By Ray Hamill — Eight of nine H-DNL football programs have won at least one section title each over the last 16 playoffs, including two first-time winners — South Fork and Arcata — in the last three years.
The only league school not to claim a section crown in that time is McKinleyville, which could actually be the best placed team to win one this year.
Six league schools will kick off the postseason this weekend, and all of them have received favorable seeds within their brackets, suggesting just about any of them could add to the league’s tally of 13 section championships since 2009.
And five of the six local teams will be facing lower-ranked teams when they open the playoffs.
McKinleyville in Division 7 and Ferndale in Division 5 each received top seeds, although the Wildcats will have to travel for their playoff opener, playing at Montgomery in Santa Rosa because the Vikings are league champs and the Cats are not.
The Panthers, meanwhile, won’t have to travel very far for any of their NCS playoff games, as long as they keep winning.
Head coach Jason Benge and his players open against Kelseyville on Friday night as they look to continue their breakthrough season.
A win, which would be their eighth of the campaign, would also give them more wins in a single season in at least 23 years since MaxPreps began keeping records and it would eclipse the seven wins they had in 2008 and 2022.
It would also be the school’s first playoff win since 2014.
Mack is ranked No. 55 in the NCS, while Kelseyville is No. 64.
The Wildcats, meanwhile, have enjoyed as much success as any other local team in the postseason in recent years and will be hoping to reach a fourth consecutive NCS championship game and win a third section title in four years.
Standing in the Cats’ way is a Montgomery team that is 8-2, won this year’s Redwood Empire Mountain League and is riding a six-game winning streak.
But Ferndale has arguably been even more impressive that that and is 9-1 on the season with a roster of players that have plenty of playoff experience.
Ferndale is the highest ranked local team at No. 17 in the NCS this week, while Montgomery is 25 spots further back at No. 42.
The good news for the Cats is that if they win this weekend they would host their semifinal and a potential championship game.
Rounding out the three Friday night games involving local teams is a Division-6 matchup in Crescent City between Del Norte and San Rafael.
The Warriors, who are seeded No. 3 in the bracket, are back in the playoffs after missing out last year and will host No. 6 San Rafael.
Del Norte is 5-5, while the Bulldogs are 8-2.
The surging Warriors, however, are well positioned to make a good playoff run and the visitors can expect a large and enthusiastic home crowd at Mike Whalen Field, the most northern venue in the NCS and never an easy place for opposing teams.
The Crescent City school is playing its best football of the season at a good time and is coming off its two most impressive wins of the year, including a thrilling 21-20 win at Fortuna on Friday.
Del Norte is ranked No. 49 in the NCS, while San Rafael is No. 54.
The Huskies, meanwhile, are riding a two-game losing skid and will have a tough challenge in their playoff opener in Division 5.
Fortuna is 7-3 and seeded No. 2 in the bracket, but must play on the road on Saturday at No. 7 Salesian, which is a league champion.
Fortuna, which reached an NCS championship game last year, will be hoping to win a section title for the first time since claiming back-to-back titles in 2017 and 2018.
The Pride are also 7-3 but have won three straight games by an average of more than 24 points heading into the postseason, three wins that helped secure a league title, which gives them home field advantage this weekend.
Fortuna is ranked No. 32 in the NCS, while Salesian is nine spots further back at No, 41.
Also on Saturday, St. Bernard’s will host Concord in Division 5 and South Fork will play at Priory in eight-player Division 1.
Despite being ranked 14 spots ahead of Fortuna in the NCS rankings, the Crusaders are seeded one spot behind the Huskies in the bracket.
That seed, however, means they play Concord instead of Salesian, and because the Bears are not league champions SB gets to host.
Both schools are 8-2.
The Crusaders could be the best positioned of any local school to win a section championship this month because they are playing their best football of the year right now.
Their two losses came against Ferndale and Fortuna, two teams they may face in the playoffs, but they should have a full complement of players available this time around if they do meet either of them, and that could make a difference.
St. Bernard’s is ranked No. 18 in the NCS, while Concord is No. 40.
In eight-player football, meanwhile, the South Fork Cubs will get a rematch against Priory.
The Cubs are seeded No. 3 in the four-team bracket, while the Panthers are seeded No. 2.
But South Fork will need a much-improved performance against a team they lost 68-6 to in mid-October.
All three of Saturday’s games kick off at 1 p.m.
