After hauling in their second-consecutive National Central Division Co-Championship with a 48-36 victory over El Camino, the Long Beach City College football team will play host to the Bakersfield College Renegades in the 2016 Western State Bowl in Veteran Memorial Stadium on Saturday, November 19th at 6 p.m.
Game tickets will be sold for $12 at the door. The cost of admission for seniors and students will be $8. The game will be streamed live compliments of LBCC Viking Productions on YouTube.
The Vikings earned the right to host a bowl game after posting an overall record of 8-2 with a 4-1 conference mark. LBCC looks to avenge last year's playoff loss to Saddleback.
The last bowl game the Vikings won was in 2014 where they defeated Golden West, 75-41, in the 2014 Beach Bowl.
"For a lot of the guys, this is the only bowl game they will ever play in even if they go on to play at the Division I level – there are no guarantees," explained Head Coach Brett Peabody who is finishing his fourth season at the helm and entering into his second bowl game of his young career. "I think they understand what's at stake for them and they have a chance to do something special."
The Vikings have yet to lose a game on home turf in 2016 and look to keep the streak alive against Bakersfield, who has posted an overall record of 6-4 with a 3-2 road record. Additionally, LBCC is on a four-game winning streak that featured a 38-31 overtime victory over top-ranked Riverside. The Vikings are currently riding a 12 game home winning streak and look to make that push to 13 in-a-row.
Freshman quarterback Jake Maier (La Habra, CA) leads the Viking offense and captains the squad with poise, skill, and overall football wisdom. In 10 games, the freshman phenome has been deemed one of the best quarterbacks in the California Community College Athletic Association (CCCAA). Maier's named is tattooed amongst numerous top-five statistical categories that include being ranked second in yards-per-game (321.2), third in touchdown passes (33), second in total passing yards (3,212), and second in completions (236). Maier has thrown a touchdown pass in all but two contests and has surpassed 300+ passing yards seven times while never throwing less than 198 yards on the season. Furthermore, the La Habra native has been named the Southern California Football Association (SCFA) Offensive Player of the Week twice on the season.
"The last two years we have had big shoes to fill in the quarterback role," said Peabody. "[Jake] took the reins and he has played really well. He's a great leader who has a lot of confidence."
The Vikings aerial attack has been amongst the top in the state with endless weapons for Maier's passing pleasure. Leading the way is sophomore wide receiver Jacob Welch (Huntington Beach, CA) who has hauled in a team-pacing 52 receptions for 736 yards and eight touchdowns. Welch has reeled in a touchdown pass in all but three games, highlighted by a 12 catch, 132 yard night leading to a touchdown against Riverside. Freshman wide receiver Jabari Minix (Compton, CA) is nipping at Welch's heals in receptions with 47 leading to 652 yards and six touchdowns. Minix has a knack for the big play by hauling in numerous grabs over 20 yards on the year. Minix shined the most in a 48-14 rout over Chaffey where he recorded 10 grabs for 167 yards that included two house calls. Sophomore wide receiver Jaylen Watson (Los Angeles, CA) rounds out the trio of terror by hauling in a total of eight touchdowns off 39 grabs to equal 733 yards.
An elusive ground attack features numerous options for the Vikings, making it challenging to defend and even harder to contain. Sophomore running back Tyree Harris (Pasadena, CA) leads the charge in the backfield with a strong, physical running style that has earned him 100 carries to amass 532 total yards. Harris has scored two touchdowns in one game twice on the season, first coming in a 43-29 victory over Moorpark where he carried the ball 10 times for 98 yards. Then next came in the most recent win over El Camino in which he scurried for 78 yards on 11 touches. Sophomore running back Jason Floyd (Compton, CA) has come on very strong in the latter half of the season leading to an overall yards mark of 443 off 89 touches. Floyd has found the end zone three times on the year while averaging five yards-per-tote.
The Vikings boast a stout defensive unit that boast numerous talents at every level of the defense. Starting with the defensive front, sophomore defensive lineman Marcus Reynolds (Long Beach, CA) has manned the line leading to 33 total stops. The 6'3", 244 Ilb monster is a quarterback's nightmare as he has recorded 11.5 sacks on the year which ranks him fourth in the CCCAA. Freshman defensive lineman Adebayo Soremekun (Long Beach, CA) has made 33 stops with 15 being solo tackles. Additionally, he has broken through the line for five sacks.
The line backing core is stronger than ever with sophomore Isaia Rostens (Long Beach, CA) leading the charge in the middle. In eight games played, the Viking veteran has a team-high 39 tackles while averaging 4.9 tackles-per-game. He has recorded at least one tackle in every game he has played. Furthermore, he has recorded one interception and two break ups. Beside him is freshman Manu Tui-Enesi (Carson, CA) who has made a total of 28 stops while averaging four tackles-per-contest.
Defensive backs Kahlil Rashad-Brown (Carson, CA) and Guy Alford (Inglewood, CA) lead the secondary with 30 tackles and 29 tackles, respectfully. Alford has recorded one interception and returned it for 17 yards, while Rashad-Brown has batted down four potential passes.
Freshman Sergio Garcia (Long Beach, CA) has handled the kicking duties for the Vikings and has amassed 66 total points. He has booted in seven field goals with his season long going for 36 yards, while punching home 45 extra points.
The Renegades finished the season with an overall record of 6-4 with a 2-3 conference record in the National Northern Conference.
Sophomore quarterback Dalton Gallis (Lake Isabella, CA) leads the attack under center by totaling 1,495 yards through the air leading to nine touchdowns. His main weapon through the air comes in the form of sophomore Derrick Vickers (Bakersfield, CA). He has reeled in 68 grabs for 797 yards and five touchdowns. The ground attack for the Renegades is led by Vickers as well. He has rushed the ball 124 times for 782 yards and 13 touchdowns.
Sophomore linebacker Oluwaseun Ajayl (Frisco, TX) helms the defense by recording 50 tackles while averaging five stops-per-contest. Freshman defensive back Matthew Hubble (Bakersfield, CA) is right behind his teammate with 44 tackles, while sophomore Mykell Clayton (Bakersfield, CA) leads his team in sacks with five to go along with 37 tackles.
Peabody has put together another solid product this season and it is displayed in numerous ways.
"I do feel at times we intimidate people. When they come in to play us, they know they are going to get hit from the opening whistle. It creates a sense of fear. There were games this year where you could smell the fear in the air and you can see it on the sidelines."
At the end of the day, it is the final game of a successful season and Peabody hopes to keep the team unified under one goal.
"Play hard and stay together. Finish the right way. Let's go out together and send the sophomores out right and build with the freshman towards next year."