So far the Renegades have responded to every challenge (at least since the loss at El Camino). The latest was Saturday (Halloween night), when the Gades blasted Ventura 44-14 to clinch at least a tie for the Northern National Conference title.

Now the Gades have a bye week, which will, as coach Jeff Chudy said after the game, allow the players (and coaches) to "re-charge their batteries."

A win at Canyons in two weeks gives BC an outright NNC title and ensures a home game in the Golden Empire Bowl as a first-round SoCal playoff game.

BC was fourth in the rankings prior to the win over Ventura and will likely remain there. Top-ranked El Camino was beaten 42-26 by No. 3 Mount SAC. I expect El Camino to remain ahead of BC since it has beaten the Gades head-to-head. Mount SAC was third, and will probably move up to No. 2. Cerritos entered the weekend undefeated and improved to 8-0 (and probably No. 1) by beating Desert 27-17. Cerritos and El Camino still must play each other before the regular season ends.

Should the unthinkable happen and BC lose to Canyons, then who knows what will happen? It could mean the Gades would have a first-round playoff game on the road, and the Golden Empire Bowl would have two out-of-town teams. But I expect the Gades to take care of business and beat Canyons.

BC has certainly routed opponents in the NNC. The scores were 34-13 over Pasadena, 31-24 over Hancock (a game BC led 24-3 in the third quarter), 52-14 over Moorpark and 49-3 over Glendale before Saturday's 44-14 win over Ventura (it was 41-0 at one point).

A blog comment mentioned BC has benefitted from playing in a sub-par conference. The Gades have no control over that. All they can do is take care of business against whoever they play. And except for the El Camino loss (40-24 on Sept. 26), they've done that.

BC crushed Glendale 49-3 on Saturday night, setting the stage for a Northern National Conference title game next Saturday.

Ventura improved to 3-0 in the NNC with a 23-6 win over Canyons. BC went to 4-0 with its win tonight (Oct. 24).

So whoever wins next Saturday's game at BC between the Renegades and Ventura will undoubtedly be the outright champion. The loser will make the SoCal playoffs but might not be in the top 4 for seeding purposes, which would mean a road game to open the playoffs.

It looks like BC will go into next week's showdown without its most dominant defensive player, defensive lineman Maurice Hayes, who suffered a right knee injury in the third quarter against Glendale.

Hayes was helped off the field. By the end of the game, his right leg was immobilized in a knee brace and he was on crutches. I'd say it's highly likely his season is over; in the very least, he'll be out awhile.

The injury occurred when his right foot was planted and didn't give way as a mass of humanity converged on a ball carrier. Glendale has that special artificial turf that is becoming more common. The attraction: a big cash outlay, but then little maintenance for several years.

I remember how the old astroturf would create severe knee injuries, but I haven't heard about injury history with this new turf. Hayes' loss will be felt big-time, not only because of his talent, but because of his leadership and on-field fiery attitude that rubs off on his BC teammates.

About the only surprise I can see from Saturday's (Oct. 17) 52-14 BC win over Moorpark was how truly bad Moorpark was. Moorpark is usually a middle-of-the-pack type of team, and in a good year among the top-third in ability in the Western State Conference.

But not this year. BC is now 6-1 and could have scored in the 60-point range if not for some call by the officials (more on that later).

Other Northern National Conference scores from Saturday: Canyons over Glendale (BC's opponent next week), 14-6; and Allan Hancock beating Pasadena 38-23. Ventura had a bye.

BC had (unofficially) 398 net rushing yards. Both Moorpark TDs were aided by some officials calls, mostly defensive pass interference and defensive holding calls that are automatic first downs and kept drives alive.

One avid BC fan I spoke to after the game said it was the worst officiated game he'd ever seen. My two cents? It was bad, but it really didn't matter. When a team wins 52-14 and the officiating is poor, at least it didn't impact the outcome of the game.

On one pass interference call, these guys must have talked for almost two minutes before play resumed. The flag was thrown and there was no question what the call would be. But they took what seemed like forever.

One call I still can't explain was on a punt return by BC's Rishard Matthews, who caught the ball on the BC 17 and returned it past the 40-yard line. A flag was thrown at the 38 and the signal was holding.

