The Bakersfield College Renegades clinched the National Northern Conference title Nov. 14 at College of the Canyons and will face Allan Hancock in the Golden Empire Bowl Nov. 21 in playoffs.
The Renegades defeated Canyons 24-9 in a very competitive conference final season game, plagued with 16 penalties – eight on each side, which cost the Renegades 169 yards. BC also turned the ball over twice in the first half. BC is 9-1 overall and 6-0 in the NNC. Canyons is 6-4 and 3-3.
“We did a nice job. We gave a great effort, we didn’t play our best game, but we got it done, and I’m proud of our guys at the end of the day,” said BC coach Jeff Chudy.
Chudy added, “Our guys are pretty resilient. They hung in there, and it’s a great total team effort.”
BC receiver Will Randle caught two 70-plus yard touchdown passes from quarterback Logan Kilgore, both in the second quarter, to put the Renegades up 21-3 at halftime. Randle had three catches for 193 yards.
Renegade Rishard Matthews caught a first quarter 11-yard touchdown pass from Kilgore that began BC’s scoring.
Matthews reflected on the week leading up to the conference-clinching game and how the win felt. “It feels good, it feels real good. Everybody’s been talking about it all week.”
Matthews added about how his season went. “I feel good. We have so many threats on offense we just put it in the end zone easy.”
Matthews’ reception total on the season was 42 catches for 572 yards, six touchdowns and averaged over 13 yards for receiving and was ranked eighth in the state on punt returns, also averaging over 13 yards.
The BC offensive standout was grateful for his quarterback and offense.
“Logan is having a phenomenal season so all the credit goes to him and our offensive line,” he said.
While Kilgore threw two first-half interceptions that the Cougars did not take advantage of, Kilgore completed 10 of his 20 passes for 306 yards and sealed the win with passing for 2,124 yards this season.
Kilgore is now a member with former BC alumni Thomas Peregrin and Jacob Bower as one of only three BC quarterbacks to throw over 2,000 yards in one season.
“It was a great team win. Our offense peaked at times [and] our defense peaked at other times. [For] our defense, we’ve been doing a great job against other offenses [and] keeping us in the game,” said Kilgore.
Kilgore was not concerned with the crucial turnovers in the game due to his confidence in the defense.
“We had the clock on our side the whole time and with our defense, they bend, but they’re not going to break. They’re tough,” he said.”
Kilgore talked about the upcoming playoff game against Hancock. “We’re not done playing,” he said. “We want to keep playing. We’re going to have a fun one out there.”
When asked about facing an unknown team on the night of their conference win, Kilgore said, “Offensively, we just do what we do. We got to get better at our things. We really don’t change much when it comes to other teams, but it will be good.”
Canyons didn’t score their only touchdown until the beginning of the fourth quarter on a D.J. Stephens reception from Canyons quarterback Eric Brown.
BC moved up in the polls to No. 4 in Southern California, as El Camino lost at No. 3 Cerritos 42-28 Nov. 14.
Announced on Nov. 15, BC will face No. 5 Hancock (9-1, 5-1 NNC) Nov. 21 at Memorial Stadium.
BC defeated Hancock 31-24 earlier in the season on Oct. 10. Hancock’s only season loss was to BC.
Chudy said about being in the Golden Empire Bowl game this year, “We’re really excited to play in this bowl game. It’s the best bowl game. What you’re going to see is the attendance will [outnumber] every [bowl] game in southern California.”
The kickoff for the Golden Empire Bowl is 3 p.m. Gates open at 1 p.m.
Tickets are on sale at the BC ticket office. Adult tickets are $10, and BC students with ID and kids under 12 are $5.