Thunder ends Folsom's reign in SFL with 40-7 victory

They say every dog has his day, but Friday was not a day for the Bulldog. The host Rocklin Thunder, long wanting its place at the top of the Sierra Foothill League, now finds itself there after a 40-7 pounding of the Folsom Bulldogs in front of their hometown fans and alumni on Homecoming night. It was Folsom's first loss in league play since joining the Sierra Foothill League in 2014. The Bulldogs had won 44 straight league games and seven straight league titles. Rocklin, 8-0 overall and 5-0 in league, can wrap up the league title on the road at winless Grant next week. There was no question on this night who the better team was: from start to finish it was the Thunder. Folsom (3-1, 6-2) trailed 21-7 at halftime and they had a chance to come out of the locker room and turn the tables in the second half, but it didn't happen. It was all Thunder, all night long. "This means everything," said Rocklin junior quarterback Joey Roberts, himself a backup after senior starter Kenny Leuth was injured Sept. 24 in a win against Del Oro. "We've put in so much work and always wanted to beat Folsom. We did it as a team. All of us are brothers and we love each other. We knew we were going to beat them." Senior wide receiver Kyran Bell caught a 53-yard touchdown pass from Roberts midway through the fourth quarter, but in the first possession of the second half, Rocklin found itself in a third-and-nine situation and Bell caught a 59-yard pass from Roberts to move the ball to the Folsom 21-yard line; perhaps the biggest blow of the game considering the Bulldogs came out of the locker room looking to gain some early momentum. "We've played Folsom for years and always lost," Bell said. "To be the team to finally beat them in league feels so good." Said two-way starting lineman Bobby Piland, "This means everything. We've worked so long for this and we've been waiting for this day since the spring. I'm so happy we could get this win." The Thunder, known for its defense, looked the part of a defensive juggernaut with four interceptions in the passing game by Kaleb Larson , Austin Adams, Teeg Glone and Elias Mullican. They also made yards tough to come by on the ground. On this night, however, Folsom couldn't overcome the loss of senior quarterback Tyler Tremain, who injured his left shoulder in the loss last Friday to De La Salle, and couldn't overcome the four interceptions thrown by his replacements, Carter Martinelli (1) and Austin Mack (3), both playing varsity football for the first time with the game on the line. Making the interceptions more devastating, was that three of the four either occurred on Folsom's side of the field or were returned deep in their defensive territory, resulting in easy points. The first pick, thrown by Martinelli and intercepted by Larson, happened around Folsom's 40-yard line and was return to the 25. Three plays later, Anthony Johnston scored on a one-yard run and the extra point put the Thunder up 7-0. Folsom eventually tied the game in the second quarter. Mack completed his first pass to Rico Flores Jr., good for 42 yards that moved the ball to the Rocklin seven-yard line. Two plays later, Donovan Maxey-Parler scored on a four-yard run and Folsom was back on its feet tied at seven with 2:48 to play in the half. The game's turning point came in the final moments of the first half. A 42-yard pass from Roberts to Mullican put the ball at the Folsom 27-yard line, giving the Thunder a really good chance to score before the half. Two plays later, Johnson scored on a 21-yard run through the heart of the Folsom defense to put the Thunder up 14-7. On Folsom's second play from scrimmage on its next possession, Mack went deep for Onterrio Smith Jr., but with tight coverage Slone stepped in front and picked off the pass and returned in 45 yards to Folsom's 18-yard line. Again, points were imminent before the half. On the next play, Roberts connected with Larson for a touchdown with 50.2 seconds remaining, a back-breaker for the Bulldogs. Rocklin's fourth interception sealed the game. After Rocklin's Macgregor Teselle booted a 42-yard field goal to increase the Thunder's lead to 24-7 early in the third quarter, Mullican picked off a Mack pass and returned it 65 yards for a touchdown. The Thunder later added Bell's long touchdown catch and then a special teams' safety to boot to reach 40 points. It was a night not like any other for Folsom. The Bulldogs didn't look like the Bulldogs, scoring only seven points and it was the team's second consecutive loss. It's only the second time since 2008 that Folsom did not score 10 points in a game, the only other game being the 14-0 shutout loss to De La Salle in 2018. The last time Folsom had lost two games in a row came in 2010, when they lost the opening game of the season to Grant in a game televised live on ESPN, following a playoff loss the previous season against Del Oro in the section semifinals. The last time Folsom lost two consecutive games in the same season was in 2007; losing 35-28 at Oakmont on Oct. 5 and then losing Oct. 12 at home against Jesuit, 35-21. "I'm not shocked because Rocklin is a good team, but I am discouraged and disappointed because I thought we'd play better," Folsom coach Paul Doherty said. "I thought we could do more to help our quarterbacks out. I thought we'd be more consistent in the run game. I feel badly for Carter and Austin. They're probably feeling the brunt of this, but they shouldn't be. I know they wanted to play well. They had a great week of practice. I'm proud of them." Doherty was disappointed to lose and disappointed with the way his team played, but when addressing the team, he stayed positive. "Things didn't go our way, and we had to deal with a ton of adversity, but we didn't fall part as a team and that is to be commended," Doherty told his players. "This right here, this is as low as it gets. Losing on the road in the SFL is a tough. I know you feel that. Now we regroup. If Rocklin goes on to win the league, we could see them again in the playoffs. I know some of you probably feel our season is over, but our goals are still on the table. "We're down a couple guys and got a couple guys banged up tonight. We need more help. Figure out how you can help this team. Our backs are against the wall. Now, it's how we respond. It's up to the seniors to keep the team locked in with their teammates and locked in with their coaches. There's a lot of football to be played this season and now we have to bounce back."