OK. When that happens, the foul occurred where the flag was thrown (the 38 in this case) and the penalty yards are marked off from that spot. But not this time. The refs went back to the 17, where Matthews caught the ball, and marched off the yardage from that spot, half the distance to the goal.

There was no foul in that part of the field. The blockers were all at least 15 yards upfield from where Matthews caught the punt. Your guess is as good as mine on this one.

As for things like clipping, chop blocks, pass interference: who knows? Judgment calls. Some I agreed with; others I wasn't sure, but on some I didn't have a great view, so I didn't have as  much of a problem with the. And the game was lopsided, so I suppose it doesn't really matter.

BC travels to Glendale next Saturday, then hosts Ventura on Halloween night.

One of the joys of my job is seeing games like Saturday night's (Oct. 10) 31-24 Bakersfield College win over previously undefeated Allan Hancock.

The game wasn't decided until Hancock's fourth-down pass from the BC 2-yard line fell incomplete in the end zone.

Along the way were some great calls. Like the bomb to William Randle on BC's first play of the second half -- which went for a 61-yard TD. Or the third-and-6 pass in the fourth quarter to Rishard Matthews, which also went for 61 yards and a TD.

Hancock had some great calls also. Like a fourth-and-4 draw play to running back Thomas Sua that went for a 23-yard TD in the middle of the fourth quarter. Or the play-action pass to running back Mario Jones early in the fourth quarter that went for a 5-yard TD when everyone in the stadium looked for a run.

This game was crucial to BC for another reason. Hancock beat Canyons last week in overtime. Since 2000, either BC or Canyons has won the conference championship. If Hancock had beaten BC, the Renegades would have no longer controlled their own destiny in a bid to win the conference title. BC would have needed to run the table and hope Hancock would lose to someone else for a co-championship, and Hancock would have held the tie-breaker because of the head-to-head win.

But now, two weeks into the conference season, BC and Ventura (a 26-20 winner over Pasadena Saturday) are the only 2-0 teams in conference play. Canyons has to be a contender despite its loss last week to Hancock. Canyons rolled past winless Moorpark 31-7. Moorpark comes to BC this Saturday.

BC should have no trouble the next two weeks, with Moorpark winless and Glendale (the opponent on Oct. 24) not at BC's level. Ventura follows (on Halloween night, at BC), then the regular-season finale on Nov. 14 at Canyons (Nov. 7 in is a bye).

I think the Gades are shoo-ins for the eight-team SoCal playoffs; winning the conference title would ensure a first-round home game (which is the Golden Empire Bowl). If BC stumbles, it would be in danger of opening the playoffs on the road, and the Golden Empire Bowl would subsequently attract two out-of-town teams, probably with a miniscule crowd.

But I'm getting ahead of myself. There's a lot of football left before that all shakes out. But the thriller vs. Hancock keeps BC on pace to win the conference title, and more importantly, BC has its destiny in its own hands.

Bakersfield College bounced back nicely from its first loss of the season on Sept. 26 against El Camino by rolling past Pasadena in Memorial Stadium tonight (Oct. 3), 34-13.

In the days leading up to the game, BC coach Jeff Chudy said Pasadena quarterback Nick Ponce was a better passer than El Camino's Matt Simms, who carved up the BC defense with more than 400 passing yards in the 40-24 win over the Gades.

The Gades definitely played much better against Pasadena. Ponce, who hadn't had an interception all season, threw five. One was returned for a TD and another almost was -- a penalty nullified a 62-yard TD return. The backup QB also threw a pick.

BC sacked Pasadena's two QBs eight times -- four by defensive lineman Tyrone Crawford who seemed to be in the Lancers' backfield the entire night.

Ponce, as it turns out, is not in Matt Simms' league.

Sure, BC played much better and with much more intensity, four turnovers and nearly 100 yards in penalties notwithstanding. But this game was similar to the other BC victories: The Renegades simply overpowered Pasadena because of the Gades' physical prowess.

El Camino, which improved to 5-0 on Saturday by slaughering Riverside 41-16, is a very physical team. It matched BC's physical play. BC's other opponents (Fresno, L.A. Valley, Santa Monica, Pasadena) weren't in the same ballpark.

