MISSION VIEJO, California, Dec. 12 — No Ryder Lyons?
No problem.
The No. 46 Folsom [CA] Bulldogs turned to backup quarterback Brody Rudnicki to lead them through a game played in a thick fog, and he delivered against the Cathedral Catholic [San Diego, CA] Dons in a 42-28 win Friday night in California's CIF Division 1-AA state championship bowl game at Saddleback College.
Lyons, Folsom's star quarterback and BYU signee, injured his shoulder in Folsom's previous game and was forced to watch most of the game from the sideline. He played one series late in the second half with the game in hand, but mostly handed the ball off and was clearly bothered by the injured shoulder. He also took the final snaps in the victory formation to close out his impressive prep career.
Rudnicki, however, showed that he's got plenty of game himself, leading the Bulldogs past the powerful Dons from Southern California.
Folsom finished the season with a 14-1 record, and Cathedral Catholic dropped to 11-3 with the loss.
WATCH ON THE NFHS NETWORK: No. 46 Folsom [CA] Bulldogs vs. Cathedral Catholic [San Diego, CA] Dons
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End of the fourth quarter: Folsom 42, Cathedral Catholic 28
That's your ballgame! Folsom wins the state championship in an entertaining contest played
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FOLSOM 42, CATHEDRAL CATHOLIC 28
And, again, Cathedral Catholic is continuing to press the action. The problem is the clock ... there's only 2:35 remaining.
FOLSOM 42, CATHEDRAL CATHOLIC 21
Cathedral Catholic is still competing, but it would take a miracle to rally out of this hold they're in.
FOLSOM 42, CATHEDRAL CATHOLIC 14
Folsom's probably already had this in the bag for quite some time, but that should be the clincher.
End of third quarter: Folsom 35, Cathedral Catholic 14
That's three quarters in the book. It's now or never for Cathedral Catholic.
FOLSOM 35, CATHEDRAL CATHOLIC 14
Cathedral Catholic says not so fast! We're still in this thing. It's been a crazy two-and-a-half minutes to open the second half.
FOLSOM 35, CATHEDRAL CATHOLIC 7
Folsom is quickly putting this thing out of reach.
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And the third quarter is under way with the field still blanketed by a thick fog.
End of second quarter: Folsom 28, Cathedral Catholic 7
Folsom half is one good half away from winning a state championship. It's been their night so far.
FOLSOM 28, CATHEDRAL CATHOLIC 7
Folsom extends it back to a three-score lead, and this is going to be a tough night for Cathedral Catholic if they can't stop this Folsom offense.
FOLSOM 21, CATHEDRAL CATHOLIC 7
Cathedral Catholic stops the bleeding for now with a big touchdown at the 5:14 mark of the second quarter. Now, they need to get a stop and try to get a two-for-one before the half to try and cut this to a one-score game.
End of first quarter: Folsom 21, Cathedral Catholic 0
If Cathedral Catholic doesn't get something figured out quick, this game will be over by halftime.
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FOLSOM 21, CATHEDRAL CATHOLIC 0
Well, Folsom is doing just fine in the fog. Cathedral Caholic? Not so much. It's been all Bulldogs so far.
FOLSOM 14, CATHEDRAL CATHOLIC 0
Well, the fog is stopping Folsom from being aggressive in the passing game. They complete a crazy 32-yard touchdown pass, and they've doubled their lead early.
FOLSOM 7, CATHEDRAL CATHOLIC 0
Folsom gets the scoring started in foggy Mission Viejo.
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The game is under way in heavy fog conditions. It's hard to see the field.
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Coming soon!
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Cathedral Catholic vs. Folsom start time
The game between Cathedral Catholic and Folsom is being played at Saddleback College in Mission Viejo, California.
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