After a slow start that included making several mistakes and having a record of 0-2 for the first time since 1986, the Bakersfield College football team responded in a big way.
The Renegades scored early and often to defeat the Santa Monica College Corsairs 60-14 on Sept 20.
The Renegades started their first drive of the night at the Corsairs’ 38-yard line, a drive that ended with sophomore running back Bruce Frieson scoring on an 8-yard touchdown run.
Frieson finished with 12 carries for 87 yards and one touchdown.
“We just played more aggressive, I think we played with a little bit more confidence. We played with confidence and played together as a group. That’s the most important thing,” said BC coach Jeff Chudy.
Sophomore quarterback Nick Gauthier echoed Chudy’s comment about the team having confidence.
“We weren’t pushing the panic button just yet. This is a big boost to our confidence. The field position all night was great. It’s always easy when you have a short field to work with,” Gauthier said
On the Renegades next drive, Gauthier hit freshmen wide receiver Vince Van Horne for an 11-yard touchdown pass, which was Van Horne’s first touchdown catch of his college career.
That gave the Renegades a 14-0 lead with 3:04 left in the first quarter.
Gauthier finished 4-for-7 for 109 yards with two touchdown passes and no interceptions.
During the first half Gauthier and teammate Joe Maldonado alternated at quarterback for each offensive series. Maldonado played most of the second half after the Renegades had a significant lead.
“We feel like both Joe and Nick do some good things. We wanted to kind of create a different little package for Joe. The timing was right for us to do that,” said Chudy.
The Renegades’ scoring wasn’t just limited to offense as the defense got into the act as well. Freshman defensive back Chuckie Covington returned two interceptions for touchdowns.
The Renegades defense forced five turnovers after not forcing any in their two previous games.
Chudy said that the defense did a better job of getting off the field on third down and putting pressure on the quarterback.
“Defensively I think we handled those third and long conversions. We got some good pressure. I think our pass rush was really good off the edge,” Chudy said.
Santa Monica starting quarterback Brady McManus left the game after injuring his ankle on a sack.
With the Renegades already leading 27-0, Ryan Burns replaced McManus and threw a touchdown pass to Joshua Martin for SMC’s first score of the game.
Burns finished the game 9-for-16 for 117 yards with one touchdown pass and one interception. Burns also added an 11 yard touchdown run with 11:23 left in the fourth quarter.
BC freshmen running back Andre Smith Jr. had six carries for 152 yards with two rushing touchdowns.
The Renegades fell to 0-2 when they were defeated by LA Valley 17-13 Sept. 13, despite outgaining LA Valley 523 yards to 389 and getting a good performance on the ground from Freison, who had 26 carries for 194 yards.
Chudy attributed the loss against LA Valley to the Renegades lack of scoring inside the 20 and turning the ball over.
“Offensively we turned it over in the red zone. We got into the red zone four different times and didn’t score any points,” Chudy said.
Chudy said a problem was that the defense didn’t force any turnovers.
The Renegades next game will be at home against El Camino on Sept. 27 at 7 p.m. at Memorial Stadium.