By Ray Hamill — The streak continues.
After their big win over St. Bernard’s at Crusader Field on Saturday afternoon, the Ferndale Wildcats remain No. 1 in the Humboldt Sports Power Rankings, a position they have now held since the 2025 preseason.
The Cats overcame a 10-point halftime deficit with four second-half touchdowns, and came away with a 27-24 victory over a team they could meet again in the North Coast Section playoffs.
Despite the win, the Wildcats (5-0) dropped one spot in the overall NCS rankings, falling to No. 11 out of 106 programs, but they remain No. 1 in Division 7, two spots ahead of St. Bernard’s (4-1), with St. Vincent de Paul (4-1) sandwiched in between.
As of right now, it appears as if all three of those teams will feature among the top seeds in the Division-5 playoff bracket, so it’s quite conceivable the Cats and Crusaders could meet again in the postseason.
And that’s a game football fans on the North Coast would not want to miss.
The Crusaders, meanwhile, dropped six spots to No. 22 in the NCS this week, but they hold steady at No. 2 in our Power Rankings, as they get set for another big showdown at Fortuna on Thursday night.
The Huskies (4-1) comfortably took care of business over the weekend, traveling to play Arcata and winning 36-0.
Thursday’s big game between two schools that have shared the Pacific League championship (formerly the Big 4) in two of the past three seasons will go a long way towards deciding this year’s title.
It also will give us a clearer picture as to which of these schools is a legitimate No 2 in our Power Rankings.
The Huskies dropped one spot in the NCS rankings this week to No 35, but they remain among the top-ranked schools in Division 6, coming in at No. 3 this week.
They are one of three H-DNL schools that feature highly in Division 6, along with No. 5 Del Norte and No. 6 McKinleyville.
After an 0-3 start, the Warriors (2-3) have now won back-to-back games against Arcata and Hoopa and scored 50 points in each, while the Panthers are coming off a huge overtime win at Eureka and are now 4-1 and one of the stories of the season here on the North Coast.
Del Norte is No. 4 in our Power Rankings, with McKinleyville at No. 5.
The Warriors are also No. 55 in the NCS, followed by the Panthers at No. 61, Eureka at No 68, Arcata at 92 and Hoopa at 94.
South Fork (4-1) features among the eight-player NCS rankings, coming in at No. 2 this week, one spot behind No. 1 Priory.
They open league play at home against Cornerstone Christian on Thursday night.
POWER RANKINGS
1 – Ferndale (5-0)
The Cats have now won 18 consecutive regular-season games
2 — St. Bernard’s (4-1)
The Crusaders face another big challenge this week
3 — Fortuna (4-1)
The Huskies will move up in the rankings if they beat St. Bernard’s
4 — Del Norte (2-3)
The Warriors are on a roll as they get set for Eureka this week
5 — McKinleyville (4-1)
The Panthers are now just one win from being playoff eligible
