Folsom, sparked by Tupou and Lyons, cruises to 55-10 win over Jesuit, stays unbeaten in league
Even with all the grown man-sized bodies on the Folsom High football roster, it’s hard to miss Taniela Tupou.
At 6-foot-5, 240 pounds, the two-way senior star for the Bulldogs makes a lasting impression with his play and his presence with his teammates. Before the game even starts, the Utah commit is firing up his squad with his version of a Polynesian war chant as his teammates echo his cries. It’s hard to find a better game face.
“It comes from my Polynesian culture,” Tupou said. “Just hyping everybody up, making sure everybody’s good, picking everybody up when they’re down. I feel like it’s very important to have that mentality and that type of energy before the games.”
Tupou carried that mentality and energy into Friday night’s Sierra Foothill League contest at Jesuit, setting the tone with three first-half touchdowns from quarterback Ryder Lyons en route to a 55-10 win over the Marauders.
“My chemistry between me and my quarterback has gotten better throughout the season,” said Tupou, who nearly exceeded 100 receiving yards on his three touchdown catches alone.
A former offensive lineman himself, Tupou praised his big boys in the trenches who always help buy Lyons time to work his QB magic, which tallied more than 300 passing yards and six total touchdowns.
That Folsom O-line? Luke Sorenson, Vlad Dyakonov, Isaac Ross, Zach Woodward and Malachi Coleman.
“They don’t get all the glory, but they do the dirty work,” said Tupou.
Folsom clinched at least a share of the SFL championship, its 12th league title in the past 13 years. Granite Bay looms in the regular season finale next Friday.
After a quick 65-yard drive, Carter Jackson punched in a short score to give the Bulldogs a 7-0 lead with just over 90 seconds gone by. Folsom scored once more at the end of the first quarter as Lyons hit Tupou for a 3-yard strike to make it 14-0 after one.
Jesuit found the scoreboard as Jack Patock capped the Marauders’ next drive with a 1-yard burst to make it 14-7. Lyons and the Bulldogs responded with the Folsom QB calling his own number from 3 yards away to make it 21-7.
Ryan Reeves returned the ensuing kickoff 87 yards to spark Jesuit from the Folsom 10-yard line, but the Marauders could only get three points out of the drive, a 23-yard field goal from Yudiel Mondragon to make it 21-10.
But even 1:44 left on the clock wasn’t enough to keep Folsom out of the end zone twice more before the half. Lyons hit Tupou on consecutive drives for scoring strikes of 71 and 22 yards to cushion the Bulldogs’ lead to 34-10 at the break.
Folsom pitched a defensive shutout in the second half. Lyons added touchdown passes to Isaiah Williams and Jameson Powell and Gabe Magdaleno ran in a 25-yard score late in the fourth for a 55-10 final.
Folsom now owns 15 straight wins against Jesuit dating back to 2008. Folsom and Jesuit spent years in the Delta River League before the Bulldogs joined the SFL in 2014.
Folsom (8-1, 6-0 SFL) travels to Granite Bay next week with a shot to earn the SFL title outright while Jesuit (5-4, 2-4 SFL) finishes its regular season at Whitney.
Nick Pecoraro is a sports journalist and host of “Premier Preps with Nick Pecoraro,” a weekly prep show available on YouTube that recaps games and teams in the Sacramento area each week. Find it at youtube.com/@PremierPreps.
This story was originally published October 25, 2024 at 11:06 PM.