Photos by Ray Hamill/HumboldtSports.com

By Ray Hamill — After a season that saw them dominate their Little 4 opponents, it’s no surprise to see the Ferndale Wildcats dominate the end-of-season conference awards.

The Wildcats won all six of their L4 games on the way to claiming the championship and would go on to win a second North Coast Section title in three years.

And they succeeded with a plethora of talented options in all three facets of the game, both in the trenches and at the skill positions.

Senior team captains Tanner Pidgeon (QB/DB) and Prescott Langer (RB/LB) lead the list of eight Ferndale players included on the Little 4 All-League Team.

Pidgeon has been named conference Offensive MVP, while Langer got the nod for Defensive MVP.

The MVP awards are voted on by the conference coaches.

Fellow Ethan Weitzel (OL/DL) was also honored on the all-league team, and could easily have been included as a third MVP such was the level of play the senior lineman enjoyed.

“I wish we had three MVPs,” Ferndale head coach Clint McClurg said. “All three are very deserving.” 

While Pidgeon took the prestigious honor on offense and Langer on defense, the reality is that both MVPs had an incredible impact on both sides for the ball, as well as on special teams.

They epitomized the Cats overwhelming dominance and were threats to score every time they touched the ball on offense, and every time the ball was thrown in their direction on defense.

And their impact didn’t end there.

Both of them were also outstanding blockers and set a physical tone that continually wore down their opponents, while their leadership was second to none.

“They are both overall MVPs,” McClurg said. “Their ability to impact the game in all three facets was really outstanding, impressive, unique and rare.”

The two MVPs were also widely respected, not just by opposing coaches and football fans all around the North Coast, but also by their teammates.

“It’s appropriate that the league coaches recognized the impact both of them had on our season,” McClurg added. “Tanner and Prescott are amazing and outstanding student athletes that led the Wildcats to amazing accomplishments. You couldn’t really pick one over the other, and our team knew that.”

In addition to the league coaches voting the influential duo conference MVPs, their Ferndale teammates also voted them team MVPs and awarded them the annual Leonard Casanova Award.

But while there was no doubting they were fully deserving of the MVP awards, they were also far from the only Ferndale players to play pivotal roles on the team’s remarkable success.

In addition to Pidgeon, Langer and Weitzel, nine other Wildcats received all-league recognition, including five who joined the three captains on the all-league team.

Jake Kurwitz (OL/DL), Rolland McClurg (CB/WR), Garyn McClurg (LB/RB), Luke Dixon (LB/TE) and Angel Zaragoza (OL/DL) were all named to the 20-player all-league team, the latter three of whom are juniors and should only continue to improve.

Seniors Tristen Titus and Tyler Broderick, as well as junior Ruben Peredia and sophomore Liam Bishop each also received an all-league honorable mention.

This is the second straight year Pidgeon was named co-MVP after sharing the offensive MVP award in 2024.

The Wildcats were 10-0 in the regular season and finished 13-1 overall after another good playoff run.

The Arcata Tigers, meanwhile, finished second in the Little 4 and remained in the hunt for a shared conference championship until the final weekend of the regular season.

The Tigers were awarded with six all-league selections, including 2024 co-MVP Luke Lemke.

The senior quarterback closed out his high school football career with another outstanding campaign.

He is joined on the all-league team by Arcata teammates Lincoln Neuman (LB/RB), Skyler Collenberg (OL/DL), Ricko Villalpando (OL/DL), Miguel Obezo (CB/WR) and Sefo Vainuku (LB/TE).

Arcata’s Danillo Fanti, Quaid Aitken, Nathaniel Stiles, Jack Bertell, Xzavieic Gruetzmacher, Ronan Williamson and Duuya Smith each also received an all-league honorable mention.

The Tigers finished 4-2 in the Little 4 and 5-5 overall.

After back-to-back winless campaigns in each of the previous two seasons, the McKinleyville Panthers enjoyed a much-improved fall under first-year head coach Jason Benge.

The Panthers finished 3-7 overall and tied the Hoopa Warriors with a 1-5 mark in the Little 4.

Seniors Justin Albertson-Spain (LB) and Jeremiah Smith (RB) were included on the all-league team for McKinleyville, along with sophomore playmaker Trevor Marsh (WR).

Blake Santos, Braylon Sotelo, Vaskak “Wes” Montgomery, Ruger Baxter, Walter Morton and Charles Chivrell were all included as honorable mentions for Mack.

Rounding out the all-league honorees, the Hoopa Warriors also had three first-team selections.

Seniors Allen Kane (QB/SS), Brian Richards and Ethan Obie (FB/TE) all made the grade.

Their teammates Quincy McDonald, Daniel Peralta and Saul Peralta each also received an honorable mention for Hoopa.

The Warriors fished the season 2-8 overall and were 1-5 in the Little 4.