JUNIOR COLLEGE FOOTBALL ROUNDUP : Bakersfield Takes WSC Southern Division Title by Beating Valley, 36-10

Fried. Baked. Boiled. Bakersfield College isn’t choosy.

The Renegades will take their potatoes any way they can get them.

Saturday at Valley College, the Renegades took their potatoes in a bowl--as in Potato Bowl.

Bakersfield, playing near error-free football, defeated Valley, 36-10, to win the Western State Conference Southern Division championship. The Renegades (8-0-2, 7-0-2 in the conference, 5-0 in the division), unbeaten in two years, have accepted an invitation to play in the Potato Bowl in Bakersfield, probably against Taft.

And Valley? The Monarchs (5-5, 5-4, 4-1), Southern Division runners-up, will accept an invitation to the Western State Conference Bowl, most likely meeting WSC Northern Division runner-up Southwest.

Against Bakersfield, Valley had all the ingredients of a loser--four turnovers, a blocked punt and 112 penalty yards.

Valley Coach Chuck Ferrero was so frustrated by the turn of events that he was flagged in the fourth period for unsportsmanlike conduct when he persisted in berating an official.

“The blocked punt and the interception return for a touchdown--you can’t do that . . . against a good football team,” Ferrero said.

The interception return Ferrero spoke of was a 61-yard, third-period jaunt by Ty Bowden with an errant Trendell Williams pass. Coming as it did after Valley had cut Bakersfield’s lead to 22-10 on Louis Melancon’s eight-yard touchdown run with a blocked punt, Bowden’s touchdown effectively ended any thoughts of a Monarch victory.

Williams, who dislocated his left shoulder last week against Santa Monica, relieved starter Mark Mengoni in the third period and completed seven of 14 passes for 104 yards.