Do Bellarmine matchup in the trenches with Folsom? No way. We've all acknowledged that. Bellarmine has better athletes in the skill positions IMO. Once again you probably havent seen Bellarmine play if you think their athletes only have speed. IDK what defense you expect Bellarmine to play but the only way they will have 5 in the box is if Folsom is in an empty set and they cant run a wildcat out of that.
Bellarmine vs. Folsom Poll
- Thread starter TheFolsomBulldog
- Start date
Do Bellarmine matchup in the trenches with Folsom? No way. We've all acknowledged that. Bellarmine has better athletes in the skill positions IMO. Once again you probably havent seen Bellarmine play if you think their athletes only have speed. IDK what defense you expect Bellarmine to play but the only way they will have 5 in the box is if Folsom is in an empty set and they cant run a wildcat out of that.
You are really reaching here. Just the fact that you said Bellarmine has way better athletes at the skill positions tells me 2 things. 1-you haven't seen Folsom play. I can tell by what you have said. Maxpreps highlights don't count. 2-you must be on drugs. Like I said earlier, I have seen the Bells play live twice and while they are a good team, they simply don't pass the "smell test" in comparison to Folsom.
A person is not considered an athlete just because they run around a track fast. If that theory made them a better athlete, than Al Davis would have about 5 more super bowl rings.
God bless.
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You are using an old link - showing the rankings from two weeks ago. The current rankings has Folsom at #17. BTW, USA Today uses (or at least used to) a service called Massey Ratings which is a competitor of CalPreps/Freeman Ratings. Their system is the same as CalPreps but with slightly different logarithms. CalPreps has Folsom at #35.
For anyone caring to know, CalPreps is built primarily from a California perspective applied to the nation. Massey is built from an Ohio perspective applied to the nation.
Sure thing, Pete. Just use your link but change the 15 at the end of the link to 17. USA Today is at its 17th week of rankings.
Did you see Milpitas's offense and defensive line last year? The smaller Bells held their own and defeated Milpitas coming in at 10-0. This is basically the same line as last years.
One thing you can't judge Bellarmine on is the smell test/eye test...their teams have historically failed that test. I remember before the game vs SM everyone took a look at that team and said they didn't pass those tests, but they took that game to the wire.
Agreed my friend. I am only speaking on what I saw when I watched then play twice this year live. I think some people are making some very far reaching statements. That is all. The good news is- we don't have to wait long until the real "smell test" on Friday night.
God bless.
Ive seen 4 of Folsoms games (CVC, Rocklin, St Marys and Elk Grove) and in all 4 of them they looked beatable. As a lot have stated they have won their close games due to 2nd half adjustments. Bellarmine has never passed the "smell test". The only advantage I give Folsom in this game is what they have in the trenches. Jeffery will be the difference maker. He was the difference maker in 3 of those games. He was the only player that wasnt on the line that I was extremely impressed with. I think Bellarmine matches up with Folsoms skill positions thats just my opinion I dont think its a reach at all. Bellarmine typically runs a 3-5-3 with a soft cover 3 or man coverage. I expect Folsom to have a lot of short quick throws. Probably a lot of WR screens to suck the defense up and then go for the big play if the defense gives it to them. I think Bellarmine will need the passing game to get going to have a chance to win this game. As we have seen the pass couple of games Folsoms passing defense isnt the greatest. Like you said its great that we get to see it actually happen Friday night and Ill be excited to see either of these teams playing at state.
As far as size up front the team Bell's beat for CCS Div. I championship was Milpitas whose lines were similar in size to Folsom's. The Bell's are a not a big team physically & had smaller O/D-lines than a number of other WCAL teams. I don't think that size will be a factor in the game.
Size will matter in this game since Folsom's two top lineman are some of the best around (Full scholarship to Alabama and UC Davis). Those dudes move mountains. In my opinion, they have been one of the biggest reasons for the continued success of the team after losing 21 starters to graduation last year.
