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

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.