Next Saturday, BC travels to 5-0 Allan Hancock, a game which will be played at Santa Maria's Righetti High School. Hancock is always very physical, and I expect an interesting matchup because of that. Hancock beat College of the Canyons 19-16 on Saturday. Canyons now has two losses this season.

In the other Northern Natlional Conference game tonight: Ventura beat Glendale 20-13.

How BC matches up physically with Hancock (or a better question: can Hancock match the physical play of BC?) could decide the outcome of this game. We'll see.

Bakersfield College cruised to three victories to open the season, obviously against inferior talent. But the Renegades ran into a buzz saw against their first potent opponent on Saturday.

The 40-24 loss at El Camino demonstrated the value of having a top-line quarterback. It was 3-3 after the first quarter but after that it got away from the Gades. El Camino built a 30-10 lead at one point.

The BC defense dominated its first three opponents, but El Camino QB Matt Simms (son of ex-NFL great Phil Simms) picked apart the BC secondary with crisp, short passes, with an occasional long toss thrown in. He had 403 passing yards by the end of the third quarter and 431 in the game.

Simms passed quickly -- often using a two-step drop and throwing. That left little time for the BC rush to put much pressure on him. BC sacked him only twice, and he was hit after throwing only a handful of times.

There were two long pass plays -- a 50-yarder to El Camino's top receiver Kenbrell Thompkins who ran a fly pattern, got behind the BC defenders and received a perfectly thrown pass from Simms. The other long one was 51 yards to Tony Sekona, but that was a short pass that turned into a long gain when BC defender Deonata Nard missed a tackle that would have ended the play after about 12 yards.

El Camino, on the other hand, got constant pressure on BC QB Logan Kilgore. Kilgore had some chances but overthrew a few balls. The best pass play of the night was a great throw and subsequent catch by Vince Van Horne at the 1-yard line as he somehow kept his feet in bounds along the sideline for a fingertip catch.

It's hard to imagine BC facing a QB like Simms or a group of receivers like El Camino has. El Camino had 10 different players with receptions, and the majority of them ran sharp routes, had good hands and found seams in the BC secondary.

Aside from the first drive of the night, BC never got its ground game going. Unofficially 31 net rushing yards illustrates how tough it was to run against an El Camino team that consistently had eight players close to the line of scrimmage.

Next up for BC is Pasadena in the Northern National Conference opener for both teams, which both have 3-1 records. Pasadena routed Riverside 38-7 on Saturday.

A week from next Saturday BC is in Santa Maria to face Allen Hancock, which improved to 4-0 Saturday by rolling past Citrus 48-23.

So these next two games loom large. The challenge is seeing how the Renegades bounce back after Saturday.

The Renegades won another laugher Saturday, 43-0 over a winless Santa Monica, which gives BC a 3-0 record.

But the next game will illustrate how good the Renegades are. On Saturday, BC travels to 3-0 El Camino, a team that year in and year out ranks among the best in the state.

El Camino won 57-0 vs. Compton today (Sept. 19). Compton is another hideous team, so El Camino is in the same boat at BC: facing its best opponent when it lines up vs. BC.

It would help the Renegades if their banged-up running backs return next week, but one would surmise that could be a longshot. Neither Andre Smith (severe ankle sprain) nor Eric Jones (ankle sprain, less severe than Smith but still unable to cut on it) may be available.

Logan Kilgore had by far his best game as BC's quarterback, completing 14-of-15 passes for 241 yards and three touchdowns. Great performance, and he'll need to be very sharp and keep mistakes to a minimum against El Camino next week to give the Gades a chance.

It's too bad this game will be played in Torrance, given a matchup like this would generate a good crowd in Memorial Stadium. But El Camino has played so many games in Memorial Stadium in recent seasons it's only fair for one of these traditional big game is played down south.

BC's 55-7 slaughter of L.A. Valley on Saturday night demonstrated that the Renegades ought to rank among the top SoCal teams, but the enthusiasm needs to be tempered somewhat because Valley was simply overpowered by BC's physical play.

But it's obvious the offensive line is big and physical, and the defensive line is quick, big and physical. I figure only the top-level JC teams in the state will match up with that physical play up front. El Camino, who plays host to BC a week from next Saturday, is one of those types of teams. That will be the first real test for the Renegades.

