Friday CIF State Football Finals

On an incredibly foggy night in Mission Viejo with its All-American quarterback sidelined with an injury, Folsom had no trouble putting down Cathedral Catholic of San Diego in the CIF D1-AA state championship. It’s the sixth CIF state title for the program, which is now one away from the state record. It also became a sweep of the night for the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section as St. Mary’s of Stockton won its first CIF state title with hard-to-believe ending in the CIF D2-AA state final. We also have short recaps of the four other games.

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(Thanks to associate editor Harold Abend for the recap on the game between St. Mary’s and Bakersfield Christian.)

Fifteen minutes before the start of the CIF D1-AA state final played Friday night at Saddleback College in Mission Viejo, no one saw the bank of fog that was approaching and by kickoff it became impossible to see the other side of field from the other. The only TV cameras available were at field level.

It didn’t take long for the Folsom team to put Cathedral Catholic of San Diego as if it was playing in a daze and the Bulldogs were playing as if it was a crisp, clear fall afternoon. They had a 21-0 lead by the end of the first quarter, led 28-7 at halftime and went on to beat the Dons, 42-28.

With the win, Folsom won its second CIF state title in three years (the last one in D1-A in 2023). The Bulldogs didn’t win one in 2021 because they lost 33-21 to Cathedral Catholic. They had a win vs the Dons in overtime in 2018 in D1-AA, which came one year after they won in 2017 vs Helix of La Mesa. Folsom also has CIF state titles in 2014 and 2010. None are in the Open Division and the Bulldogs have never been in the Open Division. Their six titles puts them at second on the all-time state list behind only the seven won by De La Salle of Concord from 2007 to 2015 and the seven won by Bakersfield (last one in 2013 with the other seven before 1927). Note: We don’t count a title awarded to Bakersfield by a CIF committee way back in 1914 that the CIF does count.

Even with the big win, it will be hard to move up Folsom too much from the No. 9 overall state ranking it had in our State TOP 50. The Bulldogs (14-1) have a 53-14 loss from early in the season to No. 7 Mission Viejo. No. 8 Orange Lutheran has a lot of losses but also got a win against St. John Bosco of Bellflower when it was No. 1 in the nation. The Dons (12-3) came in at No. 11 and will likely drop behind No. 12 Archbishop Riordan (only loss to Folsom in a closer game) in the final rankings.

Folsom also continued to play with the momentum it had from last week’s 42-38 win against previously unbeaten Archbishop Riordan in the NorCal final despite All-American QB Ryder Lyons suffering a shoulder injury in the third quarter that also caused him to miss this week’s state final other than one series in the fourth quarter and for the final kneel down. Junior QB Brody Rudnicki scored the final two TDs in that rally and had no difficulty in the state championship. The Bulldogs were down 38-20 at halftime of that game and since that time they outscored Riordan and Cathedral Catholic by a combined 64-14 until two final TDs by the Dons when the outcome of the game was decided.

“I think for these high school kids that they feed off a lot of energy and this was strange because Ryder is the center of that energy,” said Folsom head coach Paul Doherty, who has been the head coach for the last two state titles. “But he’s the ultimate team player.”

The Bulldogs didn’t take long to establish their superiority. They drove 64 yards in nine plays as Rudnicki went 4-for-4 on passing and ran the ball five times. He scored the TD on a 2-yard run.

Cathedral Catholic went 3-and-out on its first series and then after a 27-yard punt it was another quick drive for a score. Rudnicki threw an 8-yard TD pass to Rob Larson.

The Dons only picked up one first down on their ensuing series and then Folsom scored again, this time on a 8-play, 73-yard drive. Rudnicki again delivered on rushing and passing plays, like all great Folsom QBs before him, and ran the final 30 yards. With the first quarter still with 2:26 left, it was a 21-0 lead.

Cathedral Catholic finally scored in the second quarter on a 15-yard run by Honor Fa’alave-Johnson and got the ball back on a punt. Instead of perhaps getting the score to 21-14 by halftime, however, the Bulldogs got a stop and they scored with just 18 seconds left in the second quarter on a 1-yard pop pass from Rudnicki to sophomore tight end Elijah Tuua that made it 28-7.

