After coming off two dramatic come-from-behind victories, the El Camino football team was sent crashing back down to Earth with a 28-0 loss at the hands of Bakersfield College last Saturday.

The Warriors entered the night with a four game win streak, but clearly struggled offensively last week against Harbor and the miscues only got worse against the Renegades.

“You try to get the kids to understand the rivalry and that Bakersfield is going to come out ready to play,” coach John Featherstone said. “But they outplayed us and out-toughed us and deserved to win.”

The offense struggled to find any consistency throughout the night. Going 4 for 13 on third downs and amassing a mere 71 yards through the air.

The opening drive of the game summed up the night perfectly. The Warriors marched 73 yards down the field and had a third-and-goal on the Renegade 3-yard line before sophomore running back Jose Serrano was stopped for no gain.

Featherstone decided to go for it on fourth-and goal but freshman running back Kendell Sparks was stopped on the line and the Warriors were forced to turn it over on downs.

“We didn’t put the offense in that good of a position to score,” sophomore defensive back Kaelyn Henderson said. “We have a new quarterback and have to give him confidence with a short field.”

Freshman quarterback Aaron Shockey never really looked comfortable in the pocket and struggled through the air as he went 8 for 18, 69 yards and one interception. The Warriors turned the ball over three times all of which were interceptions.

“Shockey was pretty good last game and he had a good week of practice,” Featherstone said. “Tonight he didn’t do the things he’s capable of doing. But you still need your receivers to make plays when the ball is thrown to you.”

Despite the offensive struggles, the running game had another strong showing with 205 yards on the ground. Sparks had 17 carries for 76 yards and freshman running back Raphael Lawson-Gayle, who returned from a leg injury, had seven carries for 70 yards.

The defense had another strong showing but could only do so much. They held the Renegades to only 101 passing yards but allowed 251 yards on the ground. Coupled with costly turnovers, the Renegades were able to take advantage and score.

“We just broke down after a while,” sophomore linebacker Kristopher Bass said. “We tried to do too much and they just came out and beat us.”

The Warriors will not have much time to dwell on this loss. They must focus and regroup as they prepare to host the No. 1 ranked team in the state, Riverside City College on Saturday at 6 p.m.