POWER RANKINGS

By Ray Hamill — There could be two very intriguing races in the H-DNL this fall.

One, for the Pacific League (formerly Big 4) championship.

Two, for second place in the Redwood League (formerly the Little 4).

While there’s a long way to go before either league title is decided, this past weekend we got the opportunity to see six of the nine local varsity teams in real-game action.

And that gives us some idea as to what expect this fall, while confirming some of the things we thought we knew this time last week.

The first thing we learned is that despite losing three of the best players on the North Coast to graduation, the Ferndale Wildcats should still be very good this year.

With arguably a deeper pool of skill position playmakers than any other team on the North Coast, the Cats have a plethora of options every time they snap the ball.

They also have a solid core of returning linemen, all of whom appear poised for a big fall, and that makes them a complete team and a dangerous prospect for the rest of the H-DNL once again in 2026.

It also makes them our choice for No. 1 in the first Humboldt Sports Power Rankings of the year.

In fairness, the Fortuna Huskies looked equally impressive over the weekend.

And it was a far cry from last year, when the Huskies opened the season with three straight losses.

Photos by Ray Hamill/HumbolldtSports.com – The Fortuna Huskies are 1-0 after an impressive opening-weekend win over St. Helena.

Like the Cats, the Huskies have plenty of experience in the trenches, as well as at quarterback, along with an exciting group of dynamic playmakers.

At No. 3 in our first Power Rankings of the season is a team we expect big things out of in 2026, although we’ve yet to see them play.

The St. Bernard’s Crusaders should be a force once again in the H-DNL, much as they have been ever since they joined the Pacific League in 2018.

The Crusaders feature several returning players from a squad that reached the North Coast Section semifinals a year ago and should not only challenge for this year’s league title but also could end up as the best team in the area.

They will be tested right off the bat against a St. Vincent de Paul team that is always well respected around the section and is ranked No 1 in NCS Division 7, ahead of No. 2 Ferndale and No. 3 St. Bernard’s.

At No. 4 in our Power Rankings this week is Del Norte.

The Warriors opened their season with their longest road trip of the year on Friday night, traveling to Oakland High and losing 34-20.

Early-season mistakes doomed the Warriors in a game that got away from them in the second half, but they are one of the best coached teams in the H-DNL and the Del Norte players usually respond well to that coaching.

However, the gap between the top four in our rankings and the rest of the H-DNL appears to be a sizable one right now.

Led by the their defense, the McKinleyville Panthers had a nice win over the weekend, edging Cloverdale 8-7, while Eureka suffered a lopsided loss to Windsor, the top-ranked Division-3 team in the section, according to MaxPreps.

The Hoopa Warriors were also in action, falling 42-16 at Trinity, while Arcata and South Fork each had an opening-weekend bye.

We’ll know more about the Tigers after this weekend’s matchup against Ukiah — that game will be played at McKinleyville and not at Ukiah as was previously reported on Humboldt Sports — while South Fork opens at home against California School for the Deaf in eight-person football.

For now, the Eureka Loggers are No. 5 in our rankings, despite the disappointing start to their season.

For comparison, MaxPreps has Ferndale the top-ranked H-DNL team in the section at No. 22, followed by No. 25 Fortuna, No. 37 St. Bernard’s, No. 67 McKinleyville, No. 73 Arcata, No. 78 Eureka, No. 79 Del Norte and No. 95 Hoopa.