Complete Release

SANTA CLARITA, Calif. – Welcome to the final regular season and conference game for College of the Canyons and Bakersfield College. The Cougars are the 11th-ranked team in Southern California, while Bakersfield enters the game as the No. 5 team.

Last weekend College of the Canyons overcame a 12-point third quarter Pasadena lead to defeat Pasadena City College 29-22 in overtime. The game was the second time in as many years that the Cougars have defeated the Lancers in extra periods and it was the second overtime game of the season for Canyons. COC’s offense was held scoreless for 30 minutes and only moved the ball into Lancer territory four times, while the Cougar defense held Pasadena to six points in the first half. The offense, which was plagued with six turnovers, got some help in the second half with a safety and a punt return for TD, and then exploded for two scores in the final quarter of regulation to force extra play. COC continued to move the ball well in overtime and it took two plays for quarterback Justin Morales to connect with wide receiver Stephen London on a 20-yard touchdown pass. As the COC defense took its turn to help win the game, linebacker Evan Harrington intercepted the Lancers pass to hand COC to the win. Running back Nick Hale had 23 carries for 109 yards, his second 100+ yard game of the season, and two touchdowns. Wide receiver DJ Stephens had a season high 283 all-purpose yards (50 rushing, 132 receiving, and 101 punt return), including his punt return for a TD. Linebacker Justin Cudworth had a game-high 10 tackles, five solo, a fumble recovery, a pass break up, a blocked FG, and one sack.

Bakersfield College racked up 41 points on Halloween night, before Ventura College could post anything on the scoreboard as the Renegades pummelled the Pirates 44-14. Bakersfield College had a balanced attack with 217 yards rushing and 226 yards passing for 443 yards of total offense. Six players had carries in the game, eight different receivers notched yards for the Renegades and quarterback Logan Kilgore was 15-of-23 for 207 yards and three touchdowns. The win was the fifth consecutive win for the Renegades since the Sept. 26 loss to El Camino and kept them perfect in National Division, Northern Conference games.

Things To Watch
Bakersfield College has had a strong conference season and leads the Northern Division in numerous team categories. Most notably, the team dominates the scoring offense and scoring defense categories. In the last nine games, they have posted 365 points, 46 touchdowns, 45 point after attempts and 12 field goals. The defense holds its own as well, topping the conference and limiting teams to 14.3 ppg. The defense has given up a season-low 16 touchdowns and 129 points.

Not only is Bakersfield strong as a team, but individual performers have helped the Renegades to a 5-0 conference season. Quarterback Logan Kilgore is second in the conference in passing average with 202.0 ypg. If the air route isn’t working well for the Renegades they have the option of going to running back Matthew Estill who takes the No. 2 spot in rushing yards per game with 85.7 ypg. Kicker Josh Gallington has also held up his part of the game and leads the state in kicking scoring with 77 points and is third in California with a 91.7 percent field goal percentage. He has only missed one field goal, a 24-yard attempt in the first game of the season that was blocked.

College of the Canyons is a leader in some conference categories as well. The Cougar defense has helped the team keep a lot of the games competitive. They are second in the conference in rushing defense, allowing 2.2 yards per carry and 75.4 ypg. The Cougar defense leads in sacks after tallying 31 for a loss of 239 yards. Bakersfield has only given up five sacks this season, but will have to work hard to protect its QB against the Cougars’ defense.

The Renegades will keep an eye on wide receiver DJ Stephens who is second in the Northern Conference in receiving yards per game with 83.8. The sophomore racked up a season high 132 receiving yards last week against Pasadena, combined with his 50 yards rushing and 101 punt return yards.

Linebacker Justin Cudworth Honored With Conference Defensive Player of the Week Accolades
Freshman linebacker Justin Cudworth was named the defensive player of the week for his performance against Pasadena City College last weekend. Cudworth, an Agoura alum, had a stellar game last Saturday as he posted a game-high 10 tackles, five solo, a fumble recovery, a pass break up, a blocked field goal, and one sack.

The Matchup: COC vs Bakersfield
COC leads the all-time (since 1998) match up between the Cougars and Renegades 5-4. The Cougars owned 2008 against Bakersfield College, but dropped two games (one regular season game and a playoff game) to them in 2007. In the past three games between the two schools, the games have been decided by an average of seven points and a little over 11 points in the last nine contests. The biggest margin of victory was in the first game in 1998 when the Renegades beat COC 43-20. COC largest victory against BC was in was a 48-26 in the 2005 SoCal Semifinals. This is the first time Bakersfield has played at COC since 2006, as the Cougars have travelled to Bakersfield for the last three meetings.

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