Upset bid runs out of steam as BC football falls to Mt. SAC

Sep. 25—Bakersfield College's offense wasn't firing on all cylinders in the first half, but thanks to effective short passing, quarterback scrambles and well-timed Mt. San Antonio College penalties, the Renegades were able to control possession and put up some points.

In the second half, BC could do neither of those things.

The Renegade squad that was at one point threatening to steal one at home against the No. 3 team in the state put up just 68 total yards in the second half. Meanwhile, an uneven Mounties offense managed a pair of touchdowns to seal their 28-10 victory.

BC coach R. Todd Littlejohn said he couldn't pinpoint what changed after the break.

"It's like a tale of two halves," he said. "We were rolling in the first half, we were in sync, and for whatever reason — we'll take a look at it on tape and see kind of where things went ... Not sure what happened, it was weird."

As Mt. SAC extended its lead beyond one possession, it was able to slow down its high-tempo spread offense and milk more clock in the second half — even as the BC defense forced it off the field repeatedly. On that side of the ball, the Renegades picked off quarterback Ike Udengwu III twice, forced a fumble and caused an early turnover on downs.

Udengwu finished 17-of-26 for 187 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions, and was replaced intermittently by Sean Jastrab.

For the Renegades, Littlejohn played one quarterback for the whole game for just the third time in his BC coaching tenure. Joseph Campbell finished 23-of-41 for just 193 yards with a touchdown. Campbell ran for 15 yards, including scrambling for four third-down conversions in the first half.

"His ability to run continued the drives, got some crucial first downs as well in that situation," Littlejohn said. "We just kept going. He didn't turn the ball over, so it wasn't like he was doing anything bad, it's just not being on point. Now, we also had some drops as well and that didn't help either."

Leach's score was BC's first touchdown of the game after an odd series of opening drives.

Udengwu marched the Mounties down the field right away, but facing a long third down for the first time in the red zone, he was flushed from the pocket and threw the ball down the middle right to BC defensive back Christopher Thompson, who now has three picks, a forced fumble and two punt-return touchdowns on the year.

BC responded with a 13-play, 96-yard drive that resulted in just three points. It was propelled by a 38-yard completion from Campbell to Jihad Marks on a third-and-short go route, but stalled in the red zone. The Renegades had a field goal blocked and returned for a score on fourth-and-goal from the 4-yard line, but it was nullified by offsides, and BC opted to kick rather than go for it from the 2.

Mt. SAC moved the ball effectively once again until a key drop and well-timed pressure from Jason Champlin Jr. resulted in consecutive incompletions from Udenwgu on third and fourth down. No matter for the Mounties, though, as they regained the ball swiftly and punched it in early in the second, with Udengwu scoring on a speed option to make it 7-3.

Then came an even longer, less fruitful series for BC. Campbell earned some first downs with his legs, but the Mounties really kept the drive alive with offsides, personal foul and facemask penalties, seemingly every time the Renegades were about to punt. It went on for 21 plays before Tristin Skinner came out for a 25-yard field goal.

The kick was no good, but it was rendered irrelevant immediately, because Rashaad Nelson forced a Reaven Tribune fumble on Mt. SAC's first play and Campbell instantly found Daylon Leach for a 26-yard go-ahead touchdown.

From then on, though, it was practically all Mounties. First, Udengwu led them down for a successful two-minute drill, culminating in a Cade Cadam touchdown reception. After halftime, Udengwu threw another interception over the middle when his first reads were covered, this time to Jalen Corprew, but the Renegades immediately went three-and-out and Jastrab had no trouble leading a scoring drive of his own. He came off the bench and immediately went 6-of-8 for 57 yards and a touchdown toss to Shemar Savage.

BC was content to play for field position until midway through the fourth quarter, when Campbell tried to scramble on fourth down but was wrapped up by Darius Eaves. Mohamed Nyangamukenga ran for Mt. SAC's final touchdown a few plays later.

The loss dropped BC to 1-3, with nearly a month until its next home game.

"It's brutal because you go through three of the better teams obviously at this point," Littlejohn said, "and we still haven't gotten into conference."

The final nonconference opponent, San Bernardino Valley, awaits next Saturday.

Reporter Henry Greenstein can be reached at 661-395-7374. Follow him on Twitter: @HenryGreenstein.