By Ray Hamill — The Ferndale Wildcats closed out the regular season in much the same fashion as they started it 10 weeks ago with another dominating win on Friday night.

With the Little 4 championship on the line, the Cats traveled to McKinleyville High to play the Arcata Tigers and won 48-6, capping a perfect season with their 10th win in 10 games.

Incredibly, they outscored their 10 opponents 647-18, posting shutouts in their first eight games and averaging 64.7 points a game.

They were even more dominant in conference play.

In their six Little 4 games, they outscored their opponents 421-18, scoring more than 70 points in four of those games and averaging an incredible 70.2 points a game.

All in all, it was as dominating a campaign as you’re ever likely to see in the H-DNL.

Having won at least a share of the conference crown last week, Friday’s win secured a first outright title for the program since 2019, and the 10-0 regular-season record was the Cats’ first since 2009.

The outcome was never really in doubt.

The Wildcats scored touchdowns on their first five possessions of the night and led 34-6 at the break.

Quarterback Tanner Pidgeon led the team in scoring in that first half, scoring the Cats’ first four touchdowns of the game.

The senior playmaker opened the scoring on a 10-yard run barely two and a half minutes in, and he would double his team’s advantage with 4:10 remaining in the opening quarter, finding the end zone on an 11-yard TD run.

Christian Enriquez made the first two PATs of the night and the Cats led 14-0.

Check out some first-half highlights above …

Photos by Ray Hamill/HumboldtSports.com

They added a third TD before the quarter was over, this one on a one-yard Pidgeon QB sneak.

The Tigers, however, moved the ball effectively at times and would open their account four minutes into the second quarter, when senior quarterback Luke Lemke scored on a two-yard TD run.

That, however, would be the last of the scoring for the hosts, and the visitors would continue to pull away.

On the very next play from scrimmage, Pidgeon scored his fourth TD of the half, breaking free for a 75-yard score, and Enriquez’s PAT made it 27-7.

A nice diving Luke Dixon interception moments later set up a fifth TD for the Cats, with junior running back Garyn McClurg scoring o a short run.

Once again, as we’ve seen from the Little 4 champs all fall long, the blocking of the offensive line was outstanding and helped set the team up for success.

The Wildcats will now turn their attention towards next week’s North Coast Section playoffs, with the brackets and seeds set to be announced on Sunday.