BC motivated in win over Pasadena
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1 of 5By John Harte / Special to The Californian
Bakersfield's Rishard Matthews (8) looks for running room after making a catch against Pasadena in the first half Saturday. He is chased by defensive back Julius Harris.
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2 of 5By John Harte / Special to The Californian
Bakersfield's Montreal Harris finds a big hole to run through on this play in the first half against Pasadena Saturday night. His Renegade teammates are Rishard Matthews (8) and Gareth Brown (32).
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3 of 5
By John Harte / Special to The Californian
Bakersfield's Will Randle makes a leaping catch for a touchdown against Pasadena's Taurus D'Antignac in the first quarter to put the Gades up 7-0 Saturday night.
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By John Harte / Special to The Californian
Pasadena quarterback Nick Ponce gets a pass away a split second before he is hit by Bakersfield's Tyrone Crawford in the first halft at Memorial Stadium Saturday night.
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By John Harte / Special to The Californian
On a play that could have implications later in the game, Pasadena's John Roberson is kept out of the endzone by Bakersfield's Cameron Shelton (right) and Maurice Hayes on this botched point-after-touchdown scramble late in the first half.
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BY JEFF EVANS, Californian staff writer
Pasadena City College quarterback Nick Ponce came into Saturday night's game at Bakersfield College with zero interceptions, 12 touchdown passes and a 70 percent completion rate.
But the Renegades' defense dominated Ponce and his Lancer teammates.
BC opened Northern National Conference play with a 34-13 win over Pasadena before 4,913 at Memorial Stadium.
The Renegades (4-1) had a 17-0 first-half lead, then saw Pasadena (3-2) pull within 17-13 at halftime.
BC opened the second half by driving 85 yards for a touchdown to regain momentum. It was 31-13 after three quarters and Pasadena never seriously threatened to score after that.
"We were up 17-0 and had some great opportunities we didn't capitalize on," said BC coach Jeff Chudy. "We were in complete control of the game, dominating. And all of a sudden it's 17-13."
At halftime, Chudy said he challenged his team "to play like a championship football team. We responded. I'm very proud of the way they did that."
Pasadena had six interceptions and lost a fumble. Ponce had five of the interceptions, with two caught by Tanner Webb. Joseph Bertrand had another that he returned 15 yards for a touchdown.
The Renegades took a 17-0 lead when Ben Estill scored on a 4-yard touchdown run with 8:19 left in the second quarter.
In the first quarter, BC wide receiver William Randle put the Renegades on the scoreboard with a 40-yard touchdown reception from Logan Kilgore. Randle made a leaping catch at the 2-yard line despite tight defense by safety Julius Harris and cornerback Taurus D'Antignac.
Josh Gallington gave BC a 10-0 lead with a 34-yard field goal. That drive started when BC defensive back Eddie Coronado intercepted a pass by Ponce and raced all the way to the end zone. But an illegal block nullified the touchdown.
Pasadena had struggled on offense until the Lancers took over at the BC 14-yard line after the Renegades' Vince Van Horne fumbled a punt return and the Lancers recovered. BC was also penalized 15 yards on the play for a personal foul, and Ponce quickly struck, hitting wide receiver Kemonte Bateman for a 14-yard TD pass on the drive's first play.
Pasadena held BC without a first down on the Renegades' next possession, and a short punt gave the Lancers possession on the BC 44. Six plays later Reuben Thomas scored on a 4-yard run to make it 17-13. The PAT failed when a high snap prompted an unsuccessful run attempt.
Montreal Harris added a 1-yard TD run for BC in the third quarter and Gallington hit his second field goal, a 24-yard kick, for the only score in the fourth quarter.
BC had four turnovers and 85 yards in penalties.
"That's unacceptable," Chudy said. "Those are the things we've got to be better at."
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