Pittsburg stoppers outnumber Lyons and the Folsom Bulldogs to win CIF NorCal championship
Well before the Folsom Bulldogs boarded the buses to Contra Costa County on Friday afternoon to play a football game, Ryder Lyons found out that he was named the Gatorade State Player of the Year.
The 5-star junior quarterback was worthy, and he had the attention of the Pittsburg Pirates all week leading up to the CIF Northern California Division 1-AA championship game. A year after Lyons accounted for all four of Folsom’s touchdowns to beat Pittsburg in a NorCal final, the host Pirates had too many determined and athletic defenders for Lyons to evade in the second half in returning the favor to punctuate a 28-27 victory.
Pittsburg (12-2) stopped Lyons on a 2-point conversion run attempt with 2:03 left to play that would have given Folsom the lead, and the Pirates recovered his fumble on 4th and long with 33 seconds remaining as he tried to scramble for a play. In doing so, the Pirates snapped a three-game skid to the Bulldogs in what has become a fierce rivalry of NorCal heavyweights.
Going into Friday, Folsom (12-2) was ranked second in Northern California by Cal-Hi Sports and by the CIF NorCal playoff selection committee, ranked behind 12-0 De La Salle, which plays Mater Dei for the CIF State Open Division banner next Saturday night to cap the prep season. Folsom is ranked second in Northern California and Pittsburg third. Pittsburg’s lone in-state loss was 10-7 recently to De La Salle.
“We knew we’d be in a game like this,” Folsom coach Paul Doherty said after the game. “Credit to them. Great team. They played better than us.”
Folsom stormed to a 21-0 lead before Pittsburg managed to register its first first down. Lyons had a 1-yard run, a 6-yard scoring pass to Daymion Rivera and a 30-yard TD strike to EJ Coleman on 4th and 15 with 10:45 left in the second quarter before the Pirates of the North Coast Section scored the next 28 points.
Pittsburg also has a nifty quarterback in senior Marley Alcantara, though not nearly as hotly recruited by college suitors as Lyons. He had four touchdown passes, and the Pirates defense came up with three second-half sacks and two forced fumbles.
Folsom’s other loss was in the second week, a 22-21 setback to NorCal power Serra of San Mateo. Folsom settled in, won 11 consecutive games and its fourth consecutive CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Division I banner.
Doherty said his team grew this season, and they were pained by the Serra loss and responded and they are pained by this season-ending setback.
“I’m glad that they’re hurting because they put a lot into this, and if they didn’t, they wouldn’t be hurting,” the coach said. “This sport means a lot. I’m super proud of these guys.”
This story was originally published December 6, 2024 at 11:48 PM.