Penalties, big plays hurt BC in 27-24 loss to ELAC
The Bakersfield College Renegades committed 12 penalties for 118 yards — 48 more yards than in any other game this season — and were held scoreless for the last 26 minutes of Saturday night’s game as they fell to the Huskies of East Los Angeles College, 27-24.
When Cameron Williams returned a fumbled snap at the goal line 91 yards for a touchdown just before halftime, and BC (2-7) added an Antonio Robinson score on their next drive to lead 24-17, it appeared as though it would pull away from an ELAC (5-4) squad that had struggled offensively all night.
Instead, the Renegades allowed 92 rushing yards in the fourth quarter and fell behind, then Richard Lara completed just one pass on a last-chance drive with two minutes left.
Dexter Frampton started at quarterback, but after he opened 1-of-6, BC coach R. Todd Littlejohn replaced him with Lara (12-of-21, 166 yards, one touchdown) for the second week in a row. Littlejohn said he wasn’t pleased with the quarterback play.
“Not good enough, plain and simple,” he said.
Frampton and Lara weren’t helped by the running game, which mustered just 64 yards.
The offense had some brief moments of success in the first quarter when Frampton found Jackson Sanchez for a 40-yard pass on a rollout left to set up Peter Delis for a successful 41-yard field goal.
However, their efforts were in vain. Even though the defense vexed Huskies quarterback Rudy Garcia, who started 2-of-11 for 11 yards, it also committed four 15-yard penalties on a single drive, including a roughing call on a punt. That yardage was enough to get ELAC a tying field goal.
“Undisciplined, unacceptable,” Littlejohn said. “It nullified some drives and some good plays as well.”
The Huskies were also sloppy. Early in the second quarter, they forced a punt, only for Jaden Mason to fumble on the first play of ELAC’s drive, setting up the Renegades at the Huskies’ 17.
BC went backwards with a pair of negative plays and a holding call, but Lara found Braden Gordon on a third-and-25 screen pass.
The backup running back spun out of two tackles and reversed field, reaching the end zone to give BC a 10-3 lead.
But a minute later, ELAC pinned BC at its own 2-yard line with a quick kick by Mason, and then it was Gordon’s turn to fumble and set up an immediate Huskies touchdown.
Lara was sacked on fourth down on the Renegades’ next drive, and then Garcia finally broke through, finding Pedro Amoussou (116 total yards) for a 33-yard connection and Guy McCarthy for a 7-yard touchdown.
After another stagnant possession for BC, Amoussou stiff-armed Jaylan Lawson on his way to a 68-yard run, but the Huskies stalled at the goal line to set up third and goal from the 1, at which point Williams scored his long defensive touchdown to make it 17-16. Delis’s extra point was no good.
After the half, ELAC threatened to match BC in penalties. Consecutive flags for offsides and pass interference got the Renegades down the field, then Lara found Jaylen Blizzard for 32 yards to set up a short score for Robinson and a two-point conversion.
With BC leading 24-17, the Renegades couldn’t get out of their own way. ELAC started its next drive in BC territory after a short kick and offsides flag, and added a quick field goal.
The Renegades entered Huskies territory on back-to-back drives but punted on both.
ELAC reached the red zone again after a 44-yard quarterback draw, but Garcia took a big hit on third down and was intercepted by Morgan Dutton.