Junior College Bowl Roundup : Bakersfield Rallies to Defeat Fullerton, 30-24

BAKERSFIELD â€”  Karl Price scored from 2 yards out with 26 seconds left to lift Bakersfield College to a 30-24 victory over Fullerton Saturday in the Shrine Potato Bowl before a near-sellout crowd of 18,237 at Memorial Stadium, putting the Renegades in line for a possible national championship.

Fullerton (10-1) was top-ranked in the J.C. Grid-Wire national poll, and Bakersfield (11-0) was third. Second-ranked Glendale (Arizona) won its last game Thanksgiving night. The final poll will be announced Monday.

“It was a tough loss,� Fullerton Coach Hal Sherbeck said. “The teams really went at it. We just made too many mistakes and you can’t do that in a game this big.�

Bakersfield opened a 20-10 lead in the first half before Fullerton rallied. The Hornets took the lead, 24-23, after a 1-yard touchdown run by Jeff Andrews with 4:41 left when Kirk Hainline kicked the extra point.

The score ended a 12-play, 77-yard drive made possible when Fullerton’s defense, with only 10 men on the field, got an interception by James Rollins at the Fullerton 27 with 13:40 left.

“I just kept telling the offense that we could do it in the second half and we almost did,� said Victor Williams, who was 16 of 26 for 204 yards. “We were not a team with good players, we were a team that played together well. It was our faith that got us this far.�

Bakersfield came right back, also with the help of a fourth play. The Renegades needed 1 yard at their 38 with 2:52 left but got 34 on a pass play from quarterback Stan Greene to tight end Lionel Sykes to get to the Fullerton 28.

Sykes caught a 14-yard pass a play later and Reggie Yarbrough ran 3 times to get the ball to the 2 before Price carried it in.

Most of the mistakes Sherbeck spoke of came in the second quarter as Bakersfield opened a 20-10 lead. Fullerton defensive players jumped offside 3 times on the second Bakersfield scoring drive.

The Hornets stopped Bakersfield on fourth and 1 on the Fullerton 24. only to be called offside. The drive continued and Yarbrough scored on a 4-yard run to put the Renegades ahead, 13-10, with 8:50 left.

Yarbrough scored on a 35-yard run to put Bakersfield ahead, 7-3, with 12:25 left in the second quarter. He had 80 yards in 16 carries. Andrews had 99 yards in 29 carries.

Greene completed a 4-yard touchdown pass to Sykes with 7 seconds left in the half for a 20-10 lead. Greene was 17 of 33 for 208 yards. Earlier in the drive, Fullerton stopped Bakersfield on third and 9, but the Hornets were called for holding, giving Bakersfield a first down on the Fullerton 32.