Bakersfield Plays Up to Its Notices : Junior college football: No. 1-ranked Renegades capitalize on Glendale mistakes and romp to 31-3 victory.

Junior college football polls have been notoriously inconsistent in ranking teams at this stage of the season. It is not uncommon for a school to be ranked high in one poll yet relatively low in another.

Bakersfield College, however, is a rock-solid exception.

The Renegades entered Saturday’s Western State Conference opener against Glendale as the top-ranked team in the USA Today (national) and J. C. Athletic Bureau (state) polls, and they were ranked second in the nation in the J. C. Grid-Wire.

After disposing of Glendale, 31-3, at Glendale High, it is doubtful that Bakersfield will lose ground.

“Bakersfield flat outplayed us,” second-year Glendale Coach John Cicuto said. “They could be gearing up for another national championship season.”

No one did more to jump-start the Renegades (2-0) than Lance Geary, who split time with Bryan Nixon at quarterback last year but has moved to the cornerback position this season.

Geary returned a punt 63 yards for a touchdown to give his team a 7-0 lead with 4 minutes 56 seconds left in the first quarter and intercepted two passes in the second half to terminate Glendale drives deep in Bakersfield territory.

“Their defense did a great job in keeping us out of the end zone,” Cicuto said. “I thought we moved the ball pretty well on them, especially in the first half, but they were able to keep us out of the end zone.”

Glendale mistakes contributed as much to Bakersfield’s success, however.

Late in the first quarter, Glendale punter Martin Boskovich fumbled the snap, and four plays after Bakersfield took over at the 15, Jon Baker kicked a 32-yard field goal to give the Renegades a 10-0 lead.

Glendale (0-2) had a great opportunity to narrow the deficit to three points midway through the second quarter, but the Vaqueros were penalized five yards for delay of game on first and goal from the Bakersfield seven-yard line and eventually had to settle for a 24-yard Boskovich field goal.

“That (play) and the (next) kickoff near the end of the first half really hurt us,” Cicuto said. “If we score seven points there, we’re a lot closer at halftime.”

The biggest series of the game came after Boskovich’s field goal.

Glendale’s Jason Jones squibbed an onside kick along the Glendale sideline, but the ball eluded a trio of Vaquero players and went out of bounds, giving Bakersfield a first down at its 45.

Three plays later, Nathan Dupree (122 yards in 16 carries) scampered 39 yards down the left sideline for a 17-3 Renegade lead.

It was a blow from which Glendale never recovered.

On Bakersfield’s first possession of the second half, the Renegades marched 80 yards in six plays to take a 24-3 lead with 12:01 left in the third quarter.

Wide receiver David Dunn outleaped Glendale defensive backs Ennis Howard and Robert Floyd, snaring a 42-yard scoring throw from Nixon to cap the drive. The Vaqueros aided the drive with an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty three plays earlier.

On Glendale’s next possession, Geary intercepted a Cole Speer pass at the Renegade 11-yard line, and on the following play, Shon Ellerbe went 89 yards on a draw play to give Bakersfield a commanding 31-3 lead with 10:20 left in the period.

Ellerbe gained 141 yards in 10 carries and Bakersfield rolled up 392 yards in offense, including 325 on the ground.

Glendale, which plays at L. A. Southwest next Saturday, rushed for 163 yards, but 107 of those came in the first half.

Tailback Bobby Webster (77 yards in 13 carries) and fullback Wes Bender (71 yards in 14 carries) had good statistics for Glendale, but they were unable to get the Vaqueros into the end zone.

Speer, who started in place of the injured Marco Arcipreste (broken index finger on his throwing hand), completed 10 of 24 for 105 yards and threw two interceptions.

“I can’t blame Cole for what happened today,” Cicuto said. “He did the best he could. It’s hard to get your first start against a team like Bakersfield.”