Look forward to a great game! God bless.
You know what gets me? You guys are the same Bellarmine homers that said if Milpitas was coached up no one in the CCS would beat them. I've also heard "out of all the CCS teams left Milpitas is the weakest because they're undisciplined." Well guess what, Folsom is not Milpitas!!!
I never stated that if Milpitas was coached up they would be unbeatable. Sure I believed last years team had enough talent to play in a regional game. I don't have a problem with the Milpitas coaches. The head coach is a good coach and a good guy and sends players to the next level. Milpitas this year talent wise is no match for last years team. And if you can quote me stating the other I would love to see it.
Congratulations to Bellarmine and Folsom on a GREAT year. Both teams have proven that they are the best of the best.
Folsom's offense is not going to be stopped by the Bell's defense. Bellarmine has very good QB and #51 on D is also very good. But, Folsom is the SFL Champion for a reason. Folsom wins by 2-3 touchdowns!
Folsom's offense is not going to be stopped by the Bell's defense. Bellarmine has very good QB and #51 on D is also very good. But, Folsom is the SFL Champion for a reason. Folsom wins by 2-3 touchdowns!
C'mon PGownsWhitney as with NorCal95 don;t quote me for something I never said & if so let's see the post - where are you getting that "quote"? I post the WCAL football thread yearly & Milpitas is in the De Anza league of the CCS which has 92 teams. If mentioning a team in one of several hundred posts makes me a homer then yes I am "Mr. Homer" including my repeated statement that Folsom is clearly the best team of the SFL & WCAL.
I could argue that those teams are better than Bells except Rocklin (maybe). Nobody is arguing that Folsom is beatable. They're just saying not by Bells. I'm not going to guarantee a Folsom win...but all of those schools could play a little with Folsom upfront. Bells cannot "In my opinion". Also whoever said Folsom can't wildcat out of an empty formation? You ever hear of motion? Watch how much they use formations and motion to get Bells into the look they want. Folsom could go empty backfield and 5 on 5 blocking in the trench and run all over Bells. Folsom runs off the edge a lot. Motion WR across...read the Defensive end or give the handoff or throw a quick pattern on the backside to expose the defensive back movement with motion. That's wildcat football out of empty formation. All night. I have watched a lot of Folsom football this year.
Exceptional athletes.
27, 24, 21, 2, 5, 18, 80 (or 81 - Ngata)
Literally any team would be privileged to have one of these guys. Matchup nightmares every one of them. No joke.
Great Athletes
3, 8, 6, 26
Not to mention the big Book end tackles they have on the line. One of Folsom's oL guys is a freshman and he's pretty damn good too.
I'm don't want to take anything away from Bells. Clearly a great football team and programs. Always in the running every year. I just think Folsom has been tested more this year and they have already defeated better teams. Just this spectators opinion.
I Know you did. You're usually on top of your prep game facts.
My personal favorite on this thread is when thehookup55 proclaimed that Bellarmine has better athletes at the skill positions.
I honestly thought he was completely drunk when he said this. Honestly.
I get there are homers on both sides. Believe me I get it. But cmon! Let's revisit this after Friday nights game. Can't wait!
God bless.
Pete
I honestly thought he was completely drunk when he said this. Honestly.
I get there are homers on both sides. Believe me I get it. But cmon! Let's revisit this after Friday nights game. Can't wait!
God bless.
Pete
Look fella's maybe it wasn't you two but there were a few Bellarmine homers that said this. I do apologize for my error if it wasn't. With that being said, I can't wait for this game to kick off. The banter has been fun and enjoyable but I'm sick of it now. It's time to rumble.
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It's all in good fun PG my brother. While we are friends with our WCAL bretherine, we are only enemies for one night. The banter gives us all something to do this week! Haha
God bless.
If you think Bellarmine cant beat Folsom then you are underestimating them. In your original post you mention 3 players so I was under the assumption that you were referring to the formation where they put their RB up toward the LOS. So were obviously not on the same page. If only they had a white board feature on this forum haha.
