Folsom extends section win streak to 42. Now it seeks a section five-peat
The winning streak is seven for the Folsom Bulldogs.
That may not seem like a ton for the top-ranked team in the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section, but considering the competition, that roll stands for something.
On Friday night at Prairie City Stadium behind 5-star quarterback star Ryder Lyons’ five-touchdown effort, Sacramento Bee No. 1-ranked Folsom defeated No. 2 Granite Bay 42-14 to secure the program’s 10th Sierra Foothill League championship since entering the section’s top conference before the 2014 season.
League banners matter, too, Folsom coach Paul Doherty stressed before kickoff as the Bulldogs honored 25 seniors on Senior Night. Now, the bigger prizes are there for the taking for Folsom. The quest includes going for a section Division I championship five-peat, which would be a record in this section at the large-school level.
Folsom (9-1) will be the top seed in the Division I bracket, which will be announced by the section office on an NFHS livestream broadcast on Sunday starting at 12:30 p.m.
So, all told, Folsom’s momentum is significant on various levels: a 6-0 sweep of the mighty SFL this season, a 23-game SFL winning streak since 2022 and a 42-game winning streak within this section, dating back to 2021. The last team to topple Folsom in section play, including the section playoffs, was Granite Bay to cap the 2021 regular season.
Folsom earlier in that 2021 season had a 54-game league winning streak, including from the Delta League and the SFL, halted by Rocklin. Folsom rebounded to win its first section title under Doherty, and then the next three. Might the fifth successive section blue banner come this season at Hughes Stadium on the campus of Sacramento City College? Folsom has won 11 section crowns since 2010 and 13 overall.
“Momentum is a really big thing in high school football,” Doherty said. “And you can gain momentum in any number of different ways — offensively, defensively, health, getting guys back playing well at the right time. You’ve got to get hot at the right time.”
D-I section contenders, and Folsom’s season roll
The Division I bracket will include SFL member Oak Ridge, ranked as high as second by The Bee a few weeks ago; Grant, The Bee’s preseason No. 2 team after winning three successive section and NorCal championships; 9-1 Inderkum of Sacramento; and Delta League heavyweight Monterey Trail of Elk Grove, the lone team to defeat Inderkum this season.
Folsom stands as the prohibitive favorite, but that means nothing unless the Bulldogs produce. Everyone is gunning for the section’s top dog.
“I think we can win the section championship,” Doherty said. “We’ve proven that we can, and that’s the goal, but we’ve got to be healthy, and we’ve got to get hot and play well.”
Folsom opened the season with a 51-13 triumph of Grant on ESPN, which was followed by a 56-42 win at longtime Bay Area and NorCal powerhouse Serra of San Mateo. Then the reality check hit like a thunderbolt: a 53-14 setback at state power Mission Viejo of Orange County. That loss humbled the Bulldogs, who, to a man, vowed to get things rolling again.
Folsom has not lost since, rallying from halftime deficits to defeat two Bee-ranked No. 2 teams in Rocklin (34-21) and Oak Ridge (34-21), which was followed by victories over Del Oro (35-20), Whitney (48-7) and Jesuit (42-7).
Doherty said he reminded his players this week that a league banner is to be appreciated, especially in the SFL, the strongest collection of teams in Northern California.
“This does matter,” Doherty said. “I told the players that we’re going to take a picture after the game. I think there’s value to that, and you get a banner for winning a league championship.”
Folsom D, Lyons star
Folsom’s defense bottled up Granite Bay running back star Isaiah Ene. The fourth-year varsity starter entered Friday with 1,228 yards rushing and 20 touchdowns, but he managed just 51 yards. His 4-yard touchdown run pulled Granite Bay to within 14-7 in the second quarter.
Lyons, the BYU-committed third-year Folsom starter, isn’t at full strength with aches and pains all over his body, but he’s still the top player in the section. He passed for 285 yards and four touchdowns, and the 6-foot-3, 225-pound tank with good feet ran for a score.
Lyons always maintains that it takes everyone to make this all work — coaches, linemen, skill players, defenders. He has a fleet of receivers, including Ole Miss-bound burner Jameson Powell, rising recruit Rob Larson, Isaiah Williams and Stanford-bound two-way star Jason Hill Jr.
Lyons hit Powell, his best friend, for scoring strikes of 65 and 49 yards for a 14-0 lead in the first quarter. Lyons found Larson for a 37-yard TD play to build a 21-7 advantage with 6:13 left to play in the first half, and the quarterback scored on a 2-yard run for a 28-7 lead with 47 seconds left in the quarter.
Lyons hit Bronson Bambino for a 1-yard TD play for a 35-7 lead with 4:57 left in the third. By the start of the fourth quarter, Folsom pulled its starters.
Doherty praised Ene as a hard-charging two-way star and a classy player.
“I’d love to say he’s the best player in the section, and he’s damn close, but he’s the best player in the section that’s not at Folsom,” Doherty said with a smile.
Granite Bay will be a high seed in the Division II bracket under longtime coach Joe Cattolico.
This story was originally published October 31, 2025 at 10:20 PM.