Bulldogs win sixth state football title, 42-28, over Cathedral Catholic

Riding the coattails of another fantastic performance from quarterback Brody Rudnicki, Folsom High's varsity football team won its sixth state championship in seven trips, beating Cathedral Catholic 42-28 Friday night at a foggy Saddleback College in Mission Viejo. Rudnicki, filling in for the injured Ryder Lyons, who suffered a separated left shoulder during last week's Nor-Cal championship game against Riordan, ran for four touchdowns and threw for two more in leading the Bulldogs to the their second state title in the last three years, the first one coming in 2023. Rudnicki gained 177 yards rushing and passed for 115 yards. "This means everything," Rudnicki said. "The team, the coaches; they're the reason why we got here. I loved sharing the QB room with Ryder and Coach Doherty." The Bulldogs came out ready to go, scoring touchdowns on their first three possessions to take a 21-0 lead in a game that was never closer than 21-7 midway through the second quarter. Rudnicki opened the scoring with a three-yard touchdown run before finding Rob Larson for a 32-yard touchdown pass for Folsom's second score. Rudnicki put Folsom up 21-0 with a 30-yard touchdown run in the final minute of the first quarter. Cathedral Catholic finally scored on its fourth possession with a 15-yard touchdown run by Honor Faalave. With the Dons getting the second-half kickoff, Folsom's next possession was a big one. Rudnicki found Jameson Powell for a big gain down to the one-yard line. Rudnicki then threw a one-yard touchdown pass to Elijah Tuua with 18 seconds left to put the Dogs in front 28-7 at the half. Things didn't get much better for Cathedral Catholic in the second half. Quarterback Brady Palmer threw two interceptions in the third quarter and Folsom turned both into touchdowns. Daniel Eagleton picked off the first one on the Dons' opening possession and five plays later, Rudnicki scored his third touchdown of the game on a 12-yard run. Cathedral Catholic then had a 64-yard touchdown run from Faalave, but Folsom answered with an interception from Travis Beatty on the Dons' next drive. Folsom then ran the ball the whole way down the field before Rudnicki scored his fourth touchdown from two yards out and the Bulldogs led 42-14 early in the fourth quarter. Cathedral Catholic tacked on two more scores which were meaningless; a four-yard run from Palmer with 7:29 to play and a 10-yard touchdown pass to Gianluca Busalacchi with 2:35 to play. Lyons did come into the game and played one possession for the Bulldogs, and also came in to take the final victory snap. "Like Brody said, this means everything," Lyons said. "I'm so grateful to be part of this team and this community. This (win) is great for Nor-Cal and it's great for Folsom. We're bringing it home." Said Folsom coach Paul Doherty, "I'm incredibly happy for the seniors. They've been in this thing for four years. It will be hard to show these young guys everything the seniors have done. These kids are fired up and excited and they should be. They've put a lot of time and energy into this."