“We just had a slow start and they did a great job starting out this game,” said Cathedral Catholic head coach Sean Doyle, who despite the loss still has three CIF state titles on his resume. “It took us a while before we started to figure it out.”

Both coaches were asked about the thick fog that rolled in and neither said it made much of a difference.

“I thought it was an advantage for us scoring first,” Doherty said. “We just kept up that momentum the whole way.”

“The hardest thing was playing in it from behind, but both teams had to play in it,” Doyle said, who is now 1-2 in state finals vs the Bulldogs. “They are a great team and it is great to be able to play them.”

Rudnicki may have been a back-up to Lyons all season until last week and this week, but made a case that he’ll be an All-American next season. He rushed 24 times for 188 yards and four TDs and he went 11 of 20 passing for 117 yards and two scores.

“He’s just the definition of the position,” Doherty said of Rudnicki. “It’s his sense of timing, his uncanny way of making plays and he’s incredibly mature.”

Said Rudnicki during a TV interview: “I’m just blessed and honored to be in this position. All of my success is only because of my teammates and receivers.”

Folsom’s big night running the ball (it had 324 yards) also featured sophomore Bronson Bambino with eight carries for 85 yards and sophomore Osais Bolton with 15 carries for 75 yards.

Despite the loss, Fa’alave-Johnson still had another big outing for Cathedral Catholic. He had a 74-yard TD run in the third quarter and he ended with 22 carries for 267 yards and two TDs. QB Brady Palmer added a 3-yard TD run and a 10-yard TD pass to Gianluca Busalacchi.

For the final words of the Folsom season, we’ll let Lyons get the honor: “We’re bringing it home. It feels great.”

In the other game played at Saddleback College:

DIVISION 2-AA

St. Mary’s (Stockton) 27, Bakersfield Christian 24

After losing in its first two CIF state championship appearances, the old expression “the third time is a charm” ended up being just what the doctor ordered for St. Mary’s of Stockton, but it was anything but easy.

In a game that had its share of turnovers and mistakes at the most critical times that had the outcome of the game in doubt to the very end, it was CIF Northern Regional titlist St. Mary’s (13-2), behind 244 yards and two TDs passing from senior quarterback Jaden Galvan, 145 yards receiving and one TD from senior Ivan Huerta, and 106 yards rushing and one TD by senior Diego Hernandez, hanging on for a 27-24 CIF Division 2-AA Bowl Game victory over Southern Regional champion Bakersfield Christian.

Now, after losing twice in CIF state title games to Cathedral Catholic of San Diego, 37-34 on 2008 in the CIF Division 2 Bowl Game, and 38-35 in the 2016 Division 1-AA Bowl Game championship, St. Mary’s brings home its first title to a school that been around for 150 years.

With all the turnovers and mistakes St. Mary’s made, it was looking like the Rams might let a third attempt at a state championship slip through its hands.

“We were snatching defeat from the jaws of victory no question, time and time again,” St. Mary’s head coach Tony Franks remarked. “You know, we never make it easy, but somehow, some way we find a way to get it done in the end.

“This is just a real crowning achievement for our community and the people close to this program, certainly the players and staff,” Franks continued. “I’m just thrilled we were able to bring it home.”

After the games and just prior to the awards presentation, Franks got some congratulations from the coach that handed him his two losses, Cathedral Catholic head coach Sean Doyle. The two once worked on the same coaching staff at UC Davis and have remained good friends.

“I kind of was wish we were playing you,” Franks mused while embracing Doyle. “But then again I’m glad we’re not.”

Bakersfield Christian (13-1 and ranked No. 28 in the state this week) had a chance to win the game after recovering a fumble with 2:27 remaining on the St. Mary’s 45 and trailing 27-24, but after getting the ball to the five the Eagles’ next three plays produced a negative one yard and they were forced to line up to try a 23-yard field goal that was looking like it would send the game to overtime.

