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Football Scoreboard - December 6/7

Terrible decision with so much time left. The downside of not converting is too steep. And we saw exactly that by how much pressure was on Folsom once they forced the punt down 1.

If you just kick the damned XP that last Folsom drive has a completely different level of pressure to it. If there was under :30 seconds remaining in the game — the decision is much more understandable. Because outcome essentially comes down to that single play.

But scoring a 2 pt play with 2 minutes remaining causes your opponent to play aggressively on their next possession with plenty of time to get into scoring position. Meanwhile, not converting gives your opponent a huge advantage.

I’ve said it many times now, but practically every time Folsom faces an opponent that has comparable talent their coaching staff gets exposed. Doherty and his staff took over a ready-made program. They didn’t build it.

And you can see why they couldn’t build it up themselves in outcomes like tonight and in their loss to Serra-SM earlier in the season.

IMO, Folsom has a better all-around team than both Serra-SM and Pittsburg. They lost both games due to poor in-game coaching decisions.

IIRC, they went for 4th down inside their own 10 yard line (maybe inside their own 5) against Serra-SM handing them an easy score in a game ultimately decided by 1 point.

And tonight, let’s forget that they were up 21-0 early and all the mistakes that allowed Pitt to stay in the game, the wanton hubris to go for 2 with over 2 full minutes remaining did them in again.

I’ll also call out Ryder Lyons insistence on trying to play Superman far too much and overextending plays that result in huge negative losses. That $#/t works against vastly inferior opponents, but not against fast, disciplined defenses. That’s something he’s gonna get a crash course in once he gets to the next level.

Circling back to Folsom’s coaches, it’s as if they don’t know what to do offensively if it doesn’t involve Ryder Lyons legs. We’ve seen that multiple times now against DLS, Serra and now Pittsburg. The kid is no doubt very talented and good, but there are limitations to putting all your eggs into that proverbial basket.

Congrats to Pitt for the huge “W” tonight! They were ready for what Folsom had to throw at them and battled back from a huge early deficit that would have caused most teams to tap out. Their defense was flying all over the field and making big time plays. I really hope they find a way to bring home the title next week.
Agree with most of this, but Pitt made a lot of mistakes too, especially early on. Both teams had turnovers. That inexplicable punt that Pitt didn’t down and suddenly the Folsom return man picked up for a huge return was a big play( great heads up by the Folsom kid) , fumbles both ways. Great game. Lyons performance was a little disappointing, but Pitt remembered what he did to them last year, and did a great job holding the edges most of the game, keeping his running in check. Biggest difference from last year’s game , and kept Pitt in it
 
Agree with most of this, but Pitt made a lot of mistakes too, especially early on. Both teams had turnovers. That inexplicable punt that Pitt didn’t down and suddenly the Folsom return man picked up for a huge return was a big play( great heads up by the Folsom kid) , fumbles both ways. Great game. Lyons performance was a little disappointing, but Pitt remembered what he did to them last year, and did a great job holding the edges most of the game, keeping his running in check. Biggest difference from last year’s game , and kept Pitt in it
Honestly, I thought Pitt had better players all over the field with exception of Sharma. I think they play 10x and Pitt wins 7+ of those games. They got down 21! Once pitt figured them out they controlled the game.

Lyons was more than disappointing. He is always the best athlete playing in the SFL but this isn't Del Oro. Guys like Calhoun are faster and stronger and this is what he will be facing at the next level. He has a lot to work on and it was exposed big time. Right now to me he is a great athlete first and pocket passer a distant second. He needs to narrow that gap next year.
 
I thought the teams were evenly matched, but Pitt had better athletes and did a much better job of putting them in positions to make big plays. Pitt's defense deserves high praise for effectively limiting Folsom's quarterback's running game, which had been a key part of their offense.

Regarding Folsom, in a closely contested game like this, I would have opted to kick the extra point (XP) to potentially extend the game into overtime. Not doing so seemed to shift the momentum in Pitt's favor. Additionally, I wonder if Folsom shot themselves in the foot by not showcasing their Nevada-committed running back.

