Ryder Lyons gets USC scholarship offer after leading Folsom past Pittsburg in NorCal final
Midway through the third quarter Saturday night, Ryder Lyons clutched his left elbow, bent over and winced. He took a helmet to his non-throwing arm in a game full of mouthpiece-rattling blows.
The Folsom High School quarterback grimaced, shook his hand to try and regain feeling in three fingers, sat out a play and promptly returned. The arm would have to be sheared off for this guy not to soldier on.
With Lyons delivering another gritty, courageous, championship effort, and with the defense playing big when it absolutely had to, the Bulldogs rallied to top powerhouse and previously unbeaten Pittsburg 28-25 in the CIF Northern California Division 1-A final at Prairie City Stadium.
It was a meeting of NorCal heavies used to such intensity and high stakes as both programs were in their third consecutive regional championship, spanning different divisions. It’s the third consecutive season Folsom has topped Pittsburg, the previous two meetings in the regular season. No one went home bored after this classic, though the Pirates of the North Coast Section headed back to Contra Costa County frustrated that they could not get a handle on the elusive and creative Lyons.
Folsom coaches made certain the 6-foot-2, 205-pounder had his hands on the ball a lot, with every possession a valued commodity and the season in the balance. Never mind that he’s just a sophomore. In the glorious history of the program, dating back to the school’s first great team in 1962, no Bulldogs team has ever relied so heavily on a 10th-grader. Then again, this is no normal player, which is why he has drawn recruiting interest from across the country with more sure to come. USC coach Lincoln Riley, for example, was at the game, watching from beyond the end zones. Riley spoke to Lyons after the game and offered him a scholarship.
Lyons delivered for a team that is now 13-2 and headed to its sixth CIF state final since 2010 with the aim to hang the program’s fifth banner. Lyons will not be tasked with driving the bus, however. Just play the game. He rushed 26 times for 134 yards and three touchdowns, including the backbreaking 10-yarder up the middle with 1:13 to play for the final margin. That spinning, twisting, bullish effort came after a fourth-down stop by Folsom with 2:14 to play, leading to a Lyons 28-yard run to the Pittsburg 47. Penalties moved the ball to the 11.
“We knew what (Lyons) was going to do, but we couldn’t stop him,” Pittsburg coach Charlie Ramirez said.
As the game wore on, a Pittsburg assistant coach was overheard saying Lyons was the best prep quarterback he had seen in person in his 45 years on a sideline. Folsom coaches such as defensive coordinator Sam Cole and head coaches Jordan Banning and Paul Doherty continued to rave about their leader and the team in general. It takes everyone to get this far, and it takes everyone to survive teams this good.
Could Lyons play defense? Linebacker, anyone?
“Oh my gawd!” Cole said excitedly when asked if that would work. “He could play anywhere. I’m so glad he’s on our team.”
Banning said he would not hesitate to line Lyons up at guard just for kicks. The kid is better at quarterback, certainly. He has 37 touchdown passes and 22 rushing scores as a load of a dual threat. Lyons had TD runs of 1, 5 and 10 yards, and his 15-yard touchdown strike to Jameson Powell with 5:00 left put the Bulldogs ahead to stay at 21-18.
“Good vibes!” Lyons said of the team mood. “I’m proud of this team. We’ve worked so hard, and that was a great team.”
The fingers that were numb earlier?
“They’re fine now,” he said with a laugh.
Lyons dreamed of this
Lyons watched the Bulldogs growing up, and as a Junior Bulldog youth player before high school, he dreamed of doing this sort of thing. And he has always been one tough customer. In an early season nonleague contest at NorCal No. 1-ranked Serra of San Mateo, Lyons took a hard hit, struggled to get up, wobbled a bit on his way to the sideline and laid on his back to collect himself. He missed one play. Serra won 21-14 and is back in the CIF Open Division title game.
Lyons said he has refused to stay down, including shots that left him without his helmet on Saturday, because he feels an obligation to lead this charge. Lyons also said he did not want to let down the seniors who have earned a shot to end the season with four championships — Sierra Foothill League, Sac-Joaquin Section, NorCal and, perhaps, the CIF state crown.
Lyons accounted for all nine of Folsom’s touchdowns in the last two games, including a Division I section title win over rival Oak Ridge. In four playoff games, Lyons has accounted for 14 touchdowns — eight passing and six rushing. He is also human. He has fumbled and he has lost fumbles this season, reminding afterward that he can always get better and has to play better “if we want to win state.”
Lyons lost one snap out of the end zone that resulted in a safety for Pittsburg for an 18-14 lead with 8 minutes to play. Folsom coaches said they appreciate Lyons for his sheer grit and skill, but also that he can be a teenager on campus.
“He’s such a kid off the field,” Banning said. “He acts like a kid, smiling, with his friends. No ego. Never any negativity. He’s a baller.”
Folsom D is stout
Folsom’s defense had to deal with the prolific, wide-open attack of Pittsburg, the three-time defending North Coast Section Division I champion. The assignment included chasing down crafty quarterback Marley Alcantara and speedy tailback Jamar Searcy, who had a 14-yard touchdown run. The junior rushed for 143 yards.
Alcantara hit Bobby Shaw for a touchdown pass with 10.2 seconds left to pull to within 28-25, but the onside kick wound up in the hands of Folsom’s Abram Woodson, who raced down the Folsom sideline to the Pirates 9. Lyons then took a knee to end it, and the celebration was on.
“That’s the best back we’ve seen this season,” Cole, the Folsom defensive coordinator, said of Searcy while also raising his eyebrows at how talented the Pirates were. “It comes down to the fundamentals of tackling. You get this far, you can’t trick anyone. You just go.”
Folsom will play St. Bonaventure of Ventura, a 21-20 winner over St. Augustine of San Diego in the Southern California Division 1-A regional championship, on Dec. 9. That game will be held at Saddleback College in Mission Viejo at 3:30 p.m. .
This story was originally published December 2, 2023 at 11:46 PM.