Bulldogs trounce Pacers on ESPN, 51-13

The game had a lot of hype, but when it was all said and done, Folsom destroyed Grant on ESPN on Saturday night, 51-13. The Pacers scored on their second drive of the game and then did not score again until the game’s final play, as the Bulldogs’ defense was dominant all night. The game was close at halftime with Folsom leading 23-7, but the Bulldogs outscored the Pacers 28- 6 in the second half. Offensively, Folsom quarterback Ryder Lyons played what has to be one of his best games of his career, as he completed 31-of-39 passes for 408 yards and four touchdowns. Folsom had a big edge at quarterback with Lyons, as Grant quarterback Shiren Crump Jr., making his first varsity start, threw for less than 100 yards. The Pacers had a game plan early to eat up as much of the play clock as they could, as their first drive took nearly half of the first quarter before they finally punted. It was then that Jameson Powell, with Folsom’s first touch of the ball, muffed a punt at the seven-yard line, went back a yard deep in his own end zone to retrieve the ball and then returned it 101 yards for the first points of the game. The Pacers came back and scored on their second possession, but that was it for their offense until the game’s last play. The Pacers tried several times in the early going to get the ball in the hands of their top player, receiver Koby Shabazz, but Folsom cornerback Jason Hill Jr. time and again took that option away, making for a frustrating night for the Pacers’ passing game. “I came in confident with the mindset of allowing no catches on me and I did what I could to lock Koby and Zo (Edwards) down and I didn’t have any catches on me,” Hill Jr. said. “As a defense, we played with a lot of energy and we played as a team. It was a lot of fun out there.” Folsom’s defense gave up some yards, but what they didn’t give up was the big play, something every opponent of Grant has to worry about with their team speed. “I’m feeling great,” said Folsom linebacker EJ Coleman, who was Folsom’s fiery leader who was all over the field making tackles and also had an interception. “I’m feeling ecstatic. Our defense played as a team and shut them down and gave the ball to our offense. We want our main guys, Rob, Ryder, Zay, and Jamo touching the ball. “A lot of people doubted our defense, but we were rolling. We’re very underrated, but we’re a very close group. We’re always talking. What you saw out there was us communicating with each other.” The leader of the defensive line, Lua DeBerry-Tupou, said the team executed the game plan. “The game plan was to get to the ball every play plus two, that’s what Coach Irsik always says to us,” DeBerry-Tupou said. “We executed that. We played physically sound and our secondary played well too. “It’s great to win on ESPN. You don’t get too many chances to play on ESPN. It’s a great day to be a Bulldog.” Offensively, Lyons scored Folsom’s first offensive touchdown on a nine-yard run before throwing a 67-yard touchdown pass to Rob Larson in the second quarter, giving the Bulldogs a 23-7 lead at halftime. Despite Folsom’s dominance, the Bulldogs only led by two scores at halftime. The Bulldogs gave the Pacers a chance early in the third quarter after they fumbled on the opening possession, but Pacers went four and out. The Bulldogs took over the game from that point, scoring the next four times they had the ball. Lyons threw touchdown passes to Hill Jr. (three yards), to Isaiah Williams (six yards) and to Larson again (20 yards) before Brody Rudnicki ran a touchdown in for a score after replacing Lyons at quarterback at the end of the third quarter. Lyons had a big night and that also meant his receivers had a big night. Larson caught nine passes for 172 yards and two touchdowns. Williams hauled in nine passes for 82 yards and one score, while Powell caught six passes for 100 yards. “We were going to execute,” Lyons said. “The offensive line was amazing. My receivers were amazing. That made my job really easy. I’m just grateful. “It’s very encouraging for us to spread the ball around. I feel like that’s something we’re working on. Eyerman got his touches; Rob got his touches, Zay got his touches, Jameson got his touches. The defense stepped it up tonight and they showed that we’re a top team in California and a top team in the nation.” Back to the defense, defensive coordinator Jordan Irsik was proud of his group. “We talked all offseason about needing to have maturity with this group,” Irsik said. “Early on, I felt they just needed some time to settle in and get used to the speed of Grant. Once they settled in, they executed really well. They took to coaching on the sideline really well. “Jason is one of the best football players I’ve ever coached. There’s a reason why we put him on Grant’s best player. He did a really good job on him. He’s going to have a successful career at Stanford.” Added Folsom High head coach Paul Doherty, “It’s no secret that our defense has carried us since I’ve been here and they carried us again tonight. We had success offensively, and I don’t know if Ryder’s ever thrown it better than he did tonight, but our defense gives us opportunities with takeaways and playing on short fields. You can be aggressive in play calling and can let the offensive guys play and I think it’s complimentary football. “The defense played well tonight. Grant is a big, physical football team that ran it well tonight, but we also tackled well.”