He was clearly their best runner, which was evident during moments in the Pitt game. He broke off a couple of impressive runs, and it appeared the middle of the field was open all game as Pitt focused heavily on containing the outside and covering the receivers.

In a game of this magnitude, I would have leaned heavily on the running back and the USC-committed tight end, similar to how Pitt showcased their receiver. Doing so would have diversified Folsom's offense and opened up more opportunities for their superstar quarterback to make plays with his arm and feet!
 
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I thought the teams were evenly matched, but Pitt had better athletes and did a much better job of putting them in positions to make big plays. Pitt's defense deserves high praise for effectively limiting Folsom's quarterback's running game, which had been a key part of their offense.

Regarding Folsom, in a closely contested game like this, I would have opted to kick the extra point (XP) to potentially extend the game into overtime. Not doing so seemed to shift the momentum in Pitt's favor. Additionally, I wonder if Folsom shot themselves in the foot by not showcasing their Nevada-committed running back.Also agree about using that TE they had to help diversify the offense

He was clearly their best runner, which was evident during moments in the Pitt game. He broke off a couple of impressive runs, and it appeared the middle of the field was open all game as Pitt focused heavily on containing the outside and covering the receivers.

In a game of this magnitude, I would have leaned heavily on the running back and the USC-committed tight end, similar to how Pitt showcased their receiver. Doing so would have diversified Folsom's offense and opened up more opportunities for their superstar quarterback to make plays with his arm and feet!
Good point about that RB, he seemed effective every time he touched the ball. Amazing they didn’t go to him more. Folsom also had a huge size advantage in the interior of their OL. Instead, running plays sideline to sideline played into the strength of Pitt’s team speed.
 
You think that the school that protested the NorCal Open is not "happy"? Many believe that they were the program that was instrumental in getting rid of it.

Is it possible that you are not happy with their success? From all accounts, they are clearly happy with their success.

Have you ever been to two exit, Folsom? Lol

They've established themselves as the premier team in the SJS and they have all but decimated the SFL. Didn't they just win a state championship last year?

Sure they haven't made an Open. But only two schools in NorCal have won the Open. It's one thing to make it to the Open. It's a whole different animal to compete and actually win.

I'm not sure about 20 D1 recruits. I'll leave that to the recruiting experts.
No NorCal school has won against the current incarnation of SoCal's best, Mater Dei and St. John Bosco with its So-Cal-wide recruiting, bleeding at times into NorCal. It's a different beast than Palo Alto and DLS faced years ago.
 
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No NorCal school has won against the current incarnation of SoCal's best, Mater Dei and St. John Bosco with its So-Cal-wide recruiting, bleeding at times into NorCal. It's a different beast than Palo Alto and DLS faced years ago.
I agree. But only two NorCal schools have won the Open. Grant and DLS.
 
Honestly, I thought Pitt had better players all over the field with exception of Sharma. I think they play 10x and Pitt wins 7+ of those games. They got down 21! Once pitt figured them out they controlled the game.

Lyons was more than disappointing. He is always the best athlete playing in the SFL but this isn't Del Oro. Guys like Calhoun are faster and stronger and this is what he will be facing at the next level. He has a lot to work on and it was exposed big time. Right now to me he is a great athlete first and pocket passer a distant second. He needs to narrow that gap next year.
Agree with your Take on Lyons, Definitely got exposed by Serra and PITT…. Seems like he is more of a runner and he struggles against better teams, especially that are physical and have speed….

DLS contained him and beat Folsom with him at QB the year Before as well….
 
I thought the teams were evenly matched, but Pitt had better athletes and did a much better job of putting them in positions to make big plays. Pitt's defense deserves high praise for effectively limiting Folsom's quarterback's running game, which had been a key part of their offense.

