By Ray Hamill — The Wildcats feature prominently in our weekly awards after a big week for multiple Ferndale High teams.
The school’s football team rediscovered its swagger one week after an error-prone performance at McKinleyville on the way to a third consecutive Milk Can victory over rival Fortuna.
Not to be out-done, on the very same day the school’s volleyball team defeated Mendocino in the North Coast Section Division-6 quarterfinals to secure a first-ever place in the state playoffs.
And that makes them our two choices for teams of the week.
But that’s not all for the Cats.
Senior setter Dalia Cantu-Mendez is one of our athletes of the week after playing a key role for her team this week.
Our second athlete of the week award goes to Eureka junior Bryson Burns, who is enjoying an outstanding season on a struggling Loggers team and enjoyed one of his best performances of the season at Hoopa.
Burns was involved in four of his team’s five touchdowns in a 33-14 win, his team’s second win in three weeks.
The dynamic playmaker has been one of the Loggers’ most consistent and dangerous players all year and is continuing to play at a high level as the season winds down.
The victory at Hoopa will give Burns and his teammates a much-needed boost heading into this weekend’s rivalry game against St. Bernard’s at Albee Stadium.
Despite the team’s struggles, Burns has continued to battle hard and he has established himself as a player opposing teams have to account for every week.
For more on his big week, see Burns enjoys a big night as Eureka Loggers top the Warriors in Hoopa …
Likewise with Cantu-Mendez, who has played a pivotal role in her team’s historic campaign.
And they’re not done yet.
The senior team captain helped set the tone in Saturday’s quarterfinal win over Mendocino after leading the Cats to a co-championship in this year’s Redwood League.
“As always, I have to give a shout out to my setter Dalia, who continues to exceed my expectations,” Ferndale head coach SK Montiel Clark said after Saturday’s win. “She puts her hitters in the best possible position to score and keeps the team calm and collected.”
As a team, the Cats have been among the most impressive here on the North Coast all fall.
And several players have been stepping up along with Cantu-Mendez.
Sisters Olivia and Abagail Gossi also have played big roles on the path to success, and both had strong days at the service line against Mendocino.
The team’s three seniors — Cantu-Mendez, Olivia Gossi and Fallon Bullan — have helped lead the way and are closing out their high school careers in style.
The Cats did lose their NCS semifinal at Anderson Valley on Wednesday, but will continue their impressive postseason run in next week’s NorCal playoffs.
For more on their big week, see Wildcats march on, advance to NCS semis, secure a place in state playoffs …
At the same time the Ferndale girls were making some school history with their victory over Mendocino, the school’s football team was continuing its recent dominance over its biggest rival in the annual Milk Can game.
The Cats defeated the Huskies 14-0, and they did so without four key players, overwhelming a Fortuna team that had won five straight games and had already clinched at least a share of this year’s Pacific League championship.
Head coach Clint McClurg and the Ferndale players are the highest ranked H-DNL team in the NCS right now and appear poised for another good playoff run.
With just one loss, the 8-1 Cats will close out the regular season at home against Hoopa on Saturday afternoon, and it looks almost certain they will receive the No. 1 seed in this year’s section Division-5 playoffs.
For more on their big week, see Wildcats answer the call, retain the Milk Can with dominating day on defense …
