SMC hits the road to take on Bakersfield
By DANIEL ARCHULETA Managing Editor
BAKERSFIELD The road isn’t always the best place to play for a team saddled with a 0-2 record, but this game may be different.
Santa Monica College’s football squad is coming off a 56-24 loss at Cerritos College and heads to Bakersfield to take on a Gades team that shares a winless record. The fact that both teams are mired in slumps gives head coach Robert Taylor plenty of reasons to worry going into the game on Saturday night. “[Bakersfield] is hungry for a win,” Taylor said. “They aren’t used to being in the position that they are in. I’m surprised by the record they have. One thing is certain, somebody is going to lose.”
The Gades finished last season 12-1, which makes their early season troubles all the more perplexing. Head coach Jeff Chudy thinks it comes down to X’s and O’s.
“It takes time to get everybody on the same page,” Chudy said. “It takes time for players to learn the system.
“It isn’t different than any other year.” He attributes most of his team’s troubles to the high turnover commonly associated with junior college football.
“You get a new cycle of players every year,” he said. “You basically lose half your squad. It’s the realm of junior college football.”
SMC’s Taylor agrees that inexperience has played a factor in his team’s failure to execute, which has led him to trim the playbook.
“We’re still growing,” Taylor said. “We’re not going to do anything extra. Just trying to perfect the things we’ve been doing.”
The passing game has been the source of much of the Corsairs struggles leading Taylor to make a switch at quarterback during last week’s game against Cerritos. Out is sophomore Luqman Nasouf, in is freshman Brady McManus.
McManus entered the game against the Falcons in the second quarter and promptly led the Corsairs to a touchdown, giving Taylor hope that his shuffling of personnel wasn’t done in vain. McManus scored on a quarterback keeper late in the second quarter.
“He accomplished some things we thought he could do well,” Taylor said.
While McManus scored on the ground, Taylor sees him more as a pocket passer that can cause havoc on opposing defenses with his arm.
The running attack has proven to be one of the few bright spots for SMC. Sophomore tailback Deron Bartholomew ran for 139 yards on 16 carries last week punctuated by a 94-yard run that Taylor believes is the longest in school history.
Bakersfield’s Chudy has certainly noticed that Bartholomew is a quality back and is keeping that in mind as he crafts a defensive game plan.
“I think their running back is a pretty good player,” he said. “My guess is that they will try to establish the run first and foremost.”
With both teams hoping to break into the win column, both coaches see a number of similarities between both squads.
“They are a lot like us,”Chudy said.“They are in the same boat. [SMC] has to eliminate mistakes. They are big up front and they have a good running back.”
Taylor agrees, Bakersfield is the kind team that is relatively easy to read.
“Bakersfield is Bakersfield,” Taylor said. “You get what you get. They like to run first and pass when they have to.”
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on September 20, 2008. Read the original PDF.