Regarding Folsom, in a closely contested game like this, I would have opted to kick the extra point (XP) to potentially extend the game into overtime. Not doing so seemed to shift the momentum in Pitt's favor. Additionally, I wonder if Folsom shot themselves in the foot by not showcasing their Nevada-committed running back.

He was clearly their best runner, which was evident during moments in the Pitt game. He broke off a couple of impressive runs, and it appeared the middle of the field was open all game as Pitt focused heavily on containing the outside and covering the receivers.

In a game of this magnitude, I would have leaned heavily on the running back and the USC-committed tight end, similar to how Pitt showcased their receiver. Doing so would have diversified Folsom's offense and opened up more opportunities for their superstar quarterback to make plays with his arm and feet!
Totally agree with your take on why didn’t Folsom run more up the middle?…. They seemed to have a huge size advantage on the line….

And if you watched DLS vs PITT which I assume Folsom Did, they would have seen that DLS gained almost all their yards in the interior and their runners could get to the second level on PITT and broke some big runs that way….

PITT had too much speed on the edges and DLS couldn’t do anything there…. More of the RB and less of Lyons maybe wins the game for Folsom…. PITT seemed determined not to let Lyons beat them….
 
Totally agree with your take on why didn’t Folsom run more up the middle?…. They seemed to have a huge size advantage on the line….

And if you watched DLS vs PITT which I assume Folsom Did, they would have seen that DLS gained almost all their yards in the interior and their runners could get to the second level on PITT and broke some big runs that way….

PITT had too much speed on the edges and DLS couldn’t do anything there…. More of the RB and less of Lyons maybe wins the game for Folsom…. PITT seemed determined not to let Lyons beat them….
Indeed! Pitt had too much speed on the edge..And would not let the QB beat them!

I was baffled that Folsom didn't rely on their RB and O line! He was running well out of the backfield and special teams!

Underutilizing him may have been why they also struggled with Serra. Looks like he only had 4 carries that game.

Most teams don't have the luxury of having a D1 (FBS) RB.
 
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On a scale of 1 to 10—1 being ‘I’m calm, I got a cup of chamomile tea in my hand,’ and 10 being ‘I just flipped over a coffee table and cussed out my goldfish’—how angry does Folsom High School’s schedule really make you?
The only thing, concerning High School football, that I would ever be angry with is if coaches are beating or molesting players. That being said I was just expressing my opinion about Folsom cupcake approach to scheduling and need to be taken seriously.
 
I’m late to the party but wanted to talk about a couple of the games as I watched both in entirety on NFHS…

Folsom-Pitt —- I’ve seen many commenting how Lyons was trying to do too much and how none of the receivers could get open due to pitts superior athletes. I haven’t seen anyone talk about Folsoms top WR Jameson Powell (2026 4 star) playing injured. He missed the oak ridge game and couldn’t make any separation against Pitt. This would help explain why Lyons was scrambling so much. Congrats to Pitt. They are so much better with the new coaching staff.

Grant-SF — Pacers have steadily improved since the start of the season. You can tell how much that tough preseason schedule has helped them, especially in close games, unlike Folsom. Grant has some really good play makers and they are a young team. Future likes bright for Grant.
 
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but Pitt remembered what he did to them last year, and did a great job holding the edges most of the game, keeping his running in check. Biggest difference from last year’s game , and kept Pitt in it

They did a phenomenal job IMO. Arguably the best containment and disruption of Lyons I've seen yet. He's not easy to corral, and typically toys with defenses -- even fast ones.
 
They did a phenomenal job IMO. Arguably the best containment and disruption of Lyons I've seen yet. He's not easy to corral, and typically toys with defenses -- even fast ones.
Pitt took an example from the Serra defensive off that has neutralized the Folsom offense as good as any team the past two years. They also played against the 4 star WR. Pitts team speed and physicality took its toll on Folsom and also Pitt reduced its mistakes. Folsom overall is a better team.
 
