Look: Folsom 28, Pittsburg 25 game highlights, slideshow of NorCal D1-A 2023 title game

In front of a packed house, including Lincoln Riley, the Bulldogs prevail behind 324 total yards, four touchdowns by sophomore quarterback Ryder Lyons

FOLSOM, CALIFORNIA — The action was hard hitting. The athletes supreme. The drama to the finish was all had hoped. 

The result wasn't what the visiting Pittsburg Pirates had hoped — a Folsom 28-25 victory in the CIF Northern California D1-A regional final — but there was no denying their effort or the competitiveness in play. 

Folsom won their fifth regional and go for their fifth state title Saturday vs. St. Bonaventure at Saddleback College in Mission Viejo.  

With USC coach Lincoln Riley in the house evaluating the numerous recruitable players on both sides, Folsom quarterback Ryder Lyons continued his remarkable sophomore year, accounting for 324 yards and all four touchdowns. He accounted for all five touchdowns in the Bulldogs' 34-27 win over Oak Ridge last week for the Sac-Joaquin Section Division 1 title. 

Pittsburg coach Charlie Ramirez, in his first season as head coach (he previously was the defensive coordinator for 10 years) said the game went down to inches. "Whether it was going to be us and them it was gonna be a great high school football game and it was," he said. "That's an elite public school program, a proud powerhouse just like us. That's what we saw here today." 

Pittsburg coach Charlie Ramirez (left) and Folsom coach Paul Doherty greet near midfield after Saturday's 28-25 Folsom victory.  / Photo: Dennis Lee