By Ray Hamill — Without playing a game over the weekend, the Ferndale Wildcats jumped one spot to No. 1 in the North Coast Section Division-7 rankings.
The Cats came into the weekend ranked second in the division, while No. 3 St. Bernard’s knocked off No. 1 St. Vincent de Paul in a thriller at Crusader Field.
And that was enough to see the Cats leapfrog the Mustangs in the division rankings.
They also remain No. 1 in this week’s Humboldt Sports Power Rankings, as they get set for a rare Friday afternoon showdown against Santa Ynez this week.
It will be a family affair for Ferndale head coach Clint McClurg, who will face off against his cousin, Josh McClurg, who is the head coach of the Pirates.
The Cats remain the highest ranked local team in the NCS, coming in this week at No. 21 overall.
The Fortuna Huskies, meanwhile, remain close on their heels in our Power Rankings and in the MaxPreps NCS rankings.
Fresh off an impressive road win at University Prep on Friday night, the 2-0 Huskies hold steady at No. 2 in our Power Rankings for the second straight week, although in fairness there appears to be little to separate the top two teams right now.
Fortuna is also just three spots behind their Milk Can rivals in the NCS rankings, coming in at No. 24 overall this week.
Early in the season there appears to be a gap between the top three teams here on the North Coast and the remainder of the league programs.
St. Bernard’s (1-0) is No. 3 in our Power Rankings for the second straight week after a shaky but thrilling victory over a quality St. Vincent de Paul team on Saturday.
The Crusaders overcame six turnovers on the way to a 21-20 win, and they will have to clean up that area of their game if they want to seriously challenge either of the top two teams in the area this fall.
I expect they will.
The Crusaders are also right on the heels of Fortuna in the NCS rankings, coming in at No. 26 this week, just two spots behind their league rivals.
The next highest-ranked local team, however, is 30 spots further back.
The McKinleyville Panthers have been one of the stories of the new season here on the North Coast and are 2-0 for the first time since 2015.
They are also now No. 56 in the NCS, while moving into the Humboldt Sports Power Rankings at No. 5.
But for now, Del Norte remains just ahead of them in our rankings at No. 4, despite back-to-back losses to open the season.
We still believe the Warriors can be a force in the H-DNL this fall, but they’ve got to find ways to start winning instead of seeing games slip away in the second half.
The No. 82 Warriors are the sixth highest local team in the NCS rankings, behind No. 71 Arcata and ahead of No. 83 Hoopa and No. 87 Eureka.
The Loggers drop out of our top five after a second straight lopsided loss over the weekend.
POWER RANKINGS
1 — Ferndale (1-0)
The Wildcats had a bye over the weekend, but they looked pretty good in their opener at Anderson two weeks ago
2 — Fortuna (2-0)
The Huskies are making a serious case to be No. 1 after two impressive wins to open the season
3 — St. Bernard’s (1-0)
The Crusaders are somehow 1-0 despite a six-turnover day against the Mustangs
4 — Del Norte (0-2)
It’s been a disappointing start for Warriors fans, but there’s a long way to go this year
5 — McKinleyville (2-0)
The 2-0 Panthers are one of the stories of the new season in the H-DNL