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Grant athleticism and physicality hurt the Lancers but also Lancers made mistakes. That was a great game against two evenly matched teams. Grant made the plays at the end. Grant also has to reduce its penalties. That really hurt them throughout the game. May not have been as close.
 
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Folsom overall is a better team.
I don’t know about this…. What exactly makes Folsom a Better team than PITT?….

PITT dominated Folsom for the last 3 quarters…. They teams played twice the last 2 years and the difference in the games was 4 points…. PITT looked like the better team Friday Night…. 🤣
 
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They did a phenomenal job IMO. Arguably the best containment and disruption of Lyons I've seen yet. He's not easy to corral, and typically toys with defenses -- even fast ones.
I would put Lyons more in the Kayden Bennett level…. Great against overmatched teams, Not so Great against good teams….

Lyons is 0-3 vs DLS & Serra….
182 Avg Passing Yards
3 Passing TD’s, 2 Rushing TD’s
2 INT’s, Sacked 7 Times

Against SSD3 ST Bonnie’s he had 145 Passing yards, I Passing TD and 1 Rushing TD….

In 2 games against PITT he was sacked 10 times and turned the ball over Twice…. Didn’t Crack 200 yards passing in either game BUT he did have an incredible 3 Passing TD’s and 5 Rushing TD’s…. His record is 1-1….

So in 6 games against the best Competition he has played he looks like this….

5 Games Under 200 yards Passing (228)
4 Turnovers
17 Times Sacked
7 Passing TD’s
8 Rushing TD’s
2-4 Record Against these teams.

I think 15 TD’s in 6 games is pretty great but his team lost 4 of them and 8 of those came against PITT…. The other 4 games he had a Combined 7 TD’s…. He just doesn’t get other players involved, he just runs, and teams with Speed sack him, ST Bonnie’s didn’t post stats for their game so their could have been more Sacks….

He definitely looks the part, But so did Bennett…. And once again, He lost to a 6 loss Serra team…. #2 Recruit in the Country seems pretty high for him….
 
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I would put Lyons more in the Kayden Bennett level…. Great against overmatched teams, Not so Great against good teams….

Lyons is 0-3 vs DLS & Serra….
182 Avg Passing Yards
3 Passing TD’s, 2 Rushing TD’s
2 INT’s, Sacked 7 Times

Against SSD3 ST Bonnie’s he had 145 Passing yards, I Passing TD and 1 Rushing TD….

In 2 games against PITT he was sacked 10 times and turned the ball over Twice…. Didn’t Crack 200 yards passing in either game BUT he did have an incredible 3 Passing TD’s and 5 Rushing TD’s…. His record is 1-1….

So in 6 games against the best Competition he has played he looks like this….

5 Games Under 200 yards Passing (228)
4 Turnovers
17 Times Sacked
7 Passing TD’s
8 Rushing TD’s
2-4 Record Against these teams.

I think 15 TD’s in 6 games is pretty great but his team lost 4 of them and 8 of those came against PITT…. The other 4 games he had a Combined 7 TD’s…. He just doesn’t get other players involved, he just runs, and teams with Speed sack him, ST Bonnie’s didn’t post stats for their game so their could have been more Sacks….

He definitely looks the part, But so did Bennett…. And once again, He lost to a 6 loss Serra team…. #2 Recruit in the Country seems pretty high for him….

Eh, Lyons is way better than Kaiden Bennett. Gotta remember, he's only a Junior, too.

I'd focus more blame on Folsom's coaching decision making and lack of adjustments against good teams.

This is the ultimate "team" game, not an individual sport. The team record doesn't reflect upon one player.

By that logic, most every QB the De La Salle Spartans have had over the past 32 years were better than elite level talents like Lyons because their team record for the longest time was stellar if not perfect.
 
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By that logic, most every QB the De La Salle Spartans have had over the past 32 years were better than elite level talents like Lyons because their team record for the longest time was stellar if not perfect.
Not at all…. Lyons is the #2 recruit in the country or something, he should be Dominating SSD3 teams and a 6 loss Serra team….

