The Ferndale Wildcats had every reason to feel slighted this week.
Despite being the No. 1 seeds in Division 5 of the North Coast Section playoffs, they were forced to travel to play their opening game against No. 8 Montgomery in Santa Rosa, because the Vikings were a league champion.
But if there’s one thing we’ve learned over the years about the culture of Ferndale football, it’s that they never complain about things they can’t control, and more often than not they respond on the field of play instead.
And that was the case once again on Friday night, as this year’s Wildcats answered the call with a gutsy performance on the way to a 28-21 win.
The victory was the Wildcats’ ninth in their last 10 NCS playoff games.
“When in the history of sports has it ever happened?” Ferndale head coach Clint McClurg said referring to a top seed having to travel for an opening-round game. “So for our Ferndale Wildcats to make history, I’m so proud of them.”
They did so in typical Wildcats football fashion, wearing down a school that is almost nine times the size of Ferndale with a tradition that has been frustrating NCS teams for decades.
The Cats are not just the most accomplished public school in NCS football history, they are relentless when it comes to their ground attack, especially in November.
And no one epitomized that on Friday night more than senior running back Garyn McClurg, who enjoyed another outstanding night in what has been an outstanding season.
McClurg scored on a pair of TD runs and racked up 147 yards on 18 carries, including two big, game-clinching first-down runs in the final minutes to help see his team over the finish line by one score.
Of course, as usual, he got plenty of help from an offensive line that never seems to disappoint, and a defense that pitched a shutout in the second half against a Montgomery team that was riding a six-game winning streak and had averaged more than 35 points a game during that run.
The line of Obadiah Gobel, Mason Garrett, Greyson Mathews, Ruben Peredia and Angel Zaragoza — a group that Clint McClurg refers to as the “fab five” — along with tight ends Colton Renner and Luke Dixon, the latter of whom returned from a two-game injury layoff, battled all night and paved the way for Garyn McClurg and fellow running backs Liam Bishop and Preston Killingsworth to do what they do best.
“Garyn was outstanding,” the Ferndale coach said. “That was a gutsy performance behind a dominant line, and that’s what we really love to see in Ferndale football.”
The Vikings matched the Wildcats stride for stride in the opening half and a back-and-forth game was tied 21-21 at the break.
“You’ve got to tip your hat to the opponent,” Clint McClurg added. “They went deep into their play book and did a few things we weren’t necessarily prepared for.”
A long kickoff on some questionable coverage by Ferndale gave the Vikings great field position on their opening possession of the night, and they would take full advantage on the way to opening up a 7-0 lead.
But with Garyn McClurg, Bishop and Killingsworth running hard behind their line, the Cats responded quickly.
Bishop broke free on a 44-yard TD run to pull his team within one, and the first of four Christian Enriquez successful PATs would tie things up.
Montgomery would retake the lead with a second TD, but the Cats responded once again on Garyn McClurg’s first touchdown run of the night, this one from 18 yards out.
A Killingsworth pick six then gave the visitors their first lead of the game with around three minutes remaining in the opening half, but this time it was the Vikings who responded with their third TD of the night to send both teams into the locker room all square and the game still in the balance.
The second half, however, belonged to the Cats, who had to overcome some early adversity.
On their second offensive play of the half, Ferndale coughed up possession on a Killingsworth fumble, but his teammates had his back and the Cats defense would force a quick three-and-out to nullify the turnover.
That defensive stand would set the tone for the second half, and Garyn McClurg’s second TD run of the night, this one from 23 yards out, would prove to be the decisive score.
That TD capped a brilliant, time consuming 13-play drive that ate up much of the third quarter.
Ferndale would threaten again in the fourth, but a blocked field goal gave the Montgomery players hope and kept the game a one-sore contest.
The Vikings’ final drive, however, would end on an interception by Dixon, who has been playing at a very high level all season and was missed the past two weeks.
The Cats still needed to get a pair of first downs before they could celebrate, and Garyn McClurg and his offensive line delivered to seal the win.
Ferndale threw the ball just once all night and finished with 300 yards rushing on 45 carries for an average of 6.7 yards a carry.
For good measure, Garyn McClurg also had a team-high nine tackles, as did Cash Mobley, while Kelton Braud added eight tackless
Asked what impressed him the most about his team’s performance, Clint McClurg responded “their willingness to be patient and trust the process of Ferndale football’s grind mentality.”
The victory sets up a semifinal showdown against No. 3 St. Vincent de Paul, a perennial state championship contender and a team the Cats faced in last year’s NCS championship game.
But this time the Cats will have all the comforts of home-field advantage and what is expected to be a muddy field with rain forecast every day this coming week.
That’s the sort of weather H-DNL teams love to see this time of year and the sort of weather that opponents from down south always have problems with.
The sort of weather that makes home field feel like an advantage.
Especially No. 1 seeds who were forced to travel for their opening playoff games.
