance after Fortuna’s 26-18 win over St. Bernard’s last week.

If the Huskies (4-1, 5-4) and Crusaders (4-1, 8-1) both win or both lose this weekend, they will share the title for the second time in three seasons, whereas if one wins and the other loses, then the winning team would be crowned champion.

If they share the championship, a coin flip would determine which team receives the conference’s automatic North Coast Section playoff berth and a probable home game.

Any chance of a sixth straight conference crown may be done and dusted for Del Norte, but the Warriors (2-3, 5-4) still have plenty to play for as they look to secure a playoff bid.

Eureka (0-5, 1-8) has lost eight straight games dating back to the season-opening weekend, but the Loggers will be hoping to close out strong and carry some momentum into the offseason.

The South Fork Cubs (3-1, 6-2), meanwhile, also remain in the chase for a conference championship as they get set to host Elsie Allen in their finale, but they will need some help.

The Cubs are tied with Elsie Allen for second in the NCL 1 standings, trailing Tomales by one win.

If South Fork wins on Saturday afternoon, and Tomales falls to Potter Valley, then the title would be shared.

In JV action, Ferndale clinched the Little 4 title outright with a 22-0 win over McKinleyville last week, but like the Wildcats varsity squad the JVs are also looking to close out a perfect regular season with their 10th win in 10 games.

McKinleyville can secure second outright in the conference with a win at Hoopa, while the Warriors would tie the Panthers for second with a victory.

The Big 4 JV title, meanwhile, will be decided this weekend.

While the Eureka varsity team has struggled this year, the Loggers JVs have already clinched at least a share of the conference championship after a 33-0 win over Del Norte last week.

They can claim the title outright with a win at Fortuna, but the Huskies still have everything to play for and can share the title with a win over the Loggers.