One more game. One more time to put on the uniform. One more chance to show up, compete and seek a victory. On a Saturday afternoon in November, Bakersfield College football players and coaches are set to participate in a postseason bowl game.
The West Coast Bowl kicks off at 2 p.m. and pits the Renegades in a road game against host Fullerton College. Both teams are 6-4 and are counterparts in the National Central League of the Southern California Football Association. Yes, the teams have played once this season, Oct. 17 at Memorial Stadium. It was a 41-37 Renegades victory and it kicked off the team’s current four-game win streak.
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“We were able to beat a very good football team,” BC offensive coordinator Seth Damron said. “After they played us they beat Pasadena and Cerritos. When we beat Fullerton it was a catalyst to get us going.”
BC’s offense has followed head coach Tyler Thompson’s orders, per se, to score points. The unit started the season slow as defense and special teams carried the load with pick-six and fumble scoop and scores and kick returns. Now, BC is coming off its fourth straight game of 40 or more points, outscoring the opposition, 206-94.
“It’s a young team that came in with not much college playing experience,” Damron said. “Things just take time.”
The win streak began against Fullerton and it coincided with Tucker Brown’s elevation to starting quarterback.
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“Tucker’s played more, he can throw and his escapability and his ability to use his legs helps,” Damron said. He’s also seen strong play from the offensive line, running backs and tight ends.
Against Fullerton, Damron said Brown’s first touchdown, a 40-yard pass play to Dylan Johnson, showed that coaches made the right decision. Brown finished with two TD passes and running back Brison Abbott had a 112-yard, three-touchdown game against the Hornets.
The hope, Thompson said, is that BC’s offense can keep producing and his defense, which will bend, doesn’t break.
“We’re certainly going to need it,” he said. “(Fullerton’s) really been lighting it up on offense the last three weeks. Against Cerritos they had over 700 yards of offense. They beat up on Pasadena and played Golden West pretty tough.”
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A bigger challenge might be for the Renegade defense to just stay healthy. Thompson said injuries have thinned the depth chart considerably. Special team players are helping to fill the gaps. There’s also been temptation to move players on offense to defense. Thompson said five starters on defense were out this week after a 40-21 victory over College of the Canyons to make BC bowl eligible.
“Honestly, we’re at that point where I actually thought about it,” Thompson said about player shifts to defense. “I’ve never been at a point like this before in a season. Pretty much if we get one injury in the defensive backfield we’re going to have to switch personnel groups. If we get another one, that’s where we might go.”
Getting a bowl victory should be a goal. BC, which last played in a bowl in 2024, is 0-6 since 2015. The Renegades’ last bowl victory was the 2014 Western State Bowl, a 23-10 triumph over Chaffey.
“When you have 36 teams in Southern California and only 12 get to play in the postseason, they might not think about it as a big deal, but it is. It’s pretty cool,” Thompson said. “They get one more game to wear the uniform, play and do what they want to do. That’s exciting.”
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Speaking of excitement, Thompson enters Saturday’s game as a father of three. Last week, days before BC played Canyons, his wife, Caitlin, gave birth to their third child, a second son, Brooks. He joins big brother Tate, 3, and sister Carter, 18 months, in the Thompson household.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: Sports.yahoo.com
