Folsom has lower numbers, but the powerhouse could just be reloading with talent
They were active, spirited, big, fast and skilled.
That’s a typical menu for any Folsom Bulldogs football team since 2009, when the program emerged as a new-generation regional powerhouse. They were experts at getting the ball to speedy guys in open space and letting them jet toward the end zone. Then they defended with equal passion and purpose.
With a spring season looming as the coronavirus pandemic delayed fall sports, the Bulldogs still feature head-turners in abundance. They just don’t have the sheer varsity team numbers of the past. Folsom has 37 players and just six seniors, down from 55 total players in 2019.
The drop in numbers can be attributed to seniors who elected to play other sports, not certain if football would be cleared to go this academic year. And football is hard work. Some elected not to work, but no one weeps for Folsom in general. Does anyone ever feel for the New England Patriots when momentum stalls?
Folsom has stuffed its trophy case with eight Sac-Joaquin Section championships and four CIF State banners since 2010, a run of excellence unmatched in regional history. Folsom’s run was derailed in the 2019 Division I playoffs by Monterey Trail, but the thing about tradition is the top-tier programs tend to refuel.
“We’re thin,” coach Paul Doherty said with a smile at practice last week, “but we’re still pretty good.”
Jake Melander is many things but he is not thin. He is a defensive tackle who would be a wise pick to move the heavy stuff in your house should you move out of state. The 5-foot-11, 275-pound senior recently won age-group world championships in weightlifting, all through Zoom, and he’s capable of moving two football foes in the trenches with the same zest.
“Even when we were shut down or had those stop-and-starts, I kept working out,” Melander said. “You have to be strong and explosive in the weight room and in the trenches.”
Explosive is a good way to describe Folsom’s next star quarterback in the making. That would be Tyler Tremain. He grew up watching in awe the list of Folsom quarterbacks, starting in 2010 when he saw Dano Graves lead a CIF State title charge. Graves was followed by record-setters Tanner Trosin, Jake Browning, Jake Jeffrey, Joe Curry and Kaiden Bennett. All played in college.
Now Tremain, a junior with a 4.0 grade-point average, takes charge. He can run, pass and lead, and he lives for the challenge.
“I’ve played football since I was 8 in Folsom, and it was great to look up to all of those quarterbacks before me,” Tremain said. “I’m embracing the great opportunity to play quarterback and to live up to the quarterback name here.”
Folsom lost returning quarterback Ari Patu to Stanford this spring as an early high school graduate as well as defensive back Kaleb Higgins to Cal. The Folsom program did gain six key transfers, each of whom sat out last season, per transfer policy, including Rico Flores, a receiver and cornerback, tight end/lineman Walker Lyons, and linebacker Justin Ecklund.
Not only can those three play, Doherty said, but they study. Each is a 4.0 student. Doherty, like the coaches before him at Folsom, insists that the Bulldogs do not chase down or recruit players, contrary to speculation over the years. The program has become a magnet for players.
“We’re a destination high school,” Doherty said regarding any number of sports programs or academic ones.
Folsom opens at home against rival Oak Ridge on Saturday at 6 p.m. The Bulldogs will play Sierra Foothill League members only this spring, including Del Oro, Granite Bay, Rocklin and Whitney. There will be no postseason. Immediate family members are allowed to Folsom home games.
Doherty said it was “brutal” not having a fall season, and he worried about the toll on his players.
“It shows the maturity and discipline to be as prepared as we can,” Doherty said. “What I’ve seen the last 15 years as an area coach ... football is unique around here.”
Add spring games to the unique mix.
This story was originally published March 8, 2021 at 7:20 AM.