DLS has Never had a QB with that type of Rrcruiting…. Maybe only Matt Gutierrez and He dominated against the Beat teams they played who were all equally or more talented than DLS (MD and LBP)….

The Good News for Lyons is I am far from a Recruiter so He will be just fine…. 🤣
 
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Not at all…. Lyons is the #2 recruit in the country or something, he should be Dominating SSD3 teams and a 6 loss Serra team….

Let's stop pretending Serra and Pitt don't have good or great defenses. Because they do. They are coached up very very well.

Furthermore, let's also not pretend to understand that Folsom only lost to both teams by a single point. Games in which the Folsom coaching staff made decisions to go for 4th down inside their own 10 yard line (against Serra) then went for 2 with over 2 minutes remaining (Pitt) among many other questionable decisions/calls throughout the game that helped decide those games.

None of that is on Ryder Lyons. With better coaching and decision making, Folsom could easily be 15-0 right now and in a State Bowl game. With a Junior QB.

As for slighting Lyons for the St. Bonaventure game the season before, again, see the above. And also recognize that the kid was a freaking Sophomore.

I realize that you have a natural inclination to dislike or root against Folsom, I get it. But let's not go crazy here. The kid is a phenomenal young QB prospect and a couple of close losses largely due to an over-matched coaching staff do not diminish or change that.

Is he perfect? Of course not! I even detailed some tendencies that get him into trouble against good, fast, and disciplined defenses. But that's all part of the learning curve for talents like him. His coaching staff needs to be better in calling plays that don't always rely upon his legs or Houdini act. They have a ton of talent and could do a better job of spreading the wealth and keeping defenses off balance and not so solely focused on stopping #3.
 
Lyons needs to spend time in the lab in the offseason. He was unwilling to stay in the pocket whenever he saw a heavy rush and took off way too early. As the announcers stated he had happy feet which led to inaccurate throws or took off running sustaining some brutal hits and fumbles. He's a phenomenal QB prospect, but needs to work on his technique.
 
Let's stop pretending Serra and Pitt don't have good or great defenses. Because they do. They are coached up very very well.

Furthermore, let's also not pretend to understand that Folsom only lost to both teams by a single point. Games in which the Folsom coaching staff made decisions to go for 4th down inside their own 10 yard line (against Serra) then went for 2 with over 2 minutes remaining (Pitt) among many other questionable decisions/calls throughout the game that helped decide those games.

None of that is on Ryder Lyons. With better coaching and decision making, Folsom could easily be 15-0 right now and in a State Bowl game. With a Junior QB.

As for slighting Lyons for the St. Bonaventure game the season before, again, see the above. And also recognize that the kid was a freaking Sophomore.

I realize that you have a natural inclination to dislike or root against Folsom, I get it. But let's not go crazy here. The kid is a phenomenal young QB prospect and a couple of close losses largely due to an over-matched coaching staff do not diminish or change that.

Is he perfect? Of course not! I even detailed some tendencies that get him into trouble against good, fast, and disciplined defenses. But that's all part of the learning curve for talents like him. His coaching staff needs to be better in calling plays that don't always rely upon his legs or Houdini act. They have a ton of talent and could do a better job of spreading the wealth and keeping defenses off balance and not so solely focused on stopping #3.
Lyons is a great athlete for sure buuuttt he is a "SUPER EIGHT" kid. By that I mean he did 8th grade twice and not bc of grades (4.0) kid...The lineman for Folsom is also a 'super eight" kid.....must be the water in ElDorado Hills?
 
Let's stop pretending Serra and Pitt don't have good or great defenses. Because they do.
Are you sure about this?….. Serra got Boatraced by DLS and SJB giving up 39 and 56 points…. With all that D1 Talent Folsom has including the #2 QB in the country, they should have won by 3 TD’s like less talents DLS did…. Serra lost 6 games this year….

