Cardinal Newman went toe-to-toe with one of the premier high school football programs in the state and nearly sent shockwaves around Northern California — but the Cardinals came up agonizingly short in a heartbreaking 23-17 overtime loss in their season opener Friday night at Folsom.

The Cardinals had a go-ahead 32-yard field goal blocked with under 30 seconds left in regulation, sending the game to overtime — where Folsom, the defending CIF state Division 1-AA champion and CalHi Sports’ preseason No. 7 team in the state, got a stop and scored on its first possession.

How it happened

The Cardinals could not have drawn up a more perfect start, as they took an early 10-0 lead by the end of the first quarter.

Devon Taylor capped a long opening drive with a 41-yard field goal, and after forcing a Folsom punt, the Cardinals found the end zone on a 10-yard keeper from junior running back James Curoso.

Folsom answered with a quick scoring drive to open the second quarter, capped by a six-yard touchdown pass from Cal-bound quarterback Brody Rudnicki to Travis Beatty to make it 10-7.

Both defenses shored up for the remainder of the first half. Sophomore Cardinals linebacker Tanek Mair picked off Rudnicki late in the second quarter, but Newman’s final possession of the half ended with a blocked 49-yard field goal attempt, sending the game to the break with the Cardinals in front 10-7.

Folsom wasted no time out of the intermission as CJ Wallace returned the second-half kickoff 99 yards for a touchdown to give the Bulldogs their first lead of the game at 14-10.

Both teams traded turnovers on downs in their ensuing possessions before Newman retook the lead in the waning seconds of the third quarter. Forced to go for it on 4th and 11 after a delay of game on what would have been a 45-yard field goal attempt, junior quarterback LT Retamoza threw up a prayer to the end zone that was hauled in by senior receiver Owen Grafe. Newman led 17-14 heading into the fourth quarter after the score.

Folsom began the final period with a drive deep into Newman territory, but the Cardinals made a goal-line stand and forced the Bulldogs into a field goal, which Abhi Ghimire converted from 22 yards out to tie the game at 17 with nine minutes to play.

A six-minute Newman drive stalled out and the Cardinals were forced to punt back to the Bulldogs, who started their next drive deep inside their own territory. They elected to go for it on fourth and three from their own 28, but Newman freshman Zehv West snuffed out the attempt with a sack of Rudnicki, giving the Cardinals possession inside Folsom’s 20 with just over two minutes to go.

Newman worked inside Folsom’s 10 before a delay-of-game penalty backed them up. Head coach Kenny McMillan elected to kneel out their next three plays to drain the clock and set up a go-ahead field goal in the final seconds, but Taylor’s attempt from 32 yards out with 14 seconds left was blocked.

Folsom won the overtime toss and elected to play defense first. The Bulldogs forced a turnover on downs and then used the legs of Rudnicki to drive 25 yards on four plays to end the game. Rudnicki finished it off with a one-yard keeper.

Curoso put forth a herculean effort in his Newman debut, rushing for 114 yards with a score on 30 carries. The Cardinals used him out of a Wildcat formation for much of the game. He also had four receptions for 56 yards.

Retamoza completed 14-of-21 passing attempts for 161 yards with the touchdown pass to Grafe, who had four receptions for 53 yards.

Folsom’s Rudnicki went 9-for-20 passing with 129 yards, one touchdown and one pick in the game. He was 6-for-9 for 105 yards in the second half and rushed for 31 yards on 12 attempts.

Key play

The blocked field goal at the end of the fourth quarter sealed Newman’s fate. The Cardinals were spent by the end of regulation, evidenced by double-digit game stoppages to tend to cramping players on the field.

By overtime, Folsom’s depth made all the difference.

Quotable

“We played against a great team and I think this opened a lot of eyes in our program and what we’re capable of. We have some guys who need to take better care of their bodies, but overall we fought to the very end. I’m proud for the fight in these guys. Time to move on to the next.” — McMillan

“We practice it every Thursday. We practice running the clock down and kicking it. Obviously would have liked to do it with three seconds left, but thankfully they didn’t score. The one blocked early was from farther back with a lower launch-point angle. Wouldn’t change it. I love going for it on fourth down, but sometimes you have to play smart football. I mean, our guys were getting hit left and right, so less of a beating and just try to win with three. As long as we had more points than them it was a win. It sucks, but it’s all good.” — McMillan on the decision to kneel out for the last-second field goal.

“Postgame message was there was stuff in our control that we could have fixed, there was stuff out of our control that we can’t fix and tomorrow we’ll watch the film and learn from it and we’re on to the green team from Concord.” — McMillan

“I think they’ve believed all along. I think they’ve had it and there were definitely some tears in our huddle because they know that we should have won that game. We can’t get it back, but we’ll see maybe in December if there’s a chance to run it back — but till then we got De La Salle.” — McMillan

Takeaways

Despite the final result, the Cardinals proved that they can compete with the top programs in Northern California. Folsom is considered one of the primary contenders to represent NorCal in the CIF Open Division title game in December, and the Cardinals had them beat until they didn’t.

This is a game that Newman should have won, which speaks volumes to the team they’ve assembled this fall. Folsom has an enrollment of over 3,000 students and has been a perennial NorCal powerhouse for the better part of the last two decades — and Newman took them down to the wire.

The Cardinals came into this season with arguably their most talented roster ever assembled and their most ambitious nonleague schedule in program history, but many still questioned where they might stack up in the NorCal hierarchy. Would they be able to compete with NorCal powerhouses like Folsom, De La Salle and Archbishop Riordan? Do they have a shot at knocking off a team like De La Salle, Pittsburg or San Ramon Valley to win an NCS title in the highest playoff bracket?

Well, they certainly opened a lot of eyes with their performance on Friday.

This game, however, also showed what, if anything, could keep the Cardinals from reaching their ultimate goal in late November: depth. The Cardinals’ high-end talent is undeniable, but Folsom, a school with nearly five times their enrollment, wore them down and simply had more and better-rested bodies by the end. De La Salle and Riordan over the next two weeks will present similar problems. Staying healthy, especially come playoff time, will be of the utmost importance if Newman wants a chance to play into December.

Up next

The road doesn’t get any easier for the Cardinals (0-1). Another state powerhouse is on deck next week as Newman travels to Concord to face De La Salle. The Spartans, a preseason top-10 team in the state, were the CIF Open Division runners-up last season, have won 33 consecutive North Coast Section titles and haven’t been defeated by a section opponent in their last 284 matchups.

Kickoff for that game is 7:30 p.m. Friday.