The Redwood Bowl on the campus of Humboldt State University will be the site of one of the biggest games in recent memory for the Arcata High School football program.

Sole possession of first place in the Big Five Conference will be at stake, when the Tigers entertain the Eureka Loggers on Friday night.

For the first time in five weeks, there was a change in our weekly rankings. The South Fork Cubs moved in front of the Hoopa Valley Warriors in the small school rankings.

SMALL SCHOOL RANKINGS

1) Ferndale (6-1) - The Wildcats firmly established themselves as the top team in the rankings with an impressive 39-13 homecoming victory over the St. Bernard’s Crusaders. Ferndale has now beat St. Bernard’s 24 straight times.

2) St. Bernard’s (5-2) - The Crusaders will try to bounce back against South Fork, after having their five game winning streak snapped last weekend.

3) South Fork (2-5) - Junior quarterback Joey Wittlake completed 18 of 44 pass attempts for 363 yards and four touchdowns to lead the Cubs to an exciting 38-28 homecoming win over Hoopa Valley. South Fork earned its first conference victory since 2008.

4) Hoopa Valley (2-5) - The Warriors open a three game homestand with a conference game against Ferndale.

LARGE SCHOOL RANKINGS

1) Arcata (7-1) - Senior running back Aleric Stone rushed for 219 yards on 21 carries to pace the Tigers to a 28-7 road victory over the McKinleyville Panthers.

2) Fortuna (4-3) - The Huskies return to action after their bye week, when they travel to Crescent City to play the Del Norte Warriors.

3) Eureka (4-4) - The resurgent Loggers have put themselves in position to capture the BFC championship with wins over Arcata and Fortuna in their final two regular season games.

4) Del Norte (2-5) - It was too little, too late at Albee Stadium as the Warriors rallied from a 20-6 deficit, only to lose a heartbreaker to Eureka by a final score of 20-18.

5) McKinleyville (2-6) - The Panthers will attempt to regroup during their bye week, before they return to action against Fortuna on October 26.

WEEK 8 SCORES

Ferndale 39 St. Bernard’s 13*
South Fork 38 Hoopa Valley 28*
Arcata 28 McKinleyville 7*
Eureka 20 Del Norte 18*

Bye - Fortuna

WEEK 9 GAMES

Ferndale (3-0, 6-1) at Hoopa Valley (0-3, 2-5)*
South Fork (1-2, 2-5) at St. Bernard’s (2-1, 5-2)*
Eureka (2-0, 4-4) at Arcata (5-0, 7-1)*
Fortuna (2-2, 4-3) at Del Norte (1-3, 2-5)*

Bye - McKinleyville (0-5, 2-6)