After making two straight Southern California championship game appearances, the Bakersfield College football team will not be making an appearance in the playoffs this season. The Renegades also won’t qualify for the Golden Empire Bowl.
According to the Commission On Athletics, a team with a .500 record can only go to a bowl game if they win their conference.
The top eight teams in the final SoCal poll will earn playoff berths while the next six teams will earn bowl bids if they are over or at .500 and have won their conference.
“It’s a disappointment. We’re where we’re at for a reason. We’ve made too many critical errors throughout the year,” head coach Jeff Chudy said.
The Renegades gave up 299 yards passing and four touchdown passes to quarterback Lee Mondol as the Renegades fell to Ventura College 31-17 Nov. 1.
“We didn’t play very well. We made too many mistakes. We gave up too many plays over 20 yards. We just didn’t put our best foot forward,” said Chudy.
In the loss to Ventura, BC running back Bruce Frieson had 25 carries for 156 yards and two touchdowns to move up to third place on BC’s rushing list.
Also in the loss, BC quarterback Joe Maldonado finished 8 for 15 for 76 yards with no touchdowns and no interceptions. Maldonado was also sacked four times.
On Oct. 25, Maldonado went 6 for 6 for 118 yards and two touchdowns and Frieson added 20 carries for 179 and one touchdown as the Renegades defeated Glendale College 45-21. After that win, BC still had bowl and playoff possibilities if it beat Ventura.
“We were getting after it. Every phase of the game, we did a nice job. Offensively, we kept them off balance,” Chudy said.
Chudy felt that the first half against Glendale was the best first half of the season for the Renegades.
Maldonado, who was making his second collegiate start against Glendale, felt that he performed just the way he knew he had to.
“I didn’t know I was 6 for 6. I just came out and told myself that I had to perform. That’s what I had to do, and I did,” said Maldonado.
In the game against Glendale, Maldonado also added two rushing touchdowns while wide receiver Chikadibi Madu caught three passes for 52 yards and a touchdown. Receiver William Randle caught one pass for 43 yards and a touchdown.
The Renegades, who have a record of 4-5 overall and 3-2 in the Northern National Conference, will have a bye week Nov. 8 before finishing the regular season at home against College of the Canyons on Nov. 15 at 1 p.m. Canyons is ranked No. 2 in the state with an overall record of 8-0 and a record of 4-0 in the Northern National.
Chudy feels that his team has to put out a great effort in order to beat Canyons.
“We’ve got to put our best foot forward. Hopefully, we can come out and play a great game. This will be like a bowl game for us,” Chudy said.