Photos by Ray Hamill/HumboldtSports.com
By Ray Hamill — The Wildcats will have some big shoes to fill this fall, as we wait to see what sort of an encore we get from one of the most dynamic and dominating teams we’ve ever seen here on the North Coast.
Last fall, Ferndale overwhelmed their opponents on the way to a 10-0 regular season, incredibly holding the first eight teams they played scoreless and outscoring their 10 opponents 647-18.
They followed that with three straight playoff wins on the way to a securing a 15th all-time North Coast Section championship, before eventually falling to Sutter High in the NorCal bowl game.
And the big question now, is what’s next for the most successful public school program in NCS history?
The loss of a handful of very impactful seniors — including 2025 Humboldt Sports co-players of the year, Tanner Pidgeon, Prescott Langer and Ethan Weitzel — will make it challenging, but don’t underestimate the depth of talent available to head coach Clint McClurg and his staff.
Back to lead the way is 2025 All-League lineman Angel Zaragoza, who was a finalist this year for Humboldt Sports Little 4 Boys Athlete of the Year, as well as 2025 all-league honorable mention Ruben Peredia.
Also returning are All-League selections Luke Dixon (LB/TE/RB) and Garyn McClurg (LB/TE), each of whom also enjoyed outstanding campaigns on last year’s historic team.
Also back and expected to play a key role again this year is junior playmaker Liam Bishop, who was an all-league honorable mention as a sophomore.
Reaching the incredible heights of last year’s team will be tough, but the Cats still look like they will have one of the best rosters in the H-DNL: and they will kick off the new season as red-hot favorites to win a third straight Little 4 title.
A new-look H-DNL schedule this year sees all eight of the league’s 11-player programs face off against each other once each, although only games against conference teams will count in the race for the Big 4 and Little 4 championships.
And that means the Cats will renew their longstanding rivalry with St. Bernard’s (Oct. 3), while also facing off against Del Norte in Ferndale on Oct. 17.
Ferndale opens the new season at Anderson on Aug. 28.
After a week-two bye, the Wildcats will continue their pre-league schedule at home against Santa Ynez (Sept. 11), and at Fall River the following weekend.
They also play Eureka on the new all-weather field at Albee Stadium on Sept. 25, before officially beginning the defense of their Little 4 crown at home against Arcata on Oct. 10.
