Friday and Saturday Games

I stay up late on Friday nights collecting scores from around the area. As I get a score, I will post it here. I will also post previews of most of the big Div. IV games from Wednesday through Friday morning.

One question I have received quite a lot is about St. Vincent and why they are not ranked. St. Vincent is a Div. V team, but they could have made quite a push in Div. IV had they chose to play up like Ferndale does every year. The cut off between Division V and Division IV is 400 students. Curiously, St. Vincent has had exactly 399 students the past two years. If St. Vincent was playing Div. IV football this year, I would have ranked them number 3 in this weeks rankings, dropping out Cloverdale.

About the rankings this week

There are three teams I left off the rankings this week: Berean Christian, Harker, and Salesian. All three have some tough games in the next few weeks and I expect one or more of them will crack the top eight.

Of those in the top eight, Ferndale, the defending Division IV champ, remains at number one. I am not sure Ferndale will finish undefeated. They have a tough game this Saturday when they host Div. III Fortuna. Also, they must play a resurgent McKinleyville twice in league play. McKinlyeville, barely a Div. III school, was transferred from the HDL Big Five to the HDL Little Four, which of course changed the name of each league. McKinleyville had suffered through several years of misery and their student population dwindled. Thanks to a top JV team the past few years, more talent is rising to the varsity level and they are competitive again. Last weekend, they defeated former league foe Arcata 52-0. Although McKinleyville is a Div. III team this year, look for them to compete at the Div. IV level next year. They only have 712 students, 700 being the cutoff between Div. III and Div. IV.

I expect Justin Siena to have a great year and to be in the title game. They may not get one of the top two seeds by virtue of the tough league they play in, which almost guarantees a couple of losses, but I do think they are as good, if not better, than Ferndale. Last year's title game contender, St. Patrick/St. Vincents, is good, but not as good as last year. I'm not sure they will win their league and will probably finish with an 8-2 or 7-3 record.

Out of the NCL teams, Middletown, Clear Lake, Fort Bragg, and Cloverdale are fighting for a few spots in the Div. IV playoffs. I think Middletown and Clear Lake will make it, but anyone -- including a Kelseyville team that got trounced in week one by Berean Christian -- can make a run and surprise us all.

First Posting

Hello!

This blog is dedicated to High School football, specifically the North Coast Section of California, Division IV. Each Tuesday afternoon, I will post my top eight ranked teams in Div. IV.

This weeks top eight teams:

1. Ferndale (4-0) – Crushed South Fork 33-0.
2. Justin Siena (3-1) – Beat previously undefeated Redwood 28-13.
3. St. Patrick-St. Vincent (2-1) – Beat winless Bethel 14-6.
4. Dougherty Valley (4-0) – Defeated John Swett 20-13.
5. Middletown (2-1) – Beat Cloverdale 35-14.
6. Clear Lake (2-0-1) – Defeated Willits 26-2.
7. Fort Bragg (2-1) – Lost a close game to Division V favorite St. Vincents 12-7.
8. Cloverdale (2-1) – Slight edge over three Bay League teams for the 8^th spot.