No. 8 Rustlers outlast No. 17 Bakersfield 27-25 in season opener

BAKERSFIELD – No. 8 state-ranked Golden West College is 1-0 to start the season after the Rustlers defeated No. 17 Bakersfield College on the road by a final score of 27-25 at Memorial Stadium.

Freshman quarterback Will Burns put together a solid debut for the Rustlers. He completed 16 of 21 passes for 143 yards and a touchdown. Burns also proved to be a dual threat, running 8 times for a team-high 73 yards rushing.

Golden West was down early, trailing the Renegades 13-7 just moments into the second quarter before the Rustlers' offense exploded for 17 unanswered points.

Fernando Mancilla brought some momentum back to the Golden West sideline with his 41-yard field goal at the 4:48 mark in the second while Burns' 31-yard touchdown pass to Trey Nelson with 24 seconds remaining sent the Rustlers into halftime with a 17-13 advantage.

A big play on defense in the third quarter led to another GWC touchdown. With 4:41 to go in the quarter, Terahiti Wolfe intercepted a Bakersfield pass and returned it 37 yards to the BC 4-yard line. Two plays later, Javon Taylor smashed his way in from a yard out to extend the GWC lead to 24-13 at the 4:12 mark in the third.

Bakersfield rallied for a pair of touchdowns in the fourth quarter, but Mancilla's 32-yard field with 5:22 to play proved to be the difference.

Golden West also got a 7-yard touchdown run in the first quarter from Aaron Mitchell.

The Rustlers' defense was led by Brandon Soleau as he totaled 6 tackles and a sack. Marcus Works also had 6 tackles while Caine Elroy, Andrew Jordan, and Jayden Jackson also came away with sacks.

The Rustlers now look to Week 2 when they will take on defending state champion and No. 1 state-ranked Riverside City College in a 12 p.m. non-conference game at home.