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Folsom and Granite Bay high schools will play in two of the first-ever Northern California regional football playoffs, facing, respectively, De la Salle and St. Ignatius for an opportunity to play in the state championship bowl games Dec. 14-15. Here are key factors for success for each of the teams, written by The Bee's Joe Davidson. De La Salle photos are courtesy of Robert Sansoe; St. Ignatius photos are courtesy of Paul Ghiglieri.
Open Division: Folsom (14-0) vs. De La Salle (13-0)
Northern California regional championship: Dec. 8 at Sacramento State, 7:30 p.m.
Folsom keys
Passing: Jake Browning has had a record season in his first varsity campaign. He has passed for 4,968 yards and 61 touchdowns. He is third all-time in the state for single-season passing yards and two shy of the single-season touchdown passing mark. The sophomore is a master out of the prolific spread offense that averages 47 points a game with timing, touch and results. -
Folsom keys
Receiving: Troy Knox (20), celebrating Folsom's victory over Elk Grove in the Sac-Joaquin Section playoffs, leads the Bulldogs with 95 receptions for 1,184 yards and 15 touchdowns. Lucas Owan has 66 catches for 1,223 yards and 10 scores, Phillip Carter has 35 for 643 and 11 and Trace Noble 24 for 26 and six. -
Folsom keys
Rushing: Folsom in the past has featured a running quarterback who led the team in rushing. No longer. The Bulldogs have three backs in Harry Lipnosky (799 yards, seven touchdowns), Bailey Laolagi (No. 2, pictured above; 766 and 13) and Josiah Deguara (283 and five). Those backs can block, catch the ball out of the backfield and run off tackle. -
Folsom keys
Defense: It's the unsung unit for the Bulldogs, a team so prolific on offense. The defensive line is anchored by Quincy Capel (84 tackles) and Chaz Arnold (35 tackles), linebacker Derek Stiles (101 tackles) and defensive back Phillip Carter (three interceptions). Folsom High School defense stops the San Ramon Valley High School running back as Folsom high School hosts San Ramon Valley High School, Friday night. -
Folsom keys
Coaching: Co-coaches and the best of friends Kris Richardson, left, and Troy Taylor have unleashed the spread offense in recent seasons with an emphasis on defense under first-year coordinator Lou Baiz. Pedigree: Folsom was NorCal No. 1 at the end of the 1962 season with a 9-0 mark under coach Dewey Guerra, years before the playoffs were introduced. The Bulldogs won Sac-Joaquin Section titles in 1989 and '90 under coach Tom Doherty, a member of the 1962 Folsom team and the man who helped bring aboard Richardson and Taylor. Folsom in 2010 beat state-ranked No. 1 Grant in the section D-II finals at overflow Sacramento State and followed with a victory in the CIF State Division II Bowl over Serra of Gardena to cap a 14-1 season. -
Open Division: Folsom (14-0) vs. De La Salle (13-0)
Northern California regional championship: Dec. 8 at Sacramento State, 7:30 p.m.
De La Salle keys
Rushing: De La Salle lives to run out of the veer, where linemen explode out of the snap to give runners an inch of daylight. Tiapepe Vitale has rushed for 1,734 yards and 28 touchdowns and Das Tautalatasi has gone for 800 and seven. They are a blend of power and speed. -
De La Salle keys
Defense: This unit has defined De La Salle for decades, and this could be the Spartans' best defensive unit ... ever. Linebackers Michael Hutchings and Victor Egu are tackling machines, and defensive lineman Austin Hooper is also a Division I college recruit. They pressure passers and bottle up the run. -
De La Salle keys
Quarterback: Chris Williams (holding for kicker Tyler Duncan) heads the Spartans vaunted run-heavy veer attack. He has passed for 1,200 yards and 10 touchdowns, just enough to keep opposing teams honest and guessing. -
De La Salle keys
Receivers: Receivers for De La Salle generally block more than catch down field, and they're OK with that because results do not lie. Andrew Buckley leads the Spartans with 525 yards and six touchdowns. -
De La Salle keys
Coaching: Bob Ladouceur and defensive coordinator Terry Eidson lead a hard-hitting outfit and have been at the helm since 1981, with the man known as "Coach Lad" acting as head man since 1979. Ladouceur has a remarkable 396-25-3 record with 28 North Coast Section titles, including the last 21, five CIF State titles and seven mythical national championships. His program peeled off a 12-year, 151-game winning streak, ending in 2004. De La Salle has not lost to a NorCal foe since 1991 (Pittsburgh), a 234-0-2 run. -
Division I: Granite Bay (11-3) vs. St. Ignatius (10-3)
Northern California regional championship: Dec. 7 at Sacramento State, 7:30 p.m.
