Potato Bowl : Bakersfield Edges Fullerton : No. 1 Hornets Lose Game and National Title, 30-24

Fullerton College lost its bid for a national football championship and Bakersfield took the Hornets’ place in line with a 30-24 victory Saturday before 18,237 in the Potato Bowl at Bakersfield Stadium.

Karl Price’s 2-yard touchdown run with 26 seconds to play erased a 24-23 lead Fullerton had taken late in the game.

The Hornets (10-1) were top-ranked in the J.C. Grid-Wire national poll, and Bakersfield (11-0) was third. Glendale (Arizona) was second and won its final game Thanksgiving night.

The final poll will be announced Monday.

Fullerton had battled back from a 10-point halftime deficit and taken the lead with a 73-yard fourth-quarter scoring drive set up by the Hornet defense. With only 9 teammates on the field with him, James Rollins intercepted a pass at the Fullerton 27 with 13:40 left.

Twelve plays later, Jeff Andrews scored from the 1-yard line, and Kirk Hainline’s extra-point kick gave the Hornets their 24-23 lead with 4 minutes 41 seconds remaining.

Two passes from Victor Williams to Nick-John Haiduc were instrumental in the drive. Haiduc fumbled after catching a 13-yard pass at the 45, but tight end Shane Wiley recovered at the Fullerton 48 to keep the drive going.

Then with 6:18 left and Fullerton facing a fourth and 8 at the Bakersfield 14, Williams found Haiduc for an 11-yard gain to set up the go-ahead touchdown. Haiduc finished with 5 receptions for 60 yards.

But Bakersfield came right back. On fourth and 1 at the Renegade 38 with 2:52 remaining, quarterback Stan Greene hit tight end Lionel Sykes for a 34-yard pass play.

On the next play, Sykes, who had 5 catches for 88 yards, caught a 14-yard pass to the Fullerton 14. Reggie Yarbrough ran 3 times to the 2 before Price carried it in for the victory.

“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.”

Hainline’s 36-yard field goal gave Fullerton a 3-0 lead in the first quarter, but Yarbrough’s 35-yard run made it 7-3 with 12:25 left in the half. He finished with 80 yards in 16 carries. Andrews totaled 99 yards in 29 carries for Fullerton.

On the ensuing kickoff, Haiduc faked a reverse to Tim Imperiali and raced 95 yards for the score to put Fullerton ahead, 10-7.

Mistakes hurt Fullerton in the second quarter when the Hornet defense jumped off sides 3 times during Bakersfield’s second scoring drive. Fullerton appeared to have stopped the Renegades on fourth and 1 at the Fullerton 24 only to be called off sides. Yarbrough later scored on a 4-yard run to put Bakersfield ahead, 13-10, with 8:50 left in the half.

Fullerton missed a chance to score late in the first half when Haiduc dropped a first-down pass at the Bakersfield 15. The Hornets were penalized twice after the drop and were forced to punt.

Bakersfield then went on a 14-play, 86-yard drive aided by another Fullerton penalty. Fullerton again appeared to have stopped Bakersfield on third and 9, but the secondary was called for holding, giving the Renegades a first down on the Fullerton 32. Greene later completed a 4-yard touchdown pass to Sykes with 7 seconds left in the half for a 20-10 lead. Greene completed 17 of 33 passes for 208 yards.

Fullerton cut the deficit to 20-17 on a 5-yard run by Ray Pallares with 10:41 left in the third quarter. Jason Pendleton kicked a 28-yard field goal to give Bakersfield a 23-17 lead late in the quarter.

“I just kept telling the offense that we could do it in the second half, and we almost did,” said Williams, who completed 16 of 26 passes for 204 yards.