Folsom edges Pittsburg 28-25 in CIF Northern California D1-A championship

With Lincoln Riley in attendance, sophomore quarterback Ryder Lyons furthers case for State Player of the Year regardless of year in thrilling championship victory

FOLSOM, CALIFORNIA — At every turn it seemed, Folsom's thrilling 28-25 home victory over Pittsburg Saturday came down to a matter of inches. 

But essentially this one was decided by 74 inches of quarterback — Folsom sophomore sensation Ryder Lyons. 

The strapping and athletic 6-foot-2, 205-pound specimen accounted for all four Folsom touchdowns — three rushing — after last week accounting for all five in a section final victory. 

He finished with 26 carries for 134 yards while completing 11 of 14 passes for 190 yards. He's accounted for 14 touchdowns in the playoffs and 59 on the season. 

He accounted for 324 of 441 total yards for Folsom, which now plays St. Bonaventure-Ventura, a 21-20 winner over St. Augustine-San Diego, in next week's state final at Saddleback College. 

There's a reason USC coach Lincoln Riley was watching play from both end zones. Ryder Lyons may be the best sophomore quarterback in the state, if not the country. 

"We couldn't get them off the field," Pittsburg coach Charlie Ramirez. "We couldn't get him off the field. We knew what (he) was going to do but we couldn't stop him." 

Ryder Lyons on the move / Photo: Dennis Lee

Lyons, impressively polite as he is athletic, said he didn't plan to run so much. It was the second most carries he's had in a game. He's now rushed for nearly 850 yards on the season and 22 touchdowns to go with 3,430 passing yards and 37 scores. 

"Sometimes you have to do what you got to do," Lyons said. 

Hours after the game, Lyons tweeted that in face Riley had offered him a scholarship. Very nice night for the sophomore. 

After a great game and an amazing conversation with the head coach of USC I’m blessed to say I have received an offer from the University of Southern California

@LincolnRiley @BrandonHuffman @CoachDanny10 @Passing_Academy pic.twitter.com/vQjuWqab4A

— Ryder Lyons (@ryderly0ns) December 3, 2023

But few can do it like Lyons. The Pirates (13-1) hit him from all angles with great force and speed, but Lyons found a way to allude pressure or making a pinpoint pass just when the Bulldogs (12-2) needed it most. 

He's been doing it all season.

Pittsburg, under first-year head coach Ramirez, has responded to every challenge all season as well, thus the perfect record. 

That's what made the game so compelling and evenly played. 

It took its opening drive 75 yards capped by a 10-yard touchdown pass from Marley Alcantara to Jadyn Hudson, a four-star junior who Riley was no doubt also watching, to give the Pirates a 7-0 lead. 

Lyons responding, threading a 35-yard completion just before the end of the first quarter, before his own 1-yard keeper to tie it up at 7-7. 

A 20-yard run set up his second touchdown, a 5-yard keeper giving Folsom a 14-7 lead midway through the second quarter. Pittsburg junior running back Jamar Searcy, another top prospect, did most of the damage on the ensuing 75-yard march, capping it with a 14-yard run. 

Lincoln Riley had his eye on many top recruits, especially from the 2024 and 2025 class.  / Photo: Dennis Lee

But one of many small details that would cost Pittsburg did so on the extra point, which was blocked, leaving Folsom ahead 14-13 with 4:32 left until halftime. 

A fumble recovery by Charlie Taufa set up a 30-yard field by Jesus Lua to give Pittsburg a 16-14 lead at halftime, but a dropped touchdown in the end zone cost the Pirates and additional four points. 

In the third quarter, a chip shot field goal blocked again by Folsom left three more points off the board for Pittsburg, but Folsom gave it right back when Lyons mishandled a shotgun snap in the end zone. He tried to pick it up by Japeth Tofaeono tripped him up for a safety, giving the Pirates an 18-14 lead with 10:04 left in the fourth quarter. 

Undaunted, Lyons led the Bulldogs on an 80-yard touchdown march, capped with a 15-yard pass from Lyons to Jameson Powell to give Folsom the lead for good, 21-18 with 5:00 left. 

Pittsburg's Charlie Taufa (30) with a fumble recovery / Photo: Dennis Lee

Heading for a potential go-ahead touchdown in the final three minutes, Alcantara's fourth-down scramble to the Folsom 35 was short by the chain gang's link.

The game-clinching third-touchdown run by Lyons with 1:13 remaining was ruled a score by one referee and another ruled he had fumbled and Pittsburg recovered. Once one referee signals touchdown, the play is over and this one essentially was at 28-18. 

Right to the end, the Pirates battled however, driving right down the field, capped by a beautiful, leaping 25-yard catch of a Alcantara rainbow with 10.2 seconds left, to cut the Folsom lead to 28-25. 

But Folsom recovered the ensuing onside kick to seal the victory and clinched their fifth regional crown. They'll be going for their fifth state title next week. 

Folsom takes the field amongst the fake fog / Photo: Dennis Lee

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