Late Rally Falls Short, Hancock Loses at Bakersfield 17-14
Bakersfield, CA - A furious fourth quarter rally fell just short as the Allan Hancock College football team lost a conference game in Bakersfield 17-14 on Saturday. The Bulldogs dropped to 2-7 overall and 1-4 in conference.
The host Regegades carried a 17-0 lead into the fourth quarter before the Bulldogs' offense got things going. Freshman quarterback Troy Prober scored from one yard out to put Hancock on the board down 17-7 with 7:34 to go in the game.
The Bulldog defense forced a turnover on Bakersfield's next possession. Troy Garland recovered a fumble and returned it 27 yards to the Bakersfield 30 yard line. Prober, a Righetti High graduate, connected with sophomore wide receiver Shane Henderson for an 11-yard touchdown with 3:07 to play to make it a 17-14 game.
Hancock forced a punt and started a drive at its own 19 yard line with 2:12 to play. Prober hit Breon Briggs for a 36 yard gain into Bakersfield territory. Prober earned another first down with a 14 yard run. The Bulldogs faced fourth down and five yards to go at the Bakersfield 26 yard line. Renegades head coach Jeff Chudy called two timeouts to ice Hancock kicker Marcos Uribe. The Bulldogs decided to go for it, but Prober's pass to Henderson fell incomplete to give Bakersfield the victory.
Hancock lost despite racking up more yards of total offense 363-302. The Bulldogs compiled 260 yards passing. Prober was 8 for 15 for 133 yards and 1 touchdown strike. Sophomore Anthony Maez was 10 for 20 for 127 yards. He threw two interceptions that ended drives deep in Bakersfield territory
Santa Maria High graduate Joel Enriquez led the Bulldogs with 40 yards rushing on 9 carries. Peter Berry added 34 yards on 12 carries.
Henderson became the program's all-time leader in career touchdown catches in the fourth quarter. The Indiana native has 16 career TD receptions, one more than Jason Ferkel, who caught 15 from 1998-99. Henderson also caught 11 passes for 170 yards to bring his season total to 63 receptions for 896 yards and 4 TD catches. He is within striking distance of the program's single-season record for receptions of 67, which was set by Joseph Dally in 2002
The Bulldogs close out the regular season on Saturday, November 16 when they host College of the Canyons. The season finale is set for a 4 pm. kickoff at RIghetti High School.