As of this current time of the season, I will admit Folsom has a better team than St. Mary's of Stockton. But, there is a reason this is the case and it was exposed in it's loss to Central Catholic and the recent games played against Cardinal Newman and Cosumnes Oaks ... the St. Mary's Rams do NOT have an elite QB it had the last 2 seasons and an elite QB they had to start this season. Had the up and coming stud sophomore Noah May not gotten injured in their game vs Serra in the 3rd quarter, the Rams offense would be as balanced as the last 2 seasons, but maybe not as much as last season. Yet, they would have "still" been better than Folsom, and it wouldn't even be close, just like last year when the Rams beat up the Bulldogs from Folsom pretty bad. Go even a season back and the Rams nearly pulled off the upset with a much younger team. Had the Rams TD been called a TD instead of a fumble at the Folsom 1 yard line, it would have been a different game. That play changed the momentum and lit a fire for the Bulldogs to march down the field and take control of the game. Both teams were unstoppable that season. But, just when the Rams were about to put the game away, the wheels fell off the bus and Folsom made some great plays down the stretch to win it. Hats off.
As far as exposure. Yes, the Rams without Noah May are certainly exposed "right now" to be a one-dimensional team on offense. Just stop Frampton and the running game, and you stop the Rams. Mater Dei should have no problem with that this Saturday. No team, yet, has rushed more than 80 yards vs the Monarchs, including Bishop Gorman, who annihilated DLS last week. Last year, when St. Mary's played SJB, the game was close in the beginning. In fact, the Rams had the lead, made the early stop and the Rams stud RB, Dusty Frampton, could not be stopped by SJB with huge runs coming out of the backfield. As soon as he got hurt, the wheels fell off the bus, as the Rams became exposed to being a one-dimensional team in "having to" throw the ball. SJB took advantage, got a couple of picks, a blocked punt, and next thing you know, it's a blowout. Likewise, St. Mary's was in cruise control when they played Cathedral Catholic in the state championship last year. They were winning big and it could have been even a bigger margin, until Frampton went down and once again, the Rams were left to being a one-dimensional team throwing the ball. Still, they came back from briefly falling behind and still had a chance to win in OT. However, NO Frampton meant no running game, and the Rams struggled to score in OT, yet were able to stop Cathedral, as well. But, they were on the short end of the stick when it came to the coin flip as to who was on offense first, and Cathedral kicks the FG and wins.
One-dimension offense only gets you so far. Sure, there are exceptions like DLS and other teams who focus solely on the ground game. And that's fine when indeed it is your focus and you perfect it. But, if you have a designed balanced offense and then remove one side of it, it is not as easy to win against "good" teams, especially when you have a ton of turnovers. Had Noah May gone out earlier in their game vs Serra, I honestly believe it would have been a closer game. The Rams have a ton of potential in their speedy WR's. But, if you can't get them the ball, it means diddly squat! The Rams still have a very good defense, too. Folsom may be better at this very moment. But, if the Rams can some how find balance in their offense and Aponte can pass the ball better than he currently is (and there is hope), come playoffs, I wouldn't necessarily say the other teams in the SJS playoffs are going to be better than St. Mary's. Folsom struggled with Sacramento "again". Why? Match-ups, athletes vs athletes. The Rams still have athletes, especially on defense. Right now, Folsom is better suited to utilize their athletes, while St. Mary's is transitioning to finding a new offense without Noah May. Just imagine what Folsom would have been like if it didn't have Jake Browning or anyone else in the wings to back him up. Because St. Mary's is a private school with a much smaller enrollment, if a key player goes down, it doesn't necessarily mean there is much depth to cover. Same could be said for Central Catholic. Take away their stud RB Booker, and they would not be the same team. I believe Manteca has the balanced offense it needs to beat Central Catholic this week, and I might just pick Manteca over Central Catholic for that reason. Why did Manteca beat St. Francis? Did St. Francis throw the ball? Does Central Catholic throw the ball?
St. Mary's is not exposed specifically by SJB or Mater Dei. They haven't even played Mater Dei. They are exposed by themselves in an effort to try and fill a void. Plain and simple. Not saying had Noah May been healthy they would compete with Mater Dei this year. But, I will say I would not expect it to be as much a blow out as it is going to be without him. The Rams would definitely have a better chance. Frampton is good, very good. He does not have the same line he had last year, but the line is still solid. They are not as big and not as strong, but they do enough to open the holes for him to get his yards. However, it will be a total mismatch vs Mater Dei. Frampton will be lucky to get 50 yards total in this game. However, even against Central Catholic, Frampton was averaging nearly 10 yards a carry with only a dozen or so carries. Having lost May, the Rams were trying to immerse Aponte at QB throwing the ball, since they did not do as much against Cardinal Newman. Obviously, he wasn't quite ready and the continued turnovers did not help. I don't see the Rams going gung ho trying to throw against Mater Dei, either. They certainly did not put up big yards via the air vs Cosumnes Oaks. But, I do anticipate they will try more during league play when the competition is not expected to be as strong to get more passing play experience for Aponte. We'll see. Right now, I think they may be focusing in trying to strengthen their running game and stick to it, since it works.
St. Mary's has always been a consistent power in football. It has had its down years (like any school), but always makes the playoffs even in its down years. Just look at their overall record for the last 10-15 years. And it's not just football. Historically, the Rams have had a very good boys basketball program and recently a very strong baseball program, too. But, they are probably most notable for their girls basketball program which has more state championships than Folsom has combined in all of their sports programs and the Lady Rams have been a national powerhouse (not just state). This year is not expected to be any different for the Lady Rams who have one of the best if not the best post players in the country (recently helped the USA girls under 18 3-on-3 basketball team win GOLD in China), in 6'2" Aquira Decosta. I bet anyone she would beat TheFolsomBulldog in a game of 1-on-1 and it wouldn't even be close. LOL!
Happy with my "lengthy" response? LOL!
