Yetts Scores Game Winner as Warriors Down Bakersfield on the Road

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. --- Marceese Yetts scored the game-winning touchdown and the defense came up with two crucial interceptions late as El Camino College defeated Bakersfield 31-24 in a National Northern League matchup Saturday night at Memorial Stadium.

The Warriors (4-1, 2-0) beat the Renegades (3-2, 1-1) at Memorial Stadium for the first time since September 27, 2008* when ECC scored a 32-29 victory. It marked the Warriors' fourth straight win over Bakersfield since 2019, matching the longest winning streak by ECC in the 56-game series between the rivals that dates back to 1947, ECC's first ever year of existence.

Yetts put the Warriors up for good with 2:57 left in regulation as he ran it up the middle and broke through the Renegades defense and scampered 80 yards for the go-ahead score to break a 24-24 tie.

Prior to that, the Warriors defense came up big as Emilio Gutierrez picked off Renegades' quarterback Carson Woods in the endzone after Woods threw it into double coverage on 2^nd-and-9 from the Warriors' 24 yard line.

The turnover came after the Renegades had driven the ball 48 yards on 10 plays into field-goal range and chewed up more than five minutes on the clock in a tie game.

The pick resulted in a touchback and the Warriors punched in the go-ahead TD on Yetts' run on the first play of their drive. Yetts finished the game with 117 yards rushing on nine attempts, averaging 13 yards per carry. He also added three catches for 19 yards.

Despite the big play, the Warriors defense still had to hold one last time as the Renegades got the ball on the 25 with nearly three minutes left in regulation and all three timeouts.

The drive started off with a 24-yard completion from Woods to Mekhi Smith to midfield. But the Warriors defense held on the next three plays as Bryce Carlisle tackled receiver Jalen Hankins for a loss of four yards on the next play and, following a short completion, Cohen Fuller smothered Woods for his first sack of the night to put Bakersfield on the brink, bringing up a 4^th-and-15 situation.

Jared Douglas would put it away for good on fourth down, picking off Woods' pass at the ECC 44 with 1:21 left in the game.

The Warriors would kneel on it three times to run out the clock and secure the win.

Bryant Williams led the Warriors with five catches for 113 yards and a touchdown while BJ Wagner led the defense with 12 tackles, all solo. It was the most tackles by a Warriors defender this season.

With the win, the Warriors now hold a 27-28-1 overall record against Bakersfield and a 20-21-1 record in conference games. Saturday marked the first conference matchup between the teams since 2011.

The Warriors will enter their bye week with a 4-1 overall record and 2-0 mark in conference play. They will return to action on Thursday night, Oct. 12 when they welcome College of the Canyons to Murdock Stadium for a 6 p.m. kickoff. It will mark just the fifth meeting between the Warriors and the Cougars all-time and first since Oct. 11, 2011.

* - The Warriors were credited with a forfeit victory at Bakersfield on Sept. 11, 2021 due to an inelibible player participating in the game for the Renegades. The original score of that game was 24-13 Bakersfield.