Ferndale’s season opener against Clear Lake on Saturday has been moved forward one hour because there will be no JV game.
Wildcats head coach Clint McClurg said earlier this week that he is unsure of whether Ferndale will field a JV team this year, but there definitely will be no JV game against the Cardinals, with varsity kickoff now set for 1 p.m.
The Cats will open against a Clear Lake team that struggled to a 2-8 record a year ago.
Ferndale also struggled last season, finishing up 4-7, but goes into the new season with plenty of optimism.
The opener is a particularly important showdown for both teams who are each included in Division 7 of the new North Coast Section format.
This year only eight teams will be included in each playoff bracket, instead of the previous 16-team fields, making it more difficult to qualify.
And games against teams within your division will take on added importance.
This past weekend the Cats scrimmaged against McKinleyville and Arcata in preparation for Saturday’s opener, and McClurg saw plenty he liked and plenty he didn’t.
“There was a movie in the 70s called ‘The Good, the Bad and the Ugly,’ and that was a clear indication of our scrimmage,” the head coach said. “We had some really positive things we can definitely build on, and there were some bad things, and some ugly in terms of execution and false starts and putting the ball on the floor.”
Saturday’s game is the only local showdown of the day, with the other eight local teams all opening up on either Thursday or Friday night.
###
Ray Hamill writes at humboldtsports.com, where you can read lots more about sports in Humboldt County.
CLICK TO MANAGE