By Ray Hamill — The Ferndale defense shut down a dangerous Del Norte ground attack on Saturday afternoon, as the Wildcats stretched their regular-season winning streak to 20 straight games.
The Cats welcomed the Warriors to the Cream City as two of the most physical programs in the H-DNL faced off for the first time in eight years.
But it was the host Cats who won the battle in the trenches, stifling a Del Norte offense that rushed for more than 300 yards against Eureka last week on the way to securing a comfortable 27-7 win.
They led 7-0 at halftime and would add two more TDs in the third quarter to lead 20-7 going into the fourth, before capping another big performance by the linemen with a long, time-consuming scoring drive late in the fourth to ice the win.
“It was definitely a quality win versus a quality football team,” Ferndale head coach Clint McClurg said. “I like what they’ve got going on at Del Norte. It was an outstanding challenge and we responded well.”
Especially the Ferndale defense.
Dating back to the start of the 2025 season, the Cats have given up more than 12 points just once in regular season games, and on Saturday they held the Warriors to a season-low in points.
Asked what impressed him the most about his team’s performance, McClurg pointed to the defensive side of the ball.
“I think it goes right back to team defense first and foremost,” the coach said. “They’re a ground and pound team and I really thought our defense responded to that challenge.
“I thought our team defense stayed in their lanes and trusted their teammates, and that was without doubt the most impressive aspect.”
Neither team was able to piece together any long drives early in the game and they went into the second quarter scoreless.
But Ferndale would take the lead midway through the second quarter on a 17-yard Garyn McClurg TD run, a score that was set up on a 36-yard run by Preston Killingsworth that gave the Cats possession inside the Del Norte 25.
A Garyn McClurg interception ended the ensuing Del Norte drive and the Cats would then drive deep into Warriors territory before turning the ball over on downs with just six seconds remaining in the half.
Incredibly, the Cats were called for six false start penalties on that drive and would be called for two more on their opening possession of the second half.
However, they were able to overcome those setbacks and began to take control of the game in the third quarter.
They would take full advantage of a Colton Renner interception on the very first play from scrimmage in the third quarter, which gave them possession at the Del Norte 25.
Five plays later, Garyn McClurg scored his second TD of the afternoon on a five-yard run.
Christian Enriquez’s second PAT of the day put the home team up 14-0.
The Warriors then had a quick three-and-out on offense, but their defense would keep them in the game, with freshman Izzy Ybarra getting a key sack that resulted in a three-and-out for the Cats.
With their run game struggling, the Warriors went to their pass game and had some success as they drove 52 yards on seven plays and scored their only touchdown of the game on an 11-yard pass from quarterback Trent Cronk to freshman Elijah Brunson.
The Cats, however, would respond immediately after being set up in good field position thanks to a long Cash Mobley return.
They quickly drove 54 yards on five plays — with the help of two face mask penalties on Del Norte — and stretched the lead back to two TDs on an 11-yard Killingsworth scoring run.
With their passing game building momentum, the Warriors pieced together their most impressive drive of the day in response and drove all the way to the Ferndale three-yard line on 12 plays, but they came up short and turned the ball over on downs midway through the fourth.
The Cats then pieced together their most impressive drive of the day, marching 97 yards on 12 plays and scoring on a two-yard Luke Dixon TD run.
“Luke Dixon just continues to play downhill and extremely physical at the tight end/linebacker position,” Clint McClurg said.
Obadiah Gobel also had a huge game for the home team at nose guard, anchoring an outstanding day for the Ferndale run defense, while the four team captains — Angel Zaragoza, Ruben Peredia, Garyn McClurg and Dixon — continued to set the tone for their teammates and all had big games.
With the win, the Cats improved to 7-0 on the season, while the loss for the Warriors ended a three-game winning streak and dropped them to 3-4.
Humboldt Sports reached out to Del Norte head coach Nick White for feedback on his team’s performance but he did not respond.
