BAKERSFIELD, CA - In an exciting season opener at Memorial Stadium Saturday night, the visiting Golden West Rustlers held off a fierce late-game comeback by the Bakersfield College Renegades to claim a 27-25 victory.
Bakersfield opened the scoring midway through the first quarter with a 3-yard touchdown pass from freshman quarterback Vincent Igoa to wide receiver Jalen Richmond, capping off a 13-play, 50-yard drive. Golden West quickly responded, as Aaron Mitchell powered in a 7-yard rushing touchdown to tie the game at 7-7 just before the first quarter ended.
Bakersfield regained the lead early in the second quarter when backup wide receiver Mekhi Smith connected with Mason Tapia for a 33-yard touchdown. However, a missed extra point, which proved to be crucial later in the game, put BC on top 13-7. Golden West answered with a 41-yard field goal by Fernando Mancilla, narrowing their deficit to 13-10.
Just before halftime, the Rustlers took the lead as quarterback Will Burns found Trey Nelson on a 31-yard touchdown strike, giving Golden West a 17-13 lead at the break.
Following a BC turnover, Golden West extended their lead to 24-13 in the third quarter with a 1-yard touchdown run.
In the fourth quarter, BC remained resilient when Igoa threw his second touchdown of the night, a 5-yard pass to Ja'Daniels Nettles, pulling the Renegades to within five points at 24-19 after a failed two-point conversion.
Once more, GW responded with a 32-yard field goal by Mancilla with just over five minutes remaining, extending their lead to 27-19.
Bakersfield mounted a final charge late in the game, as David Smith plunged into the end zone on a 1-yard run, capping an 11-play, 55-yard drive. The Renegades failed to convert the game-tying two-point attempt when an unsportman-like conduct call took them back to the 18-yard line, sealing their fate at 27-25.
With the loss, BC starts season 0-1 and will travel for two road games before returning home on September 28th to take on Antelope Valley. Next Saturday's game will be at Long Beach College, followed by San Bernardino College the following Saturday.