The snap was good but the angle from the right hash mark was bad, and usually reliable senior kicker Cohen Peters, who earlier in the game kicked a 40-yarder to end the half, missed wide left. With no outs time left and only 1:38 remaining, St. Mary’s was able to run out the clock.

St. Mary’s (13-2 and ranked this week at No. 21 in our State TOP 50) took a 20-10 lead with 5:31 left in the third quarter on an 8-yard run out of the Wildcat formation by senior wide receiver Moses Alexander, but the game was far from over.

On the ensuing possession by Bakersfield Christian, it was driving with second and two at the St. Mary’s 23-yard line when Eagles’ senior quarterback Lincoln Adame threw a pass that was tipped by Alexander and corralled in the end zone by senior AJ Ramos, but rather than taking a touchback he tried to run it out and only got to the nine. A five-yard penalty moved the ball back to the five, and after three plays that got the ball to the 12 the Rams were forced punt. Hernandez, who is also the punter, took the snap, but whether it was by design or not, he ran out of punt formation and only got to the 13.

Three plays later and on the first play of the fourth quarter, Adame found junior Buddah Wallace all alone in the left corner of the end and zone and all of a sudden the St. Mary’s lead was cut to 20-17 with 11:52 to go.

It took St. Mary’s all of 1:10 to strike back and when Galvan connected with Huerta, who changed direction three games before scampering 54 yards to paydirt, the lead was back to 27-17 with 10:42 remaining. The Eagles still had had life, and struck back quick.

The ensuing kickoff gave Bakersfield Christian the ball at its own 16, but no problem. Adame orchestrated a seven-play 84-yard drive that ended when he connected on second-and-19 with Wallace once again, this time on a 44-yard TD pass that cut the lead to 27-24 with 7:45 left in the game.

The Bakerfield Christian defense then forced a three-and-out, but a 55-yard punt by the Rams’ Hernandez pinned the Eagles back to their own 1-yard line. Bakersfield Christian ran seven plays including a 15-yard pass interference penalty that got the ball out to their own 47, but on the eighth play Adame overthrew his receiver and St. Mary’s senior Mason Eagal picked it off at his own 15 with only 3 minutes left.

The Rams only needed one first down and the game would have been over, and then on third-and-7 Galvan connected with Huerta for 27 yards, but instead of just going down he continued running and was blindsided by John Heath and fumbled, and Jacob Millian recovered at the Folsom 45 with 2:27 remaining to set up the final sequence that Bakersfield was not unable to cash in on with the missed field goal.

“I was going on instinct and trying to make play,” Huerta said about not sliding to the ground on that one play. “But my boys on defense never gave up. Yeah, they missed a field goal but yes they didn’t let them score on the other three plays.”

Senior fullback Arnez Lee took a direct snap and lasted his way in from 5-yards out to give Bakerfield Christian a 7-0 lead in the first quarter. After the Rams knotted things on a 3-yard run by Alexander, they took a 14-7 lead on a 16-yard TD pass from Galvan to senior Kenneth Moore.

Galvan ended the night 244 yards passing and two TDs while Hernandez had 21 carries for 107 yards. Adame was brilliant all night long and went 22 of 38 for 394 yards and two TDs. Michael Smith shined as well at receiver with 10 catches for 202 yards.

“They scored, we scored and we went toe to toe with a great team,” said Eagles’ head coach Darren Carr, who was assisted by his NFL quarterback brothers (David and Derek) during the game. “This hurts and it’s tough, but we won our first D1 title this season (in the Central Section). It’s going to be hard to see all these (seniors) go.”

When asked if at any time did he ever doubt he was going to win the game, Franks had this answer.

“I don’t think that way, I really don’t. I just think about what do I have to do to do my job,” said Franks. “I just focus on the process and try real hard to detach from the result, I really do, and focused completely on process.”

The process at times was not exactly what Franks may have wanted, but just like the other two three-point losses in CIF title games, this was another nail-biting four-point affair, only this time St. Mary’s came out on top.