PITT is definitely better but gave up 42 points to Riordan, but Lyons has played well against PITT they just sack him a lot, 10 times in 2 games, but he has 8TD’s in those 2 games which is pretty awesome….

I am sorry, but just not that impressed with him…. He looks like just another Folsom QB who runs up Stats against the Bad Schedule Folsom plays year in and year out and when Folsom plays the top teams, his stats go way down and Folsom loses….. Hence his 0-3 record vs Serra and DLS…..
 
Are you sure about this?….. Serra got Boatraced by DLS and SJB giving up 39 and 56 points…. With all that D1 Talent Folsom has including the #2 QB in the country, they should have won by 3 TD’s like less talents DLS did…. Serra lost 6 games this year….

PITT is definitely better but gave up 42 points to Riordan, but Lyons has played well against PITT they just sack him a lot, 10 times in 2 games, but he has 8TD’s in those 2 games which is pretty awesome….

I am sorry, but just not that impressed with him…. He looks like just another Folsom QB who runs up Stats against the Bad Schedule Folsom plays year in and year out and when Folsom plays the top teams, his stats go way down and Folsom loses….. Hence his 0-3 record vs Serra and DLS…..

Yes, I’m sure. And so are you.

I never said “elite”. They are at least good, and I’d argue that Pitt is better than that. You know enough to know that they are.

Secondly, citing the points Serra surrendered to the Megalopolis All-Star team is silly. And while DLS isn’t at that level they’re still 12-0. So stop feigning ignorance and pretending as if Serra and Pitt’s defenses are like Mira Loma or Encina or something. They have better defenses than any team in the SFL this season.

You keep reaching for reasons to slight the kid, which is quite sad honestly. There’s good reason why he’s a 4, borderline 5 star recruit and was offered by practically every elite level program prior to his senior year.

It’s not their eyes that are bad, it’s yours. If you seriously believe there’s any comparison to Kaiden Bennett, you either haven’t seen enough of the kid or you are just poor at evaluating talent.

Bennett never had anywhere near the recruiting attention and ended up at Boise before having to transfer to UNR then Sac State because he wasn’t good enough to play at those places.

Ryder Lyons like most young players has a lot to work on, but he isn’t likely to end up downgrading to an FCS program in order to play. And even Bennett wasn’t good enough to star at Sac State. He sat behind Jake Dunniway and Asher O’Hara until they graduated and lost out to grad transfer Carson Camp in 2023 then a red shirt freshman in Carson Conklin this past season.

There’s no comparison.
 
Lyons is a great athlete for sure buuuttt he is a "SUPER EIGHT" kid. By that I mean he did 8th grade twice and not bc of grades (4.0) kid...The lineman for Folsom is also a 'super eight" kid.....must be the water in ElDorado Hills?
Yeah lets stop calling these guys underclassmen. They are 19 and damn near 20 year old seniors.
They've all been held back at Marble Valley which is you guessed it..... run by the mormon church! The same church that runs EDH and Lyons. Its a cesspool up there. Lyons clan cares about clicks and NIL. They are marketing machines. Pretty soon a picture you take with him will be a fee. You think I'm kidding. Just watch. I'm not all sold he will materialize into anything at the next level. He's a much better version of Justin Lamson who was an athlete first and qb 2nd,.
 
Whether he’s up to the hype or not, cut the kid some slack as that’s what he is, a kid. He’s a junior in HS and talented but really not worthy of some of the criticisms here.

Enjoy watching him play and dislike Folsom all you’d like but keep it in perspective. If he ever plays on Sunday have at it, but until then the most you will pay to watch him is a $10 or $12 dollar ticket.
 
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Grant athleticism and physicality hurt the Lancers but also Lancers made mistakes. That was a great game against two evenly matched teams. Grant made the plays at the end. Grant also has to reduce its penalties. That really hurt them throughout the game. May not have been as close.
I felt St. Francis was just as physical, maybe more. Close game that could have gone either way. Congrats to Grant keeping their composure on that final drive.
 
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