No. 19 Folsom vs. No. 18 De La Salle preview: A changing of the guard?

More than 7,000 fans figure to jam modest Owen Owens Stadium to see if a Northern California team can finally break the stranglehold on a talent-rich region that has thoroughly been dominated by one of the nation's most famous programs.


"They are the measuring stick," Folsom coach Kris Richardson said. "They've proven to be one of the top programs in the country for more than three decades. But we've been pretty good too for a while."

The Bulldogs have been better than good for the last 10 years, going a combined 131-13 with three state titles.

Through the leadership of Richardson, former offensive coordinator and now Utah offensive coordinator coach Troy Taylor and a superb youth feeder system, Folsom has produced such stars as current New England Patriots safety Jordan Richards and University of Washington quarterback and Heisman Trophy candidate Jake Browning Utilizing a high-octane spread attack, the Bulldogs have shattered scoring and statistical records by developing ultra-efficient quarterbacks, highlighted by the prolific pocket passer Browning (16,697 three-year career passing yards, 229 touchdowns).

There have been equally productive dual-threat quarterbacks like 2010 MaxPreps Player of the Year Dano Graves (7,691 career passing yards, 1,868 rushing yards, 152 total TDs), Tanner Trosin (6,364 total yards, 69 TDs his senior year) and Jake Jeffrey (5,168 total yards, 61 TDs).

The best of the dual-threat lot might be senior Kaiden Bennett, a strong-armed, super elusive and yet disciplined 6-foot-1, 180-pound senior, who last year who passed for 4.731 yards and 57 touchdowns and added 1,218 yards and 16 scores.

He led the Bulldogs to a 16-0 record and a CIF Division I-AA state title, all while piling up 770 total points and 493 yards per game.

Bennett is one of 15 returning starters, but unquestionable the most important.

"At every level — NFL, college or high school — you face a quarterback who can throw and run equally well, it's very difficult to prepare," De La Salle 35-year defensive coordinator Terry Eidson said. "(Bennett) is a handful.

"The last time we faced them they had Jake Browning. Obviously, he was pretty special. So is Bennett but in a different way."

Said Richardson: "If there's no one open after all his progressions, Kaiden knows what to do. He has great instincts. He's a playmaker." It helps to have one of the best receiving corps in the country, led by 6-4, 210-pound, 5-star Clemson-bound senior Joe Ngata, who had 81 catches for 1,777 yards and 26 touchdowns last year.

"He's a specimen," De La Salle coach Justin Alumbaugh. "We've seen a lot of good kid over the years. The kid at Centennial-Corona (Javon McKinley) and Mater Dei (Amon-Ra St. Brown) were special. (Ngata) is every bit as good. He's big and strong and fast and he blocks well, too."

Said Eidson: "If you're going to Clemson, you're probably pretty good."

It doesn't stop there. The Bulldogs have three more outstanding receivers — Cj Hutton, Elijhah Badger and Parker Clayton — and a superb running game, led by Ngata's brother Daniyel Ngata, (5-9, 190), who accounted for 1,241 yards and 18 touchdowns last season as a sophomore.

"They're really good," Alumbaugh said. "They have a lot of team speed, great receivers, a great quarterback and the line and defense is super solid. They're defense is really under-rated largely because their offense scores so quickly. They're every bit as good as they're cracked up to be."

The Bulldogs were really good in 2012 and 2013 also, but De La Salle handled them pretty easily.

This Spartan team is athletically on par with those squads, but not as experienced.

They feature two 4-star recruits, linebacker and running back Henry To'oto'o and Isaiah Foskey, both third-year starters. The defense, with seven returning starters, is the team's strength, but what has Alumbaugh excited is the young talent, led by sophomore quarterback Dorian Hale. The 6-foot-1, 185-pound left-hander got in 10 plays during last year's state championship game, and predictably looked raw. In Friday's scrimmage, however, he looked sharp, elusive and poised.

A team that has run roughshod on opponents with its vaunted veer attack might attack more by air on Friday with receiving threats like Lu-Magia Hearns, Erich Storti and Grant Daley.

"We have plenty to worry about with their running game alone," Richardson said.

Shamar Garrett, To'oto'o, James Coby along with Hale and an always smallish but strong and effective line will give Folsom plenty to tackle.

"They're the blueprint of how to practice, how to prepare, how to win," Richardson said of De La Salle. "We think we're one of the very best teams in the state and we know they are. It' a great game, a great measuring stick."

A victory and then Folsom might be the benchmark. About half the anticipated crowd will make the 70-mile trek from Sacramento County to Concord.

"They were lined around our track six- or seven deep," said Eidson, recalling the biggest crowd at Owen Owens, a 1992 game with Pittsburg the last Northern California team to beat the Spartans in the 1991 North Coast Section finals at the Oakland Coliseum. "Everyone showed up for the rematch."

The Spartans won the rematch that year to start a national record 151-game win streak. Against Northern California opponents, they've never looked back.

On Friday, they figure to be looking at their equal.