Big 2nd half carries 'Gades past Gauchos
| Saturday, Sep 11 2010 10:22 PM
Last Updated Saturday, Sep 11 2010 11:07 PM
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BC Football Practice #4 QB Lyle Negron has his first official practices with other BC teammates.
MISSION VIEJO -- It was only the second game of the season on Saturday night, and Bakersfield College coach Jeff Chudy wasn't ready to declare that the Renegades are a dominant team.
But Chudy, his coaching staff and players were all smiles after the Renegades rallied from an 11-point deficit late in the third quarter to shock Saddleback College, 41-24.
"We grew up today," said Dave Thorp, BC's defensive line coach. "We played with a lot of energy and we played hard. They became college football players today."
The majority of BC's defensive starters are freshmen, and they were pushed around a week earlier in a 52-41 season opening win over L.A. Pierce.
And they were knocked around in the first quarter Saturday against Saddleback, which shook off an opening kickoff fumble that BC converted into a touchdown to take a 14-7 lead less than 10 minutes into the game.
BC limited the Gauchos to three second-quarter points. It was 17-13 at halftime, but Saddleback (1-1) converted a 33-yard TD pass from Brad Curtis to Rodney Woodland with 5:33 left in the third quarter to build a 24-13 lead.
It was all Renegades after that.
"I'm proud of these guys," Chudy said. "We didn't play a perfect game. We had a good effort last week but we didn't have a lot of great hits. But we had some great hits tonight. Guys got confident. Once we got momentum, we built on it. For the, once you lose momentum, it's hard to get it back."
"Our defense came together this game," said sophomore safety Tyler Thompson. "This was a good game for us. Our coaches got us ready to play."
BC's special teams, which contributed to at least 24 points against Pierce, again had an impact.
Irving Gant recovered Saddleback's fumble on the opening kickoff that was eventually converted into Julian Dean-Johnson's 1-yard TD run. And Domingo Torres' 14-yard TD run with 2:10 left in the game capped a drive started when freshman linebacker John Oglesby blocked a punt to give BC possession on the Saddleback 36.
But it was quarterback Lyle Negron who led the way. He had a 5-yard TD run that put BC ahead for good, 27-24, with 12:06 left in the game. He also had a 1-yard TD pass to tight end Jared Hood that pulled the Renegades within 24-20 with 56 seconds left in the third quarter.
He ran for 80 yards and was 15-of-32 for 170 passing yards despite a night when he missed several wide-open receivers. Many of those runs were scrambles that eluded an effective Gauchos pass rush.
"My balls were high, low -- I've got to get better," Negron said of his occasional passing woes. "I can't keep running the ball like this."
"(Negron) played with a lot of heart," Saddleback coach Mark McElroy said. "We didn't play very good tonight. We weren't bad, but we weren't good."
Saddleback lost two fumbles and the Renegades converted both into touchdowns.
In addition to Gant's opening-game recovery, BC safety Tyler Dogins made a huge play when Saddleback quarterback Brad Curtis attempted an option pitchout. Dogins charged Curtis, then leaped away toward running back Donnell Dickerson as two other Renegade defenders closed in on Curtis.
Dogins took away Curtis' target, and Curtis lost the ball when he tried to put it away and run. Ian Driskoll recovered for BC and three plays later, Andre Smith scored on a 9-yard run to make it 34-24. The Gauchos never seriously threatened to score again.
Curtis was sacked four times, three in the fourth quarter. Freshman defensive lineman Armonti Yharbrough had two sacks.
The Renegades seemed to wear down the Gauchos' defense. BC had scoring drives of 74 and 80 yards in the second half, and Saddleback's defense seemed to be on the field throughout the final two quarters. BC had the ball 10 minutes, 50 seconds of the third quarter and that helped set up a 21-point fourth quarter that put the game away.
Donnell Dickerson had touchdown runs of 1 and 60 yards for Saddleback, with the 60-yard score coming on a fourth down-and-inches play.
Saddleback had limited Orange Coast to 15 net rushing yards one week earlier, but BC finished with 221 yards -- with 79 of those in the fourth quarter.
