The Folsom High School may be without an actual football game this Friday night for Homecoming, but that that didn’t keep the Bulldogs and the community of Folsom from carrying on their tradition of celebrating on Sutter Street in the city’s Historic District Wednesday night.
Earlier this week, officials with Folsom High School were notified that their scheduled opponent for Friday’s much anticipated Homecoming football game had forfeited. Citing safety concerns for their players and an ailing roster, Davis High School called off their match up with Folsom.
“It was not a decision we took lightly. This decision was predicated on health and safety of our team,” said Davis High Athletic Director Mark McGreevy in a statement.
According to McGreevy, Davis, which is new to the league, only had 21 available varsity players as eight of their players are injured.
“It wouldn’t be safe to go play at Folsom on Friday. We had to be responsible,” McGreevy added.
Folsom High School head football coach Paul Doherty and the Bulldogs got to work searching for an opponent in an effort to not only have a game to celebrate homecoming, but to keep the players active and sharp by not having a week off. Their efforts fell short, however, that didn’t dampen the spirit of the Bulldogs as they carried on with their community homecoming parade as planned Wednesday evening.
With hundreds lining Sutter Street, a sea of blue made its way down the street with the freshman, junior varsity and varsity teams marching with much pride. Each of the classes unveiled their elaborate floats for the affair that included the Folsom High School marching band and more. Folsom Times captured the spirit of it all in a full length video above.
By tradition, the annual Homecoming game is where the student body reveals the Homecoming Royalty. Despite the lack of the game, that took place as well. Students, families and members of the community filled the Zittel Family Amphitheatre where the festivities continued with performances by Folsom Cheer, Folsom’s hip hop team and highlighting the athletes of not only football but various fall sports.
The event wrapped up with the unveiling of the homecoming court for each respective class and the naming of the 2024 Homecoming Queen and King. The entire rally was also captured by Folsom Times and can be viewed below to see it all unfold.