BC struggles to slow Mount SAC in 41-27 defeat
| Saturday, Oct 01 2011 10:53 PM
Last Updated Saturday, Oct 01 2011 10:54 PM
WALNUT -- Bakersfield College's problems when facing Mount San Antonio College always seem to stem from the inability to prevent Mounties' scoring chances in critical situations.
The Renegades, with the game on the line late in the third quarter and in the first five minutes of the fourth quarter, had Mount SAC in five third-down situations. The Mounties converted all of them in a pair of TD drives that broke a tie and led Mount SAC to a 41-27 win Saturday night at Mount SAC.
The Renegades conclude the pre-conference portion of their schedule 3-2. Mount SAC, the two-time defending state champion that had a 26-game winning streak snapped a week earlier, is 4-1.
"I'm disappointed in the way we played defensively," BC head coach Jeff Chudy said. "We needed to make plays on defense on third down. We felt we were coming of age defensively. We took a step backwards tonight. ...
"We feel this is one of the best defensive personnel we've ever had here, but we're not playing well."
Mount SAC has beaten BC five times in the last five years and knocked the Renegades out of the Southern California playoffs in 2007, 2009 and 2010.
The Renegades never led. They trailed 14-0 late in the first quarter before grabbing momentum when wide receiver Brandon Hobdy caught a 62-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Brian Duboski on the final play of the first quarter.
BC was helped on that play when Mount SAC defensive back Shelton Miles went for an interception and missed the ball. When Hobdy caught it, he was behind the defense and he easily won a foot race to the end zone.
BC pulled into a 17-17 halftime tie on Tyler Schleicher's season-long 43-yard field goal with 24 seconds left in the quarter, and Hobdy's 13-yard TD catch with 1:53 left in the third quarter made it 24-24 entering the fourth period.
But the Mounties dominated after that. They drove 64 yards in 10 plays, capped by running back Matthew Botello's 2-yard touchdown run with 13:52 left in the game to take the lead for good.
On that drive, Mount SAC was 3-for-3 on third-down conversions, a 6-yard pass to wideout Alonzo Agwuenu on a third-and-4, a back-breaking 20-yard run by quarterback Cameron Deen with the Mounties in a third-and-11 and a 43-yard pass to Darrin Duncan that reached the BC 2 on a third-and-10.
"We played too soft at times, and we didn't contain him (Deen) the way we should have," Chudy said.
The Renegades went 3-and-out on their next offensive series, and the Mounties marched right down the field again, driving 53 yards in nine plays. Two of those were third-down conversions -- a third-and-7 pass from Deens to Brandon Taylor for 19 yards and a 7-yard pass to Agwuenu on third-and-6. Running back Christian Bobo's 4-yard TD run made it 41-27 with 10:16 left.
The Renegades had only 7 net yards in the fourth quarter until a last-minute drive picked up a couple of first downs as the game concluded.
Duboski was 16-of-37 for 248 yards and the two TDs to Hobdy. But one of his interceptions was returned 47 yards for a touchdown by Anthony Goodwin.
Running back Jalen Sykes added 113 rushing yards on 25 carries for BC. Deen was 26-of-40 for 284 yards and Agwuenu caught nine passes for 121 yards for the Mounties.
Another key was Mount SAC cutting down on its penalties in the second half. The Mounties, who have been devastated by penalties in several games this season, were flagged 11 times for 110 yards in the first half but had only 36 penalty yards in the second half.
BC had only 64 yards in penalties, but was uncharacteristically called for three unsportsmanlike conduct calls.
Field position played a key part in the outcome. BC consistently faced long yardage situations on third down and Mount SAC did a good job returning kickoffs to near midfield following most BC scores.
BC has a bye next week before opening National Northern Conference play in Santa Maria against Allan Hancock on Oct. 15.
