BOYS POWER RANKINGS — No change at the top, as SB holds steady

By barstoolfanatics on January 10, 2026 • ( Leave a comment )

Submitted photo – The St. Bernard’s Crusaders have not lost a game since early December.

By Ray Hamill — With 12 straight wins and having not lost a game in over a month, the St. Bernard’s Crusaders remain not just the highest-ranked H-DNL team in the North Coast Section, but a firm No. 1 in this week’s Humboldt Sports Power Rankings.

On Saturday afternoon, the St. Bernard’s boys traveled to Weaverville and came away with a hard-earned 60-48 win over Trinity, following their conference-opening win at Ferndale on Thursday.

The Crusaders are also the only H-DNL boys team ranked in the top 40 in the NCS, coming in at No. 18 overall.

In addition to that, they are No. 1 in Division 5 in the NCS as well as the top-ranked D-5 school in the state.

Among their 12 straight wins are a pair of victories over McKinleyville, the No. 2 team in our Power Rankings.

The Panthers enjoyed an impressive week, opening the Big 5 with a pair of quality wins, at home against Eureka and at Del Norte.

That leaves them alone atop the Big 5 standings with a record of 2-0 (11-6 overall).

According to MaxPreps, the Panthers are No. 41 in the NCS out of 158 schools, just four spots ahead of conference rival Del Norte.

Eureka is No. 65, followed by Arcata at No. 91.

No other H-DNL boys team features in the top 100 right now, with No. 104 Hoopa, No. 118 Fortuna, No. 119 South Fork and No. 140 Ferndale rounding out the local contingent.

St. Bernard’s is also the only league team to feature in the top-eight in their division, although both McKinleyville (Division 4) and Del Norte (Division 3) are both No. 9.

Rounding out the Humboldt Sports Power Rankings, Del Norte holds steady at No. 3 after splitting a pair of conference games this week, while Eureka is No. 4 and Arcata No. 5.

It was an emotional week for the Warriors, who defeated Arcata in thrilling fashion on a Justin Cushmann buzzer-beating 3-pointer before falling to McKinleyville, while Eureka dropped its conference opener at McKinleyville on Tuesday night.

Arcata also had a noteworthy week, with senior Luke Lemke exploding for 51 points in a win over Fortuna on Thursday, just two days after a heartbreaking loss in Crescent City.