The running back depth took a bit of a hit. Andre Smith is already out (ankle), and Eric Jones, who looked sensational (78 yards, nine carries) hurt his ankle in the fourth quarter. Ben Estill (147 yards), Keldon Hampton (28 yards) and Julian Dean-Johnson (51 yards) looked good, as did backup QB Lyle Negron (57 yards).

It will be interesting to see how BC does in its first road game, next Saturday at Santa Monica. The so-so BC team from last year did score 60 points vs. Santa Monica a year ago, so one would think this could be another blowout. We'll see.

BC opened its season Saturday by beating Fresno City College 33-14. The story in Sunday's Californian focused on the defensive performance, although the running attack led by Andre Smith (two TDs, runs of 79 and 17) and Ben Estill impressed.

Some other thoughts:

The first play from scrimmage saw QB Logan Kilgore throw a sideline pass to first-year receiver Rishard Matthews, who made a leaping catch. No one on last season's squad could have pulled that off.

Other passing highlights: Vince Van Horne's 1-hand grab for 25 yards down to the FCC 17-yard line in the third quarter, one play before Smith's 17-yard TD run. Also, the TD pass to TE Vince Misa-Amituanai (I know that's a mouthful) in the first quarter. BC has rarely thrown to TEs in recent seasons. This guy is a bonafide receiver with good moves and size (6-4, 248).

Kilgore threw for only 59 yards as a high school quarterback, going 5-for-11 in two seasons. He threw for two TDs and 140 yards on Saturday.

QB coach Carl Dean had second-string QB Lyle Negron in for  a series, immediately after Kilgore had thrown an interception. QB coach Carl Dean said he wanted Negron to play and promised Negron he'd get into the game, adding that Negron's playing time had nothing to do with the Kilgore interception. Kilgore returned to the field on the subsequent BC possession.

Other defensive highlights:

Four sacks by BC.

Limiting FCC to 43 net rushing yards.

BC safety Tanner Webb out of Wasco had a nice game. His most notable play: picking off a fumble in mid-air and racing 39 yards to the 3-yard line. That set up a Josh Gallington field goal.

FCC had a solid game from freshman linebacker Alek Taliulu -- who graduated from Tehachapi High. Shawn Pimentel, another Tehachapi grad, caught a TD pass for FCC.

Also on FCC's roster: Taft High products Tony (DL) and Ben (OL) Savaii, BHS grad Kenny Wallace (DL) and Stockdale grad Chris Bowie (TE).

And a stadium note: fans in attendance probably noticed the 25-second play clock, which is on both ends of the stadium. FCC was called for two delay penalties and had to burn a second-half timeout to prevent another one.

An area to watch: BC's kicking game. Punter Dalton Botts has towering kicks, but not great distance. On the plus side, the hang time does prevent big returns. BC kickoffs were fairly short most of the time, which usually gives the opponent good field position,  and Gallington had a field goal attempt blocked.

A-Rod got back into the Yankee lineup tonight (Friday, May 8), hit a 3-run HR in the first inning of a 4-0 win at Baltimore.

Why hasn't there been more flak from the report in Salena Roberts' book that he was tipping pitches to opposing batters in blowout games?

Telling a batter what pitch is coming ranks right up there with point shaving, throwing games and gambling. I think it's much worse than the steroid scandal that is grabbing all the headlines.

The source who told Roberts about the tipping of pitches was unnamed. Maybe it didn't happen. But if I'm the commissioner, I'd surely be aggressively looking into it.

Say you tip a pitch and the batter homers, or gets a hit that starts a big inning. That could devastate that pitcher's ERA and could lead to a demotion to the minor leagues. And A-Rod supposedly did this so he would benefit from tipping pitches himself, sort of a reciprocal type of deal.

You can't help the opponent, under any circumstances in professional sports.

If it happen and it's proven, I'd ban A-Rod permanently from the game. It's right up there with Pete Rose gambling on his own team when he was manager of the Reds (you don't think that could have had an impact on who he played and how he used his pitching staff?) and the "Eight Men Out" from the Chicago White Sox (known as the Black Sox) who threw the 1919 World Series.