Bakersfield College started the season with a 24-9 football win over Santa Ana College. Since then, things have gone downhill. BC has dropped four straight games and now finds itself sixth in the Northern Division at 0-2 and 1-4 overall.
BC’s latest defeat came on the road against College of the Canyons 42-14. After a scoreless first quarter, Canyons (4-1) got on the board early in the second quarter when punter Austin Murillo returned a fumble 20 yards for a touchdown.
“We had more turnovers and more penalties than they did,” BC head coach Jeff Chudy said on his team’s defeat. “We’re making too many mistakes, and we’re playing against teams who aren’t making mistakes. We have to get that stuff cleaned up.”
After Canyons went up 14-0, BC was able to put together a six-play, 49-yard drive when running back Preston Hodges took the ball into the end zone on a 7-yard run. BC went into the second half down 21-7 after a 10-yard rushing by Louis Gipson.
With all the sanctions that have happened with the BC football program, Chudy said his team has to play better and smarter even if they’re not playing for the postseason.
“We represent a community that has a lot of pride in this program and we got to play like it. It’s one thing to go out and compete, but we’re not playing very well,” Chudy explained.
Cruise Adams got the start at quarterback for the Renegades and went 11-for-21 with 136 yards and one touchdown pass. Canyons’ quarterbacks Jake Dashnaw and Tony Dawson each combined for 206 yards and three touchdown passes. Canyons had 172 rushing yards and allowed BC to rush for only 58 yards.
On Sept. 28, BC fell to Ventura 24-16, and the Pirates beat the Renegades for the first time ever in Memorial Stadium and are now 1-13 against BC there.
Ventura looked as if it was going to run away with the game after going up 24-0 and taking that lead into the second half. The Renegades would show signs of life by outscoring the Pirates 16-0 in the final half.
“Our guys decided to come out and play with energy and passion,” Chudy said when asked what changed in the second half of the game for his team. “Our guys came out in the second half and gave us a chance to get back in it but didn’t quite get there. You can’t come out flat. It’s not like you’re tired from having too many contests.”
Not only did Ventura shut out the Renegades in the first half, they also put up big yards with 183 through the air and carved up 142 yards on the ground and had a total of 325 yards. The Pirates also had 16 first downs to six for BC, which only converted on one third down attempt on five tries.
With 5:56 left in regulation and Ventura leading 24-16, Chudy made the call for an onside kick and not give his defense a chance to make a stop for a potential game tying drive.
“In practice we did a great job of executing it,” Chudy said as he explained why he went for the onside kick.
“We were worried about the possession,” he said. “I was worried about getting the ball back with not a lot of time. We just didn’t convert with the game on the line.”
In the end with 2:04 remaining in regulation, BC would get the ball back after forcing a Ventura three and out. The Renegades were able to get the ball into Pirate territory but failed to complete a fourth down pass attempt.
BC’s next game will be a home game Oct. 12 against El Camino, which is 4-1 in conference and 2-0 overall.