Bulldogs hope to repeat

Folsom High won its sixth CIF State Championship a season ago. What this year's team wants to do more than anything is to repeat as champions, just like the Bulldogs did in 2018. Can they achieve their goal? Well, let's just say the pieces are there, but the Bulldogs will need to stay healthy and like any team, have some good luck go their way too. As the season gets set to start, the Bulldogs have six scholarship players: quarterback Brody Rudnicki (Cal), receivers Rob Larson (UCLA) and Carter Williams (San Jose St.), offensive lineman Malachi Coleman (UC Davis), linebacker EJ Coleman (Washington State) and defensive lineman Lua DeBerry (Sacramento State). These players will lead the team to whatever the team achieves. The offense will be led by Rudnicki, who had a storybook ending to his junior year. Rudnicki replaced an injured Ryder Lyons in the state championship game and led the team to a 42-28 victory over Cathedral Catholic. Rudnicki completed 11-of-20 passes for 117 yards and two touchdowns, while rushing for 186 yards on 24 carries and four touchdowns. "Brody's offseason went really well," Folsom High coach Paul Doherty said. "His recruiting timeline was so short and he set a date to commit by and he did that and thus was able to focus on everything we're doing here. In terms of football, he worked on getting chemistry with a bunch of new receivers." Rudnicki has a lot of strengths as a quarterback. People outside of Folsom looking for a dropoff at that position from Lyons last season probably aren't going to find one. "Brody's strengths are his poise, maturity, focus, playing within himself, playing within the system and his consistency is uncanny," Doherty said. "He's far more consistent than any of us are as coaches. It helps you coach because you know exactly what's coming. You can have a plan. It's impressive. I believe Brody can be as productive as Ryder if not more, but differently. "Brody has unique physical characteristics in that his deep ball accuracy; it's maybe as good as anyone had had here. I don't think he gets enough credit for being as good a runner as he is. On designed runs, he's not as flashy, but he's big, thick, he's smart and he gets behind his guys. He's productive." Making Rudnicki even better will be the fact that he could be playing behind arguably the best offensive line Folsom has had since Doherty has been head coach, said the coach. He will also have a lot of help in the backfield with Joseph Eyerman, Osias Bolton, Bronson Bambino and Jake Lawhorn, not to mention EJ Coleman, who all return in the backfield. So with all those running backs returning, what will Folsom's offense look like in 2026. "Every offseason you try to find the identity of the team and what you will look like," Doherty said. "We will be very different from last year in that we graduated five Division 1 receivers. It's never the same every year. In 2024 we ran the ball a ton. Last year we threw the ball a lot. With all the running backs coming back, we will use them a lot, whether that means play action, RPO, tempo." While all will play, Bolton might be the most gifted. "Osias has improved a ton, physically, emotionally, and he also matured," Doherty said. "Bambino is the most unassuming guy. He's a typical Folsom kid. He knows everything, works hard, tough as nails and is a super talented player." That's not to say Folsom won't pass the ball. They do return one of the top receivers in the entire Sacramento area in Rob Larson and also added Williams to the mix, a transfer from St. Mary's. Larson will be a big target for Rudnicki. "More than any other player, Larson had a great offseason," Doherty said. "He grew an inch, he's 20 pounds heavier and he's bigger, faster and stronger. He takes playing big-time college football next year seriously. He eats right. He sleeps right. Football is like a job to him and he takes it seriously. He takes care of his body." Williams caught 19 balls at St. Mary's last year and is looking for a breakout season this year. Beyond him, Folsom has several players vying for playing time: Arhian Acuna, Travis Beatty, and Jaden Angel to name a few. "All of those kids, including Williams, they're best football is ahead of them," Doherty said. "Arhian is a super mature kid and is reliable and productive. He had some big catches late in the season. Travis is as talented as any kid we've had. He played corner last year and made a ton of plays and this year he will play more as a receiver. Jaden is ready to step up and will make some plays for us too. All these guys will have opportunities to showcase their talent. They will all have to prove themselves because they lack experience, but I have all the confidence in the world that they will do well." An area of strength for the Bulldogs will be on the offensive line, where the team returns seven players who saw time on the field last season. Four of the team's five starters in the state championship game return: Malachi Coleman, Zach Ramirez, Kingston Wylie and Colin Graham. Donovan Cochran also saw several starts a year ago and returns. "These are a bunch of guys who rely on no one else to play well," Doherty said. "The experience is there. They play together and they have chemistry and continuity. There are no egos in that room. Malachi and Zach are three-year starters." Coleman is the best of the bunch. "He's an unassuming, quiet mature kid and he's awesome," Doherty said. "He should be playing in the Big 10 next year. He's a little bit undersized, but he's going to a great program at UC Davis. They know what they're getting. He's the best athlete we've ever had on the line since I've been here and we had Vlad last year who can do backflips. Malachi's length, athleticism, work ethic, versatility and maturity are all incredible. His pass sets are good. He strikes with heavy hands." Wylie stepped up late in the season when Cochran was injured and impressed. "He was probably the most impressive player down the stretch last year and that includes Brody," Doherty said. "He was incredible." Defensively, the Bulldogs have several returning players. The linebackers will be an area of strength, as Nick Wegner and EJ Coleman return to their starting positions from last year. "Nick has been playing Folsom football for 10 years," Doherty said. "Austin Gardner and Alijah Wilson could step in and not miss a beat. Adin Steward had the best offseason." Along with Wegner and Coleman, the team's top two tacklers last season, third on that list is defensive lineman Lua DeBerry, who also returns. "Lua has played with a lot of high profile guys over the years and he's been the most consistent and most productive of all of them," Doherty said. "He's a little undersized but he's as good as any of them. He's made a lot of plays over the years." Playing alongside DeBerry will be Dontay Kendrick. Keala Mavae-Tupou, a transfer from Granite Bay, will see a lot of playing time as will Javion Dorsett, who had a good offseason. Giovanni Strivers also will see playing time on the line. Daniel Eagleton is back at safety, but he will miss some time early on with an injury. CJ Wallace figures to make an impact at cornerback. Justice Nonoguchi, Jayden Arfa and Trystan Pangilinan are also battling time at corner, while Elijah Williams will start at one safety position and Carl Fore will see time at the other safety position. "A lot of those guys are unproven so we will see what happens," Doherty said. So what's in store for the Bulldogs this season? It appears to be another team which should contend for a Sac-Joaquin Section championship and beyond. "We're as good as we've been," Doherty said. "We need to stay healthy, because we're not very deep. We're an injury away from disaster. One-deep we're a solid team."