In games played Friday at Fullerton Union School Distric Stadium:

DIVISION 3-AA

St. Ignatius (San Francisco) 42, Ventura 35

It’s hard to believe an older school than St. Mary’s also won a CIF state football title on Friday night, but the Wildcats held off the Cougars in a back-and-forth matchup. St. Ignatius also won its first ever CIF state title in a season once removed when it won the CIF Central Coast Section Open Division championship and then lost to Central of Fresno in the much higher D1-A regional final. The Wildcats (9-6) extended their lead to 42-28 early in the fourth quarter on a 27-yard TD run by QB Caedon Aksharipour. The Cougars (13-3) put a scare into the SI faithful with 2:40 left on a tipped pass that was pulled in for a touchdown by Oregon-bound RB/LB Tristan Phillips. The Wildcats from there, however, were able to run out the clock for the win.

DIVISION 6-AA

Valley Center 36, Lincoln (San Jose) 35

This was one of those games in which the team getting the ball last was seemingly going to win. That’s what happened after the Jaguars drove down the field after Lincoln had scored with 1:42 on the clock to take a 35-29 lead. That score stayed there on a blocked PAT by Valley Center’s Joaquin Stehly. Jaguars’ QB Braylon Mitchell then completed four passes in quick order plus there was a 15-yard penalty on the Lions. With 22 seconds left, Joeisha Ryan Tirado took a handoff and ran for a 14-yard touchdown. Jesse Morales then took center stage as the Valley Center kicker. He had to kick the PAT from 10 yards further back due to two penalties, but made it and that was enough for the one-point win. According to the San Diego Union-Tribune, Tirado ended the game 24 carries for 193 yards and three TDs. Mitchell was reported with 307 yards passing. Lincoln’s Kyan Phillips had a 93-yard kickoff return TD, two TDs rushing and he caught a 68-yard TD pass from QB Luca Papoulias. Valley Center (9-6) won its first CIF state title. Lincoln, one week after taking down previously unbeaten Gridley, finished 11-4.

In games played Friday at Buena Park HS:

DIVISION 4-AA

Barstow 17, Sutter 7

The CIF Sac-Joaquin Section was not able to go 3-for-3 in Friday night state finals as the Aztecs had a lot of history to make. Barstow, which won the CIF Southern Section D9 title and edged unbeaten Immanuel of Reedley, 13-12, last week in the regional finals, became the first-ever CIF state champion from the High Desert. The Aztecs wrapped up a 12-3 season. Sutter (13-2), the Sac-Joaquin D5 champs who also ousted an unbeaten team last week (Ferndale), took a 7-0 lead at halftime on a 81-yard TD pass from Braden Scritchfield to Hayden Azevedo. In the second half, however, the Aztecs’ defense picked him off three times while the offense added a pair of rushing TDs by Ncholas Gaoa. Scritchfield only had three interceptions for the entire season entering the night. A 31-yard field goal by Elijah Sanchez of Barstow was the only scoring in the fourth quarter.

DIVISION 5-AA

Bishop O’Dowd (Oakland) 37, Christian (El Cajon) 0

This marks the second CIF state title for the Dragons with their first in 2016. It was about as dominant a showing by the Dragons’ defense that probably reminded head coach Hardy Nickerson of some of the dominant defenses he played with in the NFL. The Patriots suffered five sacks in the first half and by that time it was a 21-0 lead for O’Dowd. QB Christian Cermenelli-Johnson passed for two TDs and had 220 yards in the air, according to the Bay Area News Group. O’Dowd started the season 1-3, but had a young team that got better as the season went along for a final season record of 11-4. Christian had just put its record at 8-7 with a regional win vs Valley Christian of El Cajon and thus fell to 8-8 overall.

Harold Abend is the associate editor of CalHiSports.com and the vice president of the California Prep Sportswriters Association. He can be reached at marketingharoldabend@gmail.com. Don’t forget to follow him on Twitter: @HaroldAbend

Mark Tennis is the co-founder and publisher of CalHiSports.com. He can be reached at markjtennis@gmail.com. Don’t forget to follow Mark on the Cal-Hi Sports Twitter handle.