In the 4 games I have watched the only skilled position player I have been impressed with is Jeffery. Outside of him I dont look at any of those players you mentioned and question how Bellarmine is going to stop them. Listen I get it Folsom is a system they dont need one deadly target but it does help when the defense has to account for a player. That one player is Jeffery so why would they keep 5 in the box? I dont see Bellarmine going to man coverage against an empty formation and that would be the only way you get 5 in the box. They know they have to account for Jeffery running the ball. Ive had a very boring week at the office so coming on this board this week definitely has helped me kill time lol Im not even a Bellarmine fan but this is the big game this weekend since no one wants to play DLS and its been fun chatting about it. If Folsom comes out and puts a whooping on Bellarmine I am completely fine with that and I will do nothing but congratulate them.
I am a Folsom fan but think this game could turn the Bells way. They are not a conventional team, are extremely well coached and can grind the clock with the best of them. Folsom is not as dynamic as last year and I agree that there has been a drop at the skill positions. The first quarter will tell us if the bells can run on Folsom and I think they can to some degree. Folsom could lose this game if they make stupid decisions and go for it on 4th down in bad field positions or if there are some key turn overs. I think they will get frustrated if they can't march down the field and don't have the ball for large chunks of timeas the Bells work the clock and wear out Folsoms two way line. I still believe they are the better team but not by near as much as some SFL homers are saying. Bellarmine is a difficult matchup as is Folsom so we shall see.
Good points. In the CVC game, this exact thing happened to Folsom. If the Bells can replicate something like that, this game could get very interesting. If the Bells cannot run the ball like they want and control the clock, the game could get ugly.
God bless.
The banter is fun and we can all get on the same page and route against the south in another week. This game is one that that has been hoped for by many - a WCAL v SFL match up again. I think Calpreps has Folsom rightly favored by 10 or 11 last I saw. I've watched Folsom play a couple games and no doubt Williams is dominating on both sides of the ball and Richardson looks like a very goo OL. I also think 72 on defense is relly good in the middle when he sets up at NG. Lineplay will be the difference in the game in my opinion. Folsom will have the advantage but if Bells can neutralize the Folsom o-line, they will have a shot at slowing down the Folsom juggernaut. Bells also will have to do their best to contain Jeffrey. The Folsom RBs are very good, but that line can also makes lots of RBs look good. I am impressed at how Williams gets out blocking on bubble screens and seems to pancake whoever is in his path. A DB or LB has to get to point of attack early by somehow getting around him - a very tough task. The other skill and defender player I am impressed with is Stallworth, a junior, who will be playing D1 ball after next season. Good size and speed and highly skilled player.
Interestingly Folsom's coach on a CalHiSports article mentioned part of their game plan against Elk Grove was to figure out a way to not let EG get the ball deep and run time consuming long drives. So they did onside kicks a couple times instead of kicking deep. The goal on their offense was to keep the ball out of the EG offense hands and running attack and speed up the game. Folsom went on 4th down (as usual) to pressure the defense. I think Folsom will probably use a similar strategy with Bells in trying to disrupt the ball control so that the Folsom offense gets more chances and holds on more (probably will not punt and will be interesting if they don't kick deep on kickoffs...but use more squib and some onside kicks. This that follow the WCAL know that the Bells will do whatever they can to shorten the game with painstaking time consuming long drives. If the game gets out of hand, then they will open the offense up in my opinion. Janda often has the talent to run wide open offenses, but goes to the same ball control strategy.I wouldn't expect the Bells to change unless they get far behind. Bells o-line is somewhat undersized, but between line and LBs (LBs are rather big at MLB and OLB on average 6-1-6-2 and 215-225lbs) have some run plugging ability and many are athletic. DBs are not undersized for hig school, but not prototype college but they are fast. I am intrigued to see this matchup. I also think the QBs will come into play in a big way.Jeffrey is fun to watch but Bells QB Martig is extremely mobile and fast and very accurate passer as well. In any event, this widely anticipated matchup should be a fun one to watch.
