The McKinleyville Panthers are taking a road trip to take on the Ferndale Wildcats at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday. Keep an eye on the score for this one: the two teams posted some lofty point totals in their previous games.
McKinleyville came into their game on Saturday off a hard-fought close win, but unfortunately suffered a serious change of fortune. They had to suffer through a 62-34 loss at the hands of Arcata. Even if the Panthers couldn't come away with the victory, the high-scoring effort was a great turnaround for their offense, which had struggled int the games prior.
McKinleyville might have lost, but man, Thomas Brown was a machine: he rushed for 368 yards and four scores while picking up 15.3 yards per carry, and also picked up 40 receiving yards.
Meanwhile, Ferndale put another one in the bag on Friday to keep their perfect season alive. Their defense stepped up to hand Hoopa Valley a 73-0 shutout. Give the Wildcats' defense some credit: that's the team's fifth straight shutout.
McKinleyville better keep an eye on Tanner Pidgeon. He was instrumental in Ferndale's win, rushing for 66 yards and three TDs on only eight carries, while also throwing for 181 yards and three touchdowns. Those three passing touchdowns gave Pidgeon a new career-high. Prescott Langer was another major influence, as he rushed for 17 yards and ran in a TD.
Ferndale didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off two passes before the game was over. The picks came courtesy of Adrian Lopez and Pidgeon. Pidgeon is also on a roll when it comes to rushing touchdowns, as he's now punched in two or more in each of the last four games he's played. He got in on the action too, converting a pick into a touchdown.
Special teams was a major factor in the game for Ferndale, racking up 13 points in total. The biggest highlight from special teams (and perhaps the team as a whole) came courtesy of Liam Bishop, who ran a kickoff back for a touchdown.
McKinleyville now has a losing record of 2-3. As for Ferndale, their win bumped their record up to 5-0.
McKinleyville was dealt a bruising 56-0 defeat at the hands of Ferndale when the teams last played back in November of 2024. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Pidgeon, who rushed for 88 yards and one score on only six carries. Now that the Panthers know the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