Granite Bay keys
Quarterback: Grant Caraway (10) is as steady as steady goes, passing for 1,638 yards and 27 touchdowns and executing fakes and deception out of the Fly offense. The senior is a 4.5 student, too. -
Granite Bay keys
Running backs: To run the Fly offense, one must have a dominating line, and Granite Bay has one. And you must have backs, and the Grizzlies have three in John Cooley (pictured; 1,341 yards, 13 touchdowns), fly back Tony Ellison (1,096 and 10 and Taft Partridge (758 and six). Partridge rushed for 235 yards and two scores in Granite Bay's 35-23 win over Oak Ridge in the Section D-I finals. -
Granite Bay keys
Defense: Beau Hershberger, right, being embraced by fans after Granite Bay's Sac-Joaquin Section playoff win over Oak Ridge, anchors this unit as a defensive end/linebacker senior with 76 tackles. He's flanked be fellow senior Mason Conen (89 tackles) and sophomore standout Cameron Smith (162 stops). Defensive backs Aaron Knapp and Nick Grace have combined for seven interceptions. -
Granite Bay keys
Coaching: Ernie Cooper is the only varsity football coach in program history, taking over a new program in 1996. He immediately installed the Fly offense, surrounded himself with good coaches, went 3-7 his first varsity season and hasn't had a losing season since. The Grizzlies have won five section titles, including the last two in D-II after taking three in D-III since 1999. -
Division I: Granite Bay (11-3) vs. St. Ignatius (10-3)
Northern California regional championship: Dec. 7 at Sacramento State, 7:30 p.m.
St. Ignatius keys
Quarterback: Jack Stinn (12) is the poised passer out of the Wildcats' power-I formation, having passed for 1,928 yards and 21 touchdowns. He's thrown just two interceptions in his last nine games. -
St. Ignatius keys
Rushing: Elijah Dale (24) is the lead back with 1,348 yards and 12 touchdowns. Albert Waters and Jack Stinn have combined for nine rushing scores for a team that averages 175 yards rushing a game. -
St. Ignatius keys
Receiving: Andrew Vollert (80) has 47 receptions for 761 yards and 13 touchdowns. Five players have double-digit receptions for the Wildcats. -
St. Ignatius keys
Defense: Noah Bull (35, making a tackle) plays like his last name with purpose and power in piling up nearly 10 tackles a game from his linebacking post. The Wildcats have 12 interceptions, five by Albert Waters. -
St. Ignatius keys
Coaching: John Regalia is in his third year at the helm of the Wildcats and has been with the program for nearly 20 seasons. This is all new ground for St. Ignatius, with plenty of talent such as Albert Waters (2), a two-way star for Regalia. The Wildcats won the prestigious Central Coast Section Open championship with a 13-10 upset over Bellarmine of San Jose, the same team that beat SI to win the competitive West Catholic Athletic League. All told, SI is the first San Francisco team to get this far. SI has three losses - to Bellarmine, Serra of San Mateo and Marin Catholic of Kentfield, a team competing in the D-III North title against Sutter.
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