COC Conquers Bakersfield, End Regular Season With Perfect Record

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. – Even though College of the Canyons had clinched the Northern Conference championship with a win over Pasadena City College the weekend before, the Cougars headed into the game against archrival Bakersfield College determined not to take it easy. After all, a perfect season was on the line – a feat the Cougars hadn't accomplished since 2005 - as well as a No. 1 seed in Southern California and home field advantage throughout the playoffs. Thankfully, despite not having starting quarterback Brad McClellan in the lineup and having to overcome some occasional sloppy play, the Cougars faced a Renegade team that just didn't have the horses to keep up, and College of the Canyons kicked its way to a 22-8 win behind three Ricky Drake field goals.

Quarterback Joey Frias took the start and did a stellar job running the offense on the Cougar's first set of downs. Starting from his own 20, Frias threw for 61 yards on 5-for-5 passing, and ran the ball twice for 19 yards, including an 11-yard touchdown run that put the Cougars up 7-0 just five minutes into the game, and seemingly setting a tone for the rest of the game.

Unfortunately, things didn't move so smoothly the rest of the day for the Cougars. The Renegade defense kicked in and attacked unmercifully, sacking Frias eight times and recording 17 tackles for losses. Cougar running back Fred Winborn, in the face of a surprisingly solid defense, struggled on the night, rushing for just 57 yards on 19 carries, his lowest total on the season.

Fortunately for the Cougars and their struggles, Bakersfield's offense was laboring even more. Renegade running back Bruce Frieson had his characteristic nice night, with 108 yards rushing and a score, but the Renegade passing game was non-existent, as two quarterbacks combined for an anemic 6-of-18 passing for 53 yards and an interception.

After the Cougars and Renegades traded the ball a number of times via punts and downs through the rest of the first and second quarters, it was the Cougars who would finally strike again. With 5:13 left on the clock in the second quarter, Frias orchestrated a 12-play 41-yard drive to get COC down to the Bakersfield 33-yard line. That set up a school-record tying field goal of 51 yards for Ricky Drake, who put the score at 10-0 heading into the half.

Seemingly sensing that the offense was having an off-day, the Cougars looked to their special teams to make a big play in the second half, and got one immediately as CJ Atkins returned the Bakersfield kickoff 73 yards to the Renegade 17-yard line. A stunned Bakersfield crowd then watched Frias hit Hayo Carpenter in the back of the end zone for a quick touchdown pass. A missed extra point kept the score at 16-0 just 24 seconds into the second half.

With practically no passing game, the Renegades turned to their go-to guy, Frieson. Starting at his own 23-yard line, Frieson carried the ball four times for 28 yards and caught a pass for 28 yards to help the Renegades reach the Cougar six-yard line. Frieson then carried it in himself, and the Renegades two-point conversion was good to cut the Cougar lead in half 16-8. 

The Cougars extended their lead early in the fourth quarter following another Ricky Drake field goal, this time a 35-yarder with 12 minutes left to give the Cougars a 19-8 lead.

The offensive struggles for both teams were epitomized late in the fourth quarter. With seven minutes left, and Bakersfield starting a drive on its own 10 yard line, the Renegades could manage only 12 yards on five plays. Facing a fourth and ten on their own 22 and a season fast coming to an end, Bakersfield went for it, but an incomplete pass turned the ball over to the Cougars.

But the Cougars, on Bakersfield's 22, actually moved the ball backwards, going 4 plays for -5 yards. Drake kicked his third field goal for final score of 22-8.

Frias finished the night with nice numbers, going 17-for-25 for 244 yards with a touchdown and an interception, as well as rushing for 6 yards and a score. Carpenter had a great night as well, catching 9 passes for 131 yards and a touchdown.

The defense had a solid night for the Cougars, holding the Renegades to just 53 yards passing and 236 yards of total offense. Eric Wells, Jonathon Hollins and Josh Gibbs each had eight tackles on the night, and Zach Santos added another five, as well as two tackles for loss and an interception.