Interestingly Folsom's coach on a CalHiSports article mentioned part of their game plan against Elk Grove was to figure out a way to not let EG get the ball deep and run time consuming long drives. So they did onside kicks a couple times instead of kicking deep. The goal on their offense was to keep the ball out of the EG offense hands and running attack and speed up the game. Folsom went on 4th down (as usual) to pressure the defense. I think Folsom will probably use a similar strategy with Bells in trying to disrupt the ball control so that the Folsom offense gets more chances and holds on more (probably will not punt and will be interesting if they don't kick deep on kickoffs...but use more squib and some onside kicks. This that follow the WCAL know that the Bells will do whatever they can to shorten the game with painstaking time consuming long drives. If the game gets out of hand, then they will open the offense up in my opinion. Janda often has the talent to run wide open offenses, but goes to the same ball control strategy.I wouldn't expect the Bells to change unless they get far behind. Bells o-line is somewhat undersized, but between line and LBs (LBs are rather big at MLB and OLB on average 6-1-6-2 and 215-225lbs) have some run plugging ability and many are athletic. DBs are not undersized for hig school, but not prototype college but they are fast. I am intrigued to see this matchup. I also think the QBs will come into play in a big way.Jeffrey is fun to watch but Bells QB Martig is extremely mobile and fast and very accurate passer as well. In any event, this widely anticipated matchup should be a fun one to watch.
I don't believe that you've been paying close attention if you believe that? Of the starting 5 OL, none have been starting on the DL. Jonah has played some series on the DL, but sparingly at best. If you have seen the last 2 play-off games, Folsom hasn't started any lineman on both sides of the ball and using a rotation of about 7 different guys with their hand on the ground defensively. I think it has been a factor in recent games as other teams are playing alot of L on both sides and our lineman are still fresh in the 4th qtr. Of the top 5 tklers on the team, only 1 plays both ways.
Yesterday I had some time to kill and so watched the entire Folsom-St. Mary's game on NFHS which was a highly entertaining game. It was interesting how St. Mary's big play offense got ahead in the first 1/2 yet Folsom slowly & simply wore them down in the 2nd 1/2.
I will say the thing that most impressed me about Folsom is their offensive line which will be a big challenge for Bellarmine. Folsom's O-line is big & formidable and did not see St. Mary's being able to pressure Folsom's QB much. The 2 biggest O-lines Bell's have faced were Milpitas and Valley Christian. Of the 3 teams [Folsom, Milpitas & VC] Valley Christian has the largest lines and Folsom is more in line with Milpitas.
The difference is Milpitas & VC are both primarily running teams while Folsom passes much more than the WCAL teams are used to seeing. Looking at stats Folsom averages 25 pass attempts per game whereas Bellarmine averages about 6-8 pass attempts per game - 2 very different styles of offense.
I will say the thing that most impressed me about Folsom is their offensive line which will be a big challenge for Bellarmine. Folsom's O-line is big & formidable and did not see St. Mary's being able to pressure Folsom's QB much. The 2 biggest O-lines Bell's have faced were Milpitas and Valley Christian. Of the 3 teams [Folsom, Milpitas & VC] Valley Christian has the largest lines and Folsom is more in line with Milpitas.
The difference is Milpitas & VC are both primarily running teams while Folsom passes much more than the WCAL teams are used to seeing. Looking at stats Folsom averages 25 pass attempts per game whereas Bellarmine averages about 6-8 pass attempts per game - 2 very different styles of offense.
I think you hit the nail on the head with this assessment. This game will be won in the trenches. It has been a similar recipe all year for Folsom. Opposing team hangs around, and eventually the Folsom lineman wear the other team down until it is over. Despite throwing the ball more than the Bells, you won't see a ton of long throws down the field. You will see many more quick timing throws that go for big gains. They also run the ball very effectively. Next thing you know, Jeffrey throws a 60 yard pass and the defender is still playing the bubble screen. Game time.
