Bulldogs lose heartbreaker to Serra, 22-21

Folsom High's football team desperately wanted to beat Serra Friday night to get a leg up in the quest for the northern California open division state bowl bid, but it wasn't their time. Just like it took five games to finally get a win over De La Salle, the Serra Padres defeated the Bulldogs for the third straight season on Friday, 22-21. The Padres did it in spectacular fashion to, as they trailed the Bulldogs 21-13 at halftime. In the fourth quarter, the Padres drove 73 yards to score a touchdown with 2:37 to play in the fourth quarter, but missed the two-point conversion to tie the game. However, Folsom's celebration was short-lived, as Serra recovered onside kick that was kicked right into the Folsom line but no one could corral the hard-hit ball. Serra than meticulously ran the ball down the field where Folsom eventually stopped them at the 20-yard line, but that wasn't nearly good enough, as Brody Smith's 38-yard field goal probably would have been from 48 yards, as the kick gave the Padres a one-point lead, 23-22. Folsom had a decent shot even with 10 seconds to play as they got the ball at the Serra 45-yard line because of a 15-yard penalty on the kickoff. A 14-yard pass from Ryder Lyons to Daymion Rivera brought the ball to the 31-yard line with time for one more play, but Lyons' pass to Nela Tupou in the end zone hit his hands but the ball was knocked away by a defender and the game was over. For the second consecutive game against the Padres, the Bulldogs got off to a horrible start, as they fell behind the Padres 21-0 a season ago. Tonight the Bulldogs looked nervous going into the game, as Folsom's third play from scrimmage was an interception thrown by Lyons. The Folsom defense then gave up a 73-yard run on draw play that led to a Padres' touchdown. Then Lyons, facing a fourth-and-28 from inside his own five-yard-line, ran with it instead of punting it and came up well short. Three plays later, Serra had a 13-0 lead. Folsom then calmed down a bit, as Lyons led the team down the field, primarily with his legs, capping off an 80-yard drive with a 24-yard touchdown run. After Serra fumbled the ensuing kickoff, Folsom scored quickly when Lyons found a wide open Jameson Powell in the end zone for a 16-yard score, which put Folsom up 14-13. Serra then missed a 37-yard field goal hit toward the south goal post, wide left, setting up one final Bulldog drive in the first half. Folsom had a first-and-10 at the 15-yard line for one final play and a chance to score. Lyons dropped back to pass, and as he so often does, initially found no one to throw to and began to scramble. He eventually was about to be brought down before he pitched the ball to guard Luke Sorensen. "I didn't know what to do," Sorensen said. "I thought this was my big chance to make a play and score, but then when guys started piling on me I saw Daymion out of the corner of my eye and pitched it to him." Rivera wasn't sure what to do with it either. "It was a pass play so I started off blocking for Ryder," Rivera said. "Then when I saw him pitch it to Luke I tried to get behind Luke. When I got the ball, I saw Jamo and was going to throw it to him and then I heard someone just yell 'go' and I ran to the left and it was wide open for a touchdown." That play to end the half put Folsom up 20-13 and in command, but their offense couldn't score a point in the second half. Doherty blamed himself. "I probably should have been more aggressive as a coach and play caller," Doherty said. "We had the ball at the three-yard line in the third quarter and a field goal would have made it a two-score game, but we missed it. I've got one of the best players in the state as my quarterback so maybe I should have went for the touchdown. That's on me. "In the fourth quarter, we had the ball at midfield on fourth down and I decided to punt and we got 10 yards of field position on the punt. That's probably Coach Doherty being too conservative and I have a tendency to do that. I try to make the best decisions for the team. Those are safe and logical football decisions, but when you're trying to win games of this magnitude, it's probably not enough. "We've got to execute better at critical times of the game both offensively and defensively." The Folsom players know they've got to play better. "Honestly, we knew we should have won this game," Rivera said. "It's all good. There are more games to play and this gives us a better chance to win a state title." Added Sorensen, "We've got a lot of room for improvement. We beat ourselves. There are a lot of plays we wish we had back. We made a lot of mental mistakes." Said Doherty, "We're trying to take the next step as a program and we're just not there. That's brutally evident and it's hard to accept that. We've just got to get better."