An eight-game win streak has Bakersfield College’s football team on its way to the first State Championship game they’ve had since 2000, when they lost 31-13 against City College of San Francisco, and now that’s the team that stands in its way.
The game is scheduled to be played at Memorial Stadium on Dec. 8, but the time has yet to be announced.
BC fell to 2-2 after a four-overtime loss to Ventura College on Sept. 22, but since then the Renegades have not lost. In the playoffs, they beat Ventura and Mt. SAC, who were previously undefeated, to advance to the State Championship game and play against defending champion CCSF. CCSF beat American River College of Sacramento 41-36 in the Northern California final Nov. 24.
“It’s a great opportunity for us to showcase what Bakersfield is all about,” said BC coach Jeff Chudy. “Hopefully, we can get 20,000-15,000 people out there. I know our community will support us, and it’s going to be great. Two weeks to prepare for San Francisco. They were the last team we played in a state game, so it couldn’t happen in a better way.”
CCSF (10-1, 4-1 in NorCal North division) was the No. 1 seed in the Northern California Football Playoffs.
CCSF’s offense averages 457 yards per game with 253 coming through the air and 204 on the ground. Leading the way for the Rams is running back Kristoffer Olugbode with 1,636 rushing yards and 19 touchdowns on 256 carries. Rams quarterback Andrew Spivey has thrown for 2,657 yards and 31 touchdowns.
BC quarterback Brian Burrell commented on the team advancing to the State Championship.
“It’s great. Now we got one more game, so we have to focus on winning that game,” he said.
The Renegades finished the regular season with a 38-17 win over Pasadena City College to finish with an 8-2 record and 5-1 in the National Northern Conference. The Renegades then beat Ventura 48-8 and Mt. SAC 30-21 to win the Southern California title.
Chudy said that BC’s history could be a factor.
“We talked about it before the [Mt. SAC] game that we’re a little different from all these other JC’s because of all the tradition we have,” he said.
Tight end Mike Dunn commented on the game being at BC.
“We’re playing at home in front of 20,000, should be fun.”