Prep football: Folsom defense holds in key moment to upset De La Salle
One of the biggest moments in program history was 3 yards away from being ruined Friday night.
The Folsom Bulldogs, on the doorstep of a victory in the CIF Northern California Regional Division I-AA championship, needed one stop against one of the most storied programs in the country. One stop against a national recruit headed to one of the most famous college football teams in the nation.
Folsom’s defense needed one stop to avenge a humbling loss against De La Salle on their home blue turf in early October. One stop to climb out of an October downturn that included three losses in four games, making another trip to the state title game a pipe dream.
“If we stop them,” senior linebacker Justin Eklund said, “we go to state.”
“And if we don’t, we’re going to be at home.”
The De La Salle Spartans of Concord, who had never lost to a Sacramento-area team and were 5-0 against Folsom, including their 31-10 victory Oct. 8 — and who had been to 14 straight state title games — scored what could have been a game-tying touchdown with just 1:44 remaining in a wild and dramatic Northern California championship game on the Spartans’ home field.
The DLS touchdown was scored by top recruit Zeke Berry, a four-star safety and receiver who committed to the University of Michigan last week on the heels of its win over top rival Ohio State. Berry used his explosive speed to get behind Folsom’s defense for a 43-yard receiving score that would have tied it with an extra point at 28-28. But De La Salle coach Justin Alumbaugh went for the head shot.
Instead of tying the game, Alumbaugh tried for the go-ahead 2-point conversion, meaning De La Salle needed just 3 yards to take the lead, leaving Folsom 104 seconds of game time with no timeouts to come back. So Alumbaugh, who used trick plays throughout the game, dialed up Berry’s number again with the season on the line.
Berry lined up in a bunch formation on the left side. He came sprinting in motion at the snap and took a handoff from quarterback Luke Dermon, sweeping over right tackle.
“As soon as that guy goes in motion, we know who the ball’s going to, we know what’s going on,” Eklund said.
Berry was met by a slew of Folsom defenders. He was stopped a yard short of the end zone. Both sidelines were frantic trying to figure out the result of the play.
Once the stop was clear, the Bulldog sideline and visiting stands erupted. Folsom hung on to upset De La Salle 28-27 for a chance to play next week for the CIF state finals. De La Salle’s streak of 14 straight appearances in the state title game snapped.
“Our whole defense, we do a really good job of rallying,” Eklund said. “As soon as we get into playoffs, our practices are different, our games are different, and that’s what it came down to.”
Folsom got the following onside kick and salted the game away by running out the clock. The Bulldogs, who came into the game as heavy underdogs, won despite falling behind 14-0 in the first half and taking a few late haymakers from the program that famously had a 151-game winning streak spanning 1992 to 2004.
Folsom scored 21 straight points in the second and third quarters. Then DLS tied it with a fumble recovery returned for a touchdown, which was a gut punch because of the away the Bulldogs defense was shutting down the Spartan offense. Folsom broke the tie with a touchdown scored with 2:12 on the clock. Then DLS scored Berry’s touchdown just three plays later.
“The way the guys just kept fighting, just kept coming back,” Folsom defensive coordinator Val Laolagi said. “That, to me, is a testament to how much these guys work. ... This is our identity, right here. These guys battled.”
The game included a stellar performance from Bulldog quarterback Tyler Tremain, whose three rushing touchdowns and one passing score gave Folsom the points it needed for the upset. But it was the defense that made sure Tremain’s effort would come in a win after he battled from a shoulder injury suffered against De La Salle in their previous meeting. Tremain would have been a footnote in another De La Salle triumph had his defense not stood tall.
DLS thumped Folsom in October by using a signature run-heavy offense, relying on their physical scheme and multiple weapons on the ground. But Folsom was more stout on Friday, forcing the Spartans to dip into their bag of trick plays, including their first score of the game.
That came when Berry threw a long touchdown pass to junior receiver Malik Viewins, who was sprinting free because Berry occupied the defense’s eyes. And just before Berry’s late score, De La Salle used a tricky misdirection pass faking a play to the left leaving a receiver wide open down the right sideline for a big gain.
Eklund, linebacker Josh Tremain — brother of the quarterback, Tyler — and defensive lineman Elijah Gulewich, anchored Folsom’s defensive effort that will have them playing in the state championship next weekend.
Players and their parents embraced in tears. Coaches hugged one another and jumped around in excitement. Players earned the right to strut in front of De La Salle’s student section that made its presence felt throughout the game with trash talk.
It came down to one stop on the 2-point conversion.
Said Folsom’s exasperated head coach Paul Doherty: “There’s nothing I could do at that point. The kids got to make a play. And they did.”
This story was originally published December 4, 2021 at 4:20 AM.
