Folsom defenders hold Riordan Crusaders running back Adonyae Brown (32) to a short gain in the second half of the a CIF Northern California Regional Division 1-AA football championship game in Folsom on Friday, Dec. 5, 2025. (Nathaniel Levine/The Sacramento Bee)
FOLSOM – On a chilly night over 100 miles from home, Archbishop Riordan’s historic season came to a sudden halt one week earlier than expected.
The previously unbeaten Crusaders appeared poised to advance into next week’s CIF state Division I-AA championship after a nearly flawless first half on offense in which Stanford-bound quarterback Michael Mitchell Jr. orchestrated six consecutive touchdown drives.
But the check engine light flashed following intermission Friday night as Riordan sputtered its way through a scoreless second half that saw Folsom rally to a 42-38 victory in a NorCal regional after BYU-bound star Ryden Lyons was lost to a shoulder injury late in the third quarter.
“It’s really hard for to put it into words,” Riordan coach Adhir Ravipati said. “I mean, I love this team, I love these seniors. I just told them this is my burden to bear. I couldn’t get it done for them. Give our credit to Folsom, but that’s a really tough pill to swallow.”
Mitchell and Co. could virtually do no wrong in the first half while firing on all cylinders.
Riordan running back Adonyae Brown, behind an offensive line anchored by Oregon commit Tommy Tofi, pounded his way for 16 carries, 175 yards and three touchdowns before halftime – including a 70-yard scamper to put the Crusaders (12-1) ahead for the first time 20-13 with 10:58 left in the second quarter.
Mitchell showed off his arm talent by completing his first 10 pass attempts, including touchdowns of 12 and 19 yards to Cynai Thomas and Israel Vaenuku, respectively, before heaving a 38-yard bomb to Judge Nash.
“They’re a special group of kids and I’m excited to have played a small part in their journey,” Ravipati said of the plethora of Division I talent on his roster. “I look forward to see them write the next chapter of that story.”
But the offense couldn’t replicate its performance in the second half.
Brown finished with 31 carries for 230 yards, unable to break another long run as the Crusaders attempted to bleed out the clock.
Mitchell, who threw for 205 yards in the first half, ended up 16 of 24 for 275 yards.
Folsom (13-1), for its part, didn’t change its game plan after falling behind 38-20.
“You have to stick to your guns,” Folsom coach Paul Doherty said. “This defense has gotten stops all year long, and this team was going to score points. We knew that. So we had to manage our drives, manage our possessions and put points on the board. …
“And it was just enough at the end.”
Special teams turned the tide in the first half.
Not only did the Bulldogs block a couple of extra points to energize the home crowd, but sophomore Israel Lawson returned a kickoff 89 yards to paydirt with 1:50 left in the first half to go into the locker room trailing 38-28.
“You always look back and do the, ‘What if?’” Ravipati said.
Lyons, a 6-foot-3, 225-pound dual-threat, kept his team within striking distance by often targeting Jameson Powell in a no-huddle offense, with the shifty wide receiver accounting for 13 catches, 162 yards and three TDs – including the go-ahead score on a 20-yard slip screen with 5:02 left in the game.
Except the final touchdown came from the arm of junior Brody Rudnicki, who entered the contest after Lyons suffered a shoulder injury attempting to extend a play near the Riordan sideline.
“Not sure if it’s a broken collarbone or a fracture up there,” Doherty said. “He had a hard time lifting his arm. Wasn’t able to go back in the game.”
A 50-yard scramble by Rudnicky on the next snap brought new life to the Bulldogs, who closed the chapter on the West Catholic Athletic League and Central Coast Section Open Division champion.
“If you had told people four years ago that we would’ve done what we did this year and gotten to this game, they would’ve thought you were crazy,” said Ravipati after the school’s first appearance in a NorCal regional.
“I don’t know what else to say, they did the impossible,” Ravipati added. “They did what everyone told them you’re not going to do. They had their doubters and they had their haters everywhere – and they rose above it. They came together and built a real brotherhood.”
