The offensive football machine that is the Folsom Bulldogs
was on display Friday night at Mark Macres Memorial Stadium. For one half of
football and the opening drive of the third quarter no one dressed in Monterey
Trail’s black and green uniforms could do anything that would stop quarterback
Jake Browning or his Bulldog teammates.
The final score, 49-21 in favor of Folsom (5-0), indicated
the Mustangs were able to do something almost no one had been able to
accomplish in the first four weeks of the 2013 season, hold the Bulldogs to
less than 50 points. But, that really wasn’t the story of this game.
Browning stunned the Monterey Trail (3-2) faithful into
virtual silence very early in the game, finding receivers wide open for big
gains while the Mustang defense hardly could muster a pass rush on the 6-2
junior quarterback. He led his team downfield in marches that took only 1:29,
2:18, 1:16 and 3:11 off the clock in scoring 28 points in the first quarter. Folsom’s
offensive line game Browning enough time to stand in the pocket and check off
numerous receivers before finding someone open.
Folsom walked into the halftime locker room leading Monterey
Trail, 42-7. At that time Browning had 306 yards passing on 20-of-25 passing
and five TD passes. Four of those scoring strikes were to receiver Will
McClure.
The Bulldog offense had 396 total yards in 36 plays to that
point of the game. The Mustangs were held to only 96.
The Mustangs, who won the coin toss and deferred to the
third quarter, begrudgingly had to kick off to start the second half. Browning
again had the Bulldogs in the end zone in only 2 minutes and 16 seconds off the
clock. It was 49-7 following Ben Trumm’s extra point kick with 9:36 left in the
third quarter.
Monterey Trail head coach T. J. Ewing hoisted the white
flag. Folsom’s co-head coaches Kris Richardson and Troy Taylor obliged and the
referees turned on the running clock for the remainder of the game.
Afterwards, Ewing admitted he was glad his team was able to
wrap up its non-conference slate of games with a game against Folsom.
“It’s awesome you get to play that level of football before
we start league,” Ewing said. “For the bottom line is, if our guys get to
compete against a very skilled team, which (Folsom is) is great for our young
team.”
“The five teams in our league all play big and fast so you
have to play that kind of game to get prepared,” he continued. “Regardless of
the outcome, that’s what I appreciated Folsom doing. They gave us a look. Our
guys got experience from this.”
Ewing was hoping to do Friday what his 2009 team did to
Folsom – control the football on long drives, keeping the Folsom offense off
the field and pull out a 22-21 victory. Though his club did score on a quick
two-play drive immediately after the Bulldogs scored its first touchdown, he
said his young team couldn’t keep up with Folsom’s athleticism after that
point.
“We were just on the field too much (defensively),” Ewing
said. “You ask all the schools that played them up to this point. If you don’t play your “A” game, you’ll
lose.”
Notes:
Browning finished the game 23-of-28 passing, 360 yards, with
six touchdown passes. He was intercepted once.
When he and the rest of the Folsom starters left the game
the Bulldogs had 441 yards total offense on just 41 plays.
Folsom is ranked #10 in California, #2 in Northern
California (behind De La Salle) by Maxpreps.
Both clubs have a bye this Friday will open their respective
league schedules on Oct. 11. Folsom will take on undefeated Oak Ridge in El
Dorado Hills in the feature game that night in the Delta River League.
Monterey Trail will be at Davis in its Delta Valley
Conference opener.
Ewing knows he’ll need just two more wins to probably qualify
for the Division I playoffs. However, he’s talking about bigger goals for the
rest of this season.
“That’s our goal, to win (the DVC),” he said. “That’s how we
get ready, play the best team in Northern California’s public schools. I’m
happy we got to play (Folsom) because they got us ready for our league.”
Monterey Trail defensive back Tawayne Malone picked off
Browning early in the second quarter and returned the ball to the Bulldog 23-yardline. Folsom was leading 28-7 at the
time.
The Mustangs’ hope to narrow the lead vanished two plays
later when quarterback Donovan Robinson was intercepted by McClure in the end
zone.
Monterey Trail also faked a punt midway through the second
stanza on a fourth- and-six at its own 26-yardline. Andre Flury ran the ball on
an inside reverse for 18 yards to keep the drive alive. However, the Mustangs’
drive was halted five plays later when Parker Boone picked off Robinson at the
Folsom 34.
Ewing was hoping to stop Folsom on its opening drive of the
second half in order to stop having the running clock turned on.
“If we stop them, we have a chance at getting back in the
game,” he claimed. “They throw the ball a lot and that stops the clock and we
have the time to get back in the game. But, in this game, we just weren’t good
enough to stop them.”
Folsom running back Bailey Laolagi led all rushers with 84 yards
on nine carries and one TD. Monterey Trail was led by Trey Nahhas with 62 yards
on nine attempts.
McClure ended the game with eight catches for 131 yards and
four TD’s. Troy Knox had four receptions for 104 yards.
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