POWER RANKINGS

By Ray Hamill — There were no major movements for the local teams in the North Coast Section rankings this week, and the same can be said for the Humboldt Sports Power Rankings.

With just three weeks remaining in the regular season, the H-DNL schools will resume league play this weekend, and four teams will be playing for at least a share of their league title.

Including Ferndale and McKinleyville, who will face at McKinleyville in a Homecoming showdown on Friday night.

The Cats will be playing for a third straight league title, while the Panthers will be playing for their first since 2022.

Both teams also feature in our Power Rankings and are well on track to qualify for next month’s Section postseason.

The Cats, who are coming off yet another big win last weekend, are 7-0 and the only remaining unbeaten team in the H-DNL.

They remain No. 1 on our Power Rankings, where they have been all season, while moving up two spots to No. 18 in the NCS and holding firm at No. 1 in Division 7.

The Ferndale coaches will ensure their players don’t take McKinleyville lightly or get caught looking ahead to a huge showdown against No. 2 Fortuna next week.

The Ferndale/McKinleyville matchup has produced a lot of blowouts in recent years.

Since the last McKinleyville win in the series — by a score of 34-0, which came exactly four years ago today — Ferndale has won six straight games between the two schools, including five by shutout, outscoring McKinleyville 342-12 in that run.

Interestingly, it was the Panthers who were the first team to score on the Ferndale defense last season in the second-to-last week of the regular season.

The Cats will be favored this weekend, but a young Panthers team will like its chances of an upset and won’t be intimidated.

The Panthers hold steady at No. 5 in this week’s Power Rankings and have now featured in the top five for seven consecutive weeks, showcasing how far they’ve come since going winless in 2023 and 2024.

Head coach Jason Benge’s team is also No. 59 in the NCS, down two spots from last last week, while holding steady at No. 6 in Division 6.

The Fortuna Huskies, meanwhile, have not lost since a week-three matchup against Ukiah and they hold firm at No 2 in our Power Rankings for the second straight week.

They’ll also not want to look past this weekend’s opponent, Eureka, before they get the chance to make their case to be No. 1 in next week’s highly-anticipated Milk Can showdown.

The Huskies are also No. 28 in the NCS — three spots behind St. Bernard’s, whom they beat two weeks ago — and No. 3 in NCS Division 6.

St. Bernard’s got back to winning ways last weekend with a big win over McKinleyville and move up three spots to No. 25 in the NCS, while holding firm at No. 3 in Division 7, trailing Ferndale and St. Vincent de Paul.

The Crusaders also hold steady at No. 3 in our Power Rankings.

Despite their loss at Ferndale on Saturday, the Del Norte Warriors remain No. 4 in our Power Rankings, while dropping three spots to No. 52 in the NCS and holding steady at No. 5 in Division 6.

Eureka, meanwhile, is now No. 70 in the NCS (No. 5 in Division 5), followed by No. 87 Arcata (No. 12 in Division 5) and No. 94 Hoopa (No. 12 in Division 7).

The South Fork Cubs, meanwhile, drop one spot to No. 3 in the NCS eight-player team rankings after a big loss to No. 1 Priory last week.