Ray Hamill/HumboldtSports.com – Everett Halikas and the Arcata Tigers will open the Little 4 against Ferndale on Friday night.

The Little 4 kicks off this weekend, with all four teams in action, while Fortuna travels to Del Norte for a non-league showdown and Eureka plays at Ukiah.

The Arcata Tigers will begin the defense of their L4 crown at home to Ferndale in one of the games of the weekend, while the Hoopa Warriors will try to make it two straight wins when they host the McKinleyville Panthers, who are coming off a bye.

Also in action this weekend, South Fork will host Stuart Hall in eight person football on Saturday evening.

St. Bernard’s has a bye.

For more the Eureka game, see Freshman to make historic start for Loggers  …

FRIDAY

Fortuna (1-3) at Del Norte (4-1), 7:30 p.m.

The Huskies are coming off a bye and will be eager to put a disappointing showing at the Milk Can game two weeks ago behind them.

Del Norte will be favored to win this one after an impressive start to the season, which has seen the Warriors play physical football and dominate along the lines in most of their games.

Last week, Del Norte lost 21-14 at Mazama in a matchup of “two super physical teams,” according to DN head coach Nick White.

The Warriors coach, however, is taking nothing for granted against a Huskies team that is always well-coached and well prepared for games, especially after a bye week.

Ferndale (2-2) at Arcata (2-2), at the Redwood Bowl, 7:30 p.m.

The conference opener for both teams, who many observers now feel are the frontrunners for the Little 4 this season.

The Wildcats have impressed in their last three games, and have been setting a physical tone along the line, with seniors Dominc Regli and Orion Benton leading the charge.

They’ll be tested against a Tigers defense that has allowed just seven points in the past two weeks.

Both teams will need to be more consistent on offense, albeit in different ways.

The Tigers have moved the ball effectively but have seen too many drives break down deep in opponents’ territory, while the Cats have looked great one quarter and not-so-great the next.

It’s only week one, but the winner here will have a big early advantage in the L4, especially if it’s the road team.

McKinleyville (1-3) at Hoopa (1-2), 7:30 p.m.

The second Little 4 clash of the night sees the Panthers head inland to Hoopa to play a Warriors team that will be riding some confidence after posting their first win last week in dramatic fashion.

The Warriors are healthy again and believe they are well capable of challenging for a league crown after a resurgent season a year ago.

They put a troublesome start to this campaign behind them with a statement 14-12 win over Trinity last week when they had to dig deep late in the fourth quarter to hold on.

The Panthers are coming off a bye and have been mostly disappointing this season, with injuries to key players forcing a reshuffling on the go in games.

There is no doubt, however, they have shown more promise than a year ago and they will be a handful for any of their league opponents if they can play a full four quarters.

A road win here would give the Panthers a ton of confidence and momentum going forward, but it won’t be easy.

SATURDAY

Stuart Hall (2-1) at South Fork (2-2), 5 p.m.

A young Cubs team is coming off a tough loss to Branson, but this should be a more evenly matched game for them.

Junior Alex Harding has been sensational early for the Cubs and head coach Karl Terrell will be hoping for more of the same against the Knights, who are 2-1 after two straight wins, including a 48-34 win at Upper Lake last weekend.

For the second straight week, the Cubs’ roster of 15 will face off against a far larger squad (35), which again begs the question, why is a program with that many players competing in eight-person football?

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Ray Hamill writes at humboldtsports.com, where you can read lots more about sports in Humboldt County.