The Bakersfield College football team has used a strong running attack and a quarterback change to win its last two games and improve to 3-4 overall and 2-1 in the Northern National Conference.
“We’ve got some extremely large guys up front that look to create some seams,” head coach Jeff Chudy said. “The tandem of running backs that we have in (Bruce) Frieson, (Andre) Smith and (Matthew) Peralta, we have to ride their coattails. It just makes sense for us to put the ball in their hands and give them a chance to show what they can do.”
Chudy said he feels the team has started to play better together as a group.
“I think everybody is starting to understand their role,” he said. “They know what is expected of them. I think everybody is pulling for each other. We’ve done a good job of playing together as a team.”
Freshman quarterback Joe Maldonado made his first collegiate start as the Renegades shut out Moorpark College 30-0 on Oct. 18.
“I thought Joe did an effective job doing his role and knowing what his job is. He did a nice job of executing,” said Chudy.
The Renegades started the game against Moorpark by tackling Moorpark running back Donald Senegal in the end zone for a safety. On BC’s first offensive series, Maldonado threw a 42-yard touchdown pass to William Randle. That was Maldonado’s only completion as he finished 1 for 5 on passing. Maldonado also added a 23-yard touchdown run in the third quarter.
Frieson, a sophomore running back, had a 53-yard touchdown run, while fellow running back Peralta scored on a 15-yard touchdown run.
Frieson finished the game with 20 carries for 204 yards and one touchdown, while Peralta had 14 carries for 73 yards and one touchdown.
On Oct 11 the Renegades racked up 373 yards rushing to run their way to a 34-17 victory over Allan Hancock College.
“The effort was outstanding,” Chudy said following the game against Hancock. We answered the bell defensively up front. We did a great job of tackling the ball carrier and owning the line of scrimmage.
We did a nice job of keeping our focus and attention for detail. It’s a good win for us”
Smith, a freshman running back, echoed what Chudy said by saying, “It’s a big win for us. It’s always good to come out and get a win at home and execute on all cylinders.”
With the score tied 10-10 at halftime the Renegades took control by scoring 21 straight points.
The Renegades 21-0 run included a 2 yard touchdown run by Frieson, a 2 yard touchdown run by Maldonado, and a 3 yard touchdown run by Smith???
Frieson finished with 23 carries for 169 yards and one touchdown, while Smith added 16 carries for 131 yards and two touchdowns.
Against Hancock, Maldonado replaced starter Nick Gauthier at quarterback on the third possession of the game.
When asked why the change was made Chudy said, “Joe’s been battling Nick. We told them going into this week (the game against Hancock), whoever has the best week of practice is going to start.”?
The Renegades next game will be at home on Oct 25 against Glendale College (3-3, 1-1 Northern National) at 7 p.m.
Glendale lost to Caynons 43-23 on Oct 18.
Chudy said that Glendale’s teams is a lot like Hancock.
“They’re extremely physical. They try to control the ball by running it. They don’t take a lot of chances on defense. It’s going to be a tough contest for us.”