It should be great! Look forward to it.
God bless.
Not many people like to hate on Folsom much more than me, but Folsom is going to take this 35-21. Folsom is better now than they were early season and the Bellarmine offense isn't going to score at will against Folsom's D. Folsom's offense will put up numbers close to what they have been putting up all season against good teams 28-35.
For the season Folsom averages 43 on offense while Bell's avg 32 [Folsom +11] On D Folsom gives up 18 while Bell's allow 14 [Folsom -4].
SO the projection is Folsom by +9 while the spread looks to be slightly under that at 7 - unless of course you give Folsom a +2 for home field advantage = 9.
SO the projection is Folsom by +9 while the spread looks to be slightly under that at 7 - unless of course you give Folsom a +2 for home field advantage = 9.
Home advantage will be 2 or 3. I really don't know how that blue field works out for a team that has never played on it. Maybe someone has some insight here. So maybe - possibly - the blue field adds a couple points for Folsom.
The practice of going for it on the 4th down is statistically an advantage for high school teams. That practice is already worked into Folsom's outcome record. But statistically, 4th downs gives offenses about a 30% advantage over the same teams practicing 3rd and out. I'm not sure how to quantify the risks of 4th down plays but it has something to do with yardage faults given to the opposing team. Typically, I would guess a 40-50 yard risk depending of the punting team average.
I don't think the blue turf makes much of a difference normally. I think it will benefit both teams tomorrow night since it will be cold and wet...which should be much nicer on turf than natural grass (mud, drainage, etc...). It may be something to get used to for the Bells at first, but I have no doubt they will adapt quick. Excited for this clash!
Anyone driving up? They are having a theater performance, a basketball tournament, AND the football game tomorrow night. Good luck to all with parking and sanity.
God bless.
Out of curiosity I just watched Milpitas v Bells. simply to see Milpitas o line. Nowhere near the caliber of Folsom. Big fat slow guys. Breathing hard in the 1st drive. This will be the factor in both sides of the ball. Bells wants to play in the trenches and that's where Folsom has the huge edge here IMO. Bells also has some DBs that will struggle to cover some of folsoms route combinations. I will give bells this...they run the that offense well. I don't think it's a wise offense to live on but again just my opinion. Folsom is pretty good in the box on D. They have the SFL MVP Defensive player at LB. I just don't see it. Folsom plays hard and fast. They will wear you out... a tough team to play 4qtrs with. I don't see a blowout in either direction but history shows Folsom will outlast most of their opponents physically and schematically. Remember #27 #24 #21 #5 #2 for those who think Folsom lacks in skill positions. don't believe me just watch. Folsom pulls away in the 2nd half.
Thaaank you! Folsom has serious skill positions. Maybe not the 8 D1 recruits they had last year but matchup nightmares across the whole LOS and backfield. No joke.
Militias o line doesn't hold a candle to Folsom. Jonah Williams runs a 4.8 40yd and has been franchised by Alabama. You could average him out alone and the average Folsom lineman is better. Lol. Jonah, #79 and #54 are all great linemen. I think Folsom center left the game last week with a leg injury and didn't return. That may play a factor if Bells had a great d line. But they don't... They are fast and they do blitz a lot. Could be interesting. Exciting at least.
This year's Milpitas line is young and last years team was much better. Milpitas does have a 6-8 300 freshman (wouldn't call that fat) who will most likely be a highly recruited College prospect like his brother.
No true. Teams play 5 in the box v simple spread all the time. Even with a back in the Backfield. And like I said. Folsom will wildcat you out of Empty all night. It's called fly motion. Ever see a team fake he fly sweep out of empty and zone read a def end? Well you're about to on Friday. Even with - back its 6 on 6 and Bells will have trouble keeping the avg run under 5 yards.
Why not. It's a high school football game and Folsom isn't DLS - not close. Not even on the line.
