Folsom football is 9-0 and still No. 1 in the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section (CIF-SJS), but the Bulldogs are earning it the hard way.

Joe Davidson's weekly Sac-Joaquin Top 25 rankings, published Monday, Oct. 26, kept Folsom on top after the Bulldogs escaped Del Oro 42-41 on Friday, Oct. 23, at Prairie City Stadium. Oak Ridge of El Dorado Hills held at No. 2 at 5-3, followed by Destiny Christian, Grant and Del Oro at No. 5.

Rocklin landed at No. 8.

The rankings, published by Abridged by PBS KVIE, posed a pointed question in their headline: is the field closing the gap on Folsom? Davidson wrote that the SFL rivals have collectively raised their level of play, and that Rocklin, Oak Ridge and Del Oro players believe they are the better team.

Three of Folsom's nine wins have come by a combined 10 points in Sierra Foothill League play. The Bulldogs needed double overtime to hold off Rocklin 29-23, then beat Oak Ridge 28-21 before surviving Del Oro's late rally. Del Oro scored with eight seconds left on Oct. 23 but missed the extra point after an excessive-celebration penalty pushed the attempt back 15 yards, according to Davidson's account.

Folsom coach Paul Doherty has kept his team's eyes on the postseason throughout the grind. After the Oct. 16 win over Oak Ridge, Doherty told his players that the regular-season showdown was "not our Super Bowl," according to Abridged's game coverage.

Nationally, Folsom checked in at No. 8 in the USA Today Sports Super 15 West region rankings for Week 11.

What it means for the playoffs

The regular season's final week carries real bracket stakes for area teams. Davidson wrote that Folsom and Oak Ridge could meet in the Division I section final for the fifth consecutive season. Del Oro and Rocklin are in the Division II field.

The Jesuit-at-Rocklin matchup on Friday, Oct. 30, carries Division II playoff positioning implications, according to Davidson's Pick the Preps column. Jesuit has dropped three straight after a 5-0 start, including a 42-0 loss to Oak Ridge. Davidson wrote that Rocklin's players and coaches believe they outplayed Folsom in their double-overtime loss and Oak Ridge in a 28-14 defeat.

Del Oro, ranked No. 5 at 6-2, faces No. 9 Whitney at 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 30. Del Oro quarterback Luke Taber threw six touchdown passes in the Oct. 23 loss to Folsom, four of them to Chase Carmazzi, who finished with 11 catches for 218 yards, according to Davidson's predictions column.

Folsom's SFL dominance

Davidson's Oct. 26 column noted that Folsom has won 27 consecutive SFL games and 84 of its last 86 league contests. The Bulldogs have won the SFL every season since joining the league before 2014, and the program's 11th league title is within reach.

Oak Ridge has not beaten Folsom since 2006. Del Oro's last win over the Bulldogs came in 2009. Rocklin topped Folsom during the 2021 SFL season, but Folsom won the rematch in that year's section final.

Cal-bound quarterback Brody Rudnicki has led the Folsom offense all season. UCLA-bound receiver Rob Larson returned from a hamstring injury for the Oak Ridge game on Oct. 16, catching nine passes for 115 yards, according to Abridged's game coverage.

What's next

Folsom has a bye this week and closes the regular season at Jesuit on Friday, Nov. 6, at 7 p.m. Oak Ridge still has games remaining against Granite Bay and Whitney before the postseason. The CIF-SJS Division II playoffs open Friday, Nov. 13, according to the Pick the Preps column.