Mission Viejo blows out Folsom: Final score, results from California high school football game

Lance Smith

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Mission Viejo blows out Folsom: Final score, results from California high school football game image

One of the most highly-anticipated NorCal-versus-SoCal regular season high school football matchups in recent memory was a dud for most spectators but a blast for the Diablo faithful.

On a night when a handful of top CIF-Southern Section programs struggled, Mission Viejo made a statement with a 53-14 beatdown of the top-ranked team in NorCal, Folsom.

Senior QB and Ohio State commit Luke Fahey led the way with 326 yards and five touchdowns despite the absence of 4-star WR Vance Spafford (Miami), with two of his touchdown passes going to KJ Woodbury.

Mission Viejo put its stamp on the game right away, with Fahey hitting TE Luke Karby for a 23-yard touchdown just 37 seconds into the game. Folsom got on the board with 15 seconds left in the first quarter on a touchdown to Rob Larson, by which point Woodbury had already scored his first touchdown.

The Diablos made it 21-6 less than a minute into the second quarter on a two-yard rushing TD from Dallas Miller, which was set up by a 45-yard reception by Jack Junker. Fahey connected with Woodbury on fourth down to blow the game wide open with 8:31 left in the half, and then Mission Viejo forced a safety – the first of three in the game and first of two that would go against Folsom. A short rushing touchdown by Davonte Curtis in the waning seconds of the second quarter gave Mission Viejo a whopping 37-6 halftime lead.

Folsom managed to win the third quarter, pulling out an outstanding trick play to Mission Viejo off the board and scoring its second and final touchdown. It came with 42 seconds left in the frame on a double pass from Lyons to Larson to Mississippi-bound wideout Jameson Powell.

And then the fourth quarter was (almost) all Diablos. Fahey hit Junker for a touchdown with 10:54 left, and 15 seconds later Mission Viejo went up 53-12 after another Folsom safety. The last score of the game was yet another safety, this time forced by Folsom in the final minutes, to put the final score at 53-14. 

JD Hill, an NAU-bound defensive lineman, was dominant for Mission Viejo and reportedly had four sacks in addition to a pass break-up that caused one of Folsom's safeties.

If you're surprised Mission Viejo held NorCal's best offense to two touchdowns, don't be – the Diablos held Trinity League powerhouse Santa Margarita to a field goal two weeks prior in a 7-3 victory. Even without as many big names as usual, Mission Viejo has one of the very best defenses in high school football.

Scroll down for a pregame overview followed by complete game updates and results.

Pregame

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Led by 5-star BYU commit and statewide MVP frontrunner Ryder Lyons, statewide No. 8 Folsom has scored 107 combined points in its first two games, wins against fellow NorCal powerhouses Grant Union and Serra (San Mateo). But it's still the heavy underdog against the fourth-ranked team in California and one of the top-ranked teams in the country.

With the likes of WR Jameson Powell (Mississippi), WR Rob Larson, and OL Vlad Dyakonov (USC) helping lead the way, Folsom might have what it takes to run up the points on a nationally-ranked SoCal defense. Can it get enough stops to win? Mission Viejo has one of the nation's top passing games as well, featuring QB Luke Fahey (Ohio State), WR Vance Spafford (Miami), WR Jack Junker, WR KJ Woodbury, and TE Luke Karby. The Diablos also have some of California's most accomplished defense players in DL JD Hill (NAU) and CB Jeron Jones (Washington).

Final score, updates from Mission Viejo vs. Folsom

Mission Viejo wins 53-14.

FOURTH QUARTER:

4th Quarter – Mission Viejo 53, Folsom 14: Three safeties in one game? Not an everyday sight for games between state-ranked teams. This time it was Folsom forcing it and picking up two points.

4th Quarter – Mission Viejo 53, Folsom 12: Fahey has his fifth touchdown pass, this time to Max Markofski. It's a running clock for Mission Viejo with about half a quarter left in the game. 

10:39 – Mission Viejo 46, Folsom 12: Mission Viejo forces another intentional grounding in the end zone and safety.

10:54 – Mission Viejo 44, Folsom 12: Fahey has his fourth touchdown pass of the game, finding Jack Junker for 15-yard touchdown.

THIRD QUARTER:

0:42 – Mission Viejo 37, Folsom 12: Double pass alert – it's Lyons to Larson to Jameson Powell for a long touchdown. Jeron Jones picks off Lyons on the two-point conversion attempt.

Mission Viejo leads 37-6 at halftime.

SECOND QUARTER:

4:51 – Mission Viejo 37, Folsom 6: Mission Viejo scores again before halftime, this time a short rushing score by Davonte Curtis.

7:33 – Mission Viejo 30, Folsom 6: Mission Viejo's defense continues to fire on all cylinders, forcing Lyons into an intentional grounding in the end zone for a safety.

8:31 – Mission Viejo 28, Folsom 6: The rout appears to be on. Fahey hits Woodbury for a touchdown on fourth down.

11:15 – Mission Viejo 21, Folsom 6: The Diablos go up two scores again on a 45-yard dime from Fahey to Jack Junker followed by a two-yard rushing score from Dallas Miller.

FIRST QUARTER:

0:15 – Mission Viejo 14, Folsom 6: Folsom is on the board with a touchdown from Ryder Lyons to Rob Larson.

4:16 – Mission Viejo 14, Folsom 0: Luke Fahey finds KJ Woodbury from six yards out to put the Diablos up two scores.

11:23 – Mission Viejo 7, Folsom 0: Luke Karby powers through the defense after a short catch and gets Mission Viejo on the board right away with a 23-yard score.

MORE: How to watch Mission Viejo vs. Folsom

Lance Smith

Lance has covered high school basketball, football and softball since 2019. A graduate of The USC Marshall School of Business, Smith dabbles in linear algebra and football and basketball computer rankings.