BAKERSFIELD, CA - The Bakersfield College football team cruised to a dominant 56-7 victory over the Antelope Valley Marauders on Education Night, improving their record to 3-1 on the season. The Renegades balanced offensive attack and stifling defense were too much for Antelope Valley, who fell to 0-4.
BC quickly opened up the game finding the end zone in the first three minutes into the game, when quarterback Vincent Igoa connected with freshman wide receiver Jacoby Pointer for a 28-yard touchdown, putting Bakersfield up 7-0.
Antelope Valley responded with a 2-yard rushing touchdown to tie the game, but that was their only score of the night. The Renegades regained the lead before the end of the first quarter, with running back David Smith scoring on a 10-yard run to make it 14-7.
In the second quarter, Igoa found Mekhi Smith for a 36-yard touchdown pass, and moments later, Smith wowed the crowd with a 52-yard punt return for a touchdown, extending the lead to 28-7 before heading back to the locker room at halftime.
The second half was more of the same for Bakersfield. Jalen Hankins powered in a 1-yard touchdown run midway through the third quarter, followed by a 14-yard scoring run from Ja'Daniels Nettles to increase the lead to 42-7. In the fourth quarter, backup quarterback Malachi Statler hit Devon Sundgren for a 31-yard touchdown pass early in the period, and Nettles added another 1-yard touchdown run to cap off the scoring at 56-7.
BC's offense was unstoppable, collecting 465 yards of total offense, including 257 rushing yards. Nettles led the ground attack with 108 yards and two touchdowns, while Igoa threw for 149 yards and two scores. Mekhi Smith shined with both a receiving touchdown and his punt return. On defense, the Renegades held the Marauders to just 212 total yards and forced one interception, courtesy of Chase Furtado. They also limited Antelope Valley to just 31% on third-down conversions and sacked their quarterback once.
With the win, BC will head out for the road to take on El Camino College next Saturday and then have a bye before returning home for Homecoming on October 19th.
