FOLSOM -- Even with a fast start, Kevin Swartwood was concerned.
His Buhach Colony High football squad scored on its first two possessions on Friday night, but had to settle for field goals in both.
It was an almost ideal start for the Thunder on the road, but it's tough to keep pace against top-seeded Folsom's mighty offense when you don't finish drives.
The Bulldogs showed Buhach exactly why in a 49-22 victory in the Sac-Joaquin Section Division 2 semifinal.
After turning the ball over on downs on its first possession, Folsom scored on six straight.
BC couldn't keep pace, producing just six points in its first five trips to the red zone. The Bulldogs broke the game open with a 28-point fourth quarter.
Folsom will face Elk Grove in next week's section title game.
"I loved our energy out of the gate," Swartwood said "We score and get a stop right away. We came out hitting and just like that we're up 6-0.
"But in the back of your mind you're thinking, 'We needed more than field goals.' "
Shane Bell drilled first-quarter field goals of 35 and 30 yards to give the Thunder (10-3) a 6-0 lead early, but Folsom (13-0) wasn't down for long.
The Bulldogs went 80 yards in eight plays with Jake Browning hitting Bailey Laolagi with a 14-yard touchdown pass to put Folsom up 7-6.
Browning was 15-of-23 for 245 yards and three touchdowns. Laolagi might have been even better. In addition to his receiving score, he rushed for 109 yards and two touchdowns on six carries and returned an interception for a score.
Two of those touchdowns came in a disastrous second quarter for the Thunder.
Browning found Troy Knox for a 16-yard TD pass to open the second quarter and put the Bulldogs up 14-6. BC handed them excellent field position on their next series on a botched fake punt. Folsom was in the end zone two plays later on a Laolagi 1-yard run.
"Their offense is all timing and rhythm," defensive back Jayce Webster said. "They adjusted to our weaknesses and started exploiting them. Once you let them get into a rhythm, it's pretty hard to get them out of it."
A big kickoff return by Webster gave Buhach the perfect opportunity to answer, starting the Thunder drive at the Folsom 37.
A block in the back call on what would have been a Leon Miles first-down run gave BC a fourth-and-3 at the Folsom 16. The Thunder never got a chance to convert it as a pitch to Miles was fumbled and the Thunder turned it over on downs.
Nine plays later, Harry Lipnosky rumbled in for a 10-yard TD run to make it 28-6.
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