Photos by Ray Hamill/HumboldtSports.com – Arcata’s Mae Wolford (15) and Anevay Gruetzmacher in action during their team’s playoff opener on Tuesday night.

By Ray Hamill — As we head into the weekend quarterfinals, seven H-DNL teams remain in the chase for a North Coast Section championship in basketball.

And five of the seven will host their weekend games.

The action continues on Friday night with four games scheduled, all of them here on the North Coast.

In Division-3 action, St. Bernard’s will host a doubleheader of playoff games.

The SB girls, who are seeded No. 1 in the bracket and received an opening-round bye, will get the night’s action under way at 5:30 p.m., when they host No. 8 Liberty.

The Crusaders are 20-7, while Liberty is 16-11.

The St. Bernard’s boys, who are coming off a hard-fought 73-72 overtime win over Miramonte on Tuesday night, follow at 7, when the No. 3 seeds in the bracket host No. 6 College Park out of Pleasant Hill.

The Crusaders are 24-3 on the season, while the Falcons are 16-12.

The Arcata girls and Eureka boys will also host their quarterfinals on Friday night, with both games set for 7 p.m.

The Tigers are the No. 3 seeds in the Division-1 bracket and will host No. 11 Pinole Valley.

Arcata is 18-4, while the Spartans are 17-12.

The Eureka boys, who beat Hoopa in their playoff opener earlier in the week, are seeded No. 2 in the Division-5 bracket and will host No. 7 Gateway.

The Loggers are 15-12, while the Gateway Gators are 16-12 as they make the trip from San Francisco.

The playoffs continue on Saturday, with three more local teams in action, but only one of them here on the North Coast.

After receiving the No. 2 seed in the Division-6 field and an opening-round bye, the Ferndale girls will return to the court to host No. 7 Mendocino, which is coming off a 41-24 win over San Francisco Waldorf on Wednesday.

Ferndale is 17-9, while Mendocino is 17-10, and that game is set for 7 p.m.

The two schools will also face off in boys Division-6 action, but at Mendocino High School.

The Cardinals are the No. 2 seeds in the bracket and had an opening round bye, while the Ferndale boys routed Rio Lindo Adventist 82-40 in their playoff opener on Wednesday.

Ferndale is 6-10, while Mendocino is 20-4 after going 12-0 in the NCL III.

And rounding out a busy weekend of playoff action for the local contingent of teams, the Del Norte boys will hit the road for their Division-4 quarterfinal.

Fresh off a 54-51 win over Head-Royce in their playoff opener on Wednesday, the No. 8 Warriors will play at No. 1 San Marin.

Del Norte is 20-10, while San Marin is 15-12.

Wednesday’s win gives the Warriors a first 20-win season since they went 23-2 in 2019/20.