The Bakersfield College football team beat Pasadena City College on homecoming night 38-17 on Nov. 10 to earn the final spot in the Southern California community college playoffs.
With this win and with Riverside College losing to Mt. SAC, the Renegades were able to clinch the final playoff spot. BC got the No. 3 seed and will play at No. 2 seed Ventura College in the semifinals, while No. 1 seed Mt. SAC squares up against No. 4 seed Saddleback College.
The last time BC played Ventura was earlier this season, and they lost 28-27 in four overtimes. Since then, BC went on a six-game winning streak to finish the season. Their playoff matchup will also be the Beach Bowl.
The Renegades finished the regular season 8-2 (5-1, National Northern Conference) and went undefeated at home.
Pasadena tried to stay with BC and opened up its playbook with two fake punts and one fake reverse on a kick return. BC was nursing a slim lead for three quarters until its offense finally started to take control of the game in the fourth quarter.
“I thought we did a nice job of getting win number eight,” said BC coach Jeff Chudy on the win over Pasadena. “It’s not the easiest task to play a team that’s limping along at 1-8, but I was proud how our guys got it done.
“When you look at our schedule, we’ve played the conference champions from the south and the central, and our guys have done a great job. We got really good chemistry on this team, so I’m proud how we got it done.”
BC and Pasadena both started off the game slow by turning the ball over on their first drives, but the Renegades were able to score first on a 21-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Brian Burrell to receiver Brock Martin.
On Pasadena’s next drive, BC was able to stop them for three downs but the Lancers faked the punt. Punter Justin Posthuma threw a pass to receiver Andrew Medrano for 34 yards and got to BC’s 17-yard line. Pasadena tied the game on their next play with a 17-yard touchdown run from running back Zach Sinclair.
BC responded with a 22-yard touchdown pass from Burrell to receiver Robert Burns. That was Burns’s first touchdown in his two years on the team. After Pasadena tried another fake punt but failed to convert, BC scored again to take control of the game. Pasadena responded by scoring on its next drive, and BC suffered an even bigger blow after running back Curtis McGregor got injured with less than five minutes left in the first half. BC still managed to take a 24-17 lead into halftime.
In the start of the second half, BC’s offense struggled to move the ball but the Renegades defense managed to hold that touchdown lead. Then in the beginning of the fourth quarter, BC’s offense got the spark it needed with a 57-yard run by running back Jalen Sykes.
“It was a zone play,” said Sykes. “I was patient enough to let the hole develop and I busted right through it. I just kept thinking protect the ball, protect the ball and get as many yards as I can, but unfortunately I got caught.”
Two plays later, BC scored on an 8-yard touchdown pass from Burrell to tight end Mike Dunn to give BC more of a cushion. BC’s defense stopped Pasadena on a fourth down and led to another BC touchdown, but this time Sykes ran it in for a 24-yard touchdown to put the Lancers away.
Sykes led the Renegades offense with 164 rushing yards and one touchdown on 24 carries. Even though Burrell was only 10 of 18 for 106 yards, he did throw for three touchdowns and ran for another. Linebacker Keylon Hollis led the defense with 11 tackles and five sacks including two that came in crucial fourth downs.
Sykes commented on the team’s performance.
“The first two quarters were pretty rough, but at halftime our coach gave us a little speech and got our intensity up,” he said. “We executed real well in the fourth quarter and that’s all we can ask for.
“I think we came into this game judging and thinking they wouldn’t be as good but they fought a hard battle. We came out strong in the fourth quarter. We realized that they’re a team to give your all against and we came out stronger.”
Sykes explained that he was motivated after McGregor went down with the injury.
“I was very motivated because that’s my brother,” he said. “Once he got hurt, I knew I had to step my game up because I knew I was the only one. I just wanted to do my best for him because I know that’s what he would do for me.”
On Nov. 3, BC beat Allan Hancock 56-27 behind 411 rushing yards and strong defensive effort. Sykes ran for 242 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 32 carries. McGregor added 164 yards and two touchdowns of his own.BC’s defense held Hancock’s running back, Cameron Artis-Payne, under his season average. Artis-Payne came into the game averaging 211 yards per game, and BC held him to 148 yards.
The Renegades will play their semifinal playoff game and Beach Bowl against Ventura on Nov. 17. According to BC’s athletic director Ryan Beckwith, if BC beats Ventura and beats the winner of Mt. SAC and Saddleback, then BC will host the State Final.