The Bakersfield College side flattened the Hancock College football team last Saturday night. The Bulldogs left Bakersfield with a 33-7 loss after rushing for all of nine yards. The lone Hancock touchdown came in the form of a 59-yard Dylan (DY-lon) Heath interception return. 

Things don’t figure to get any easier for Hancock this week.

The Bulldogs (1-1) will play a non-league game at Huntington Beach-based Golden West Saturday against a Rustlers squad that checked in at a tie for No. 5 in the latest JCAB rankings. Golden West is 2-0. Kickoff is slated for 1 p.m.

Hancock was tied for No. 21 in the JCAB ratings. The Rustlers are coming off a 42-35 win against No. 8 Riverside City College last week.

The few times the teams have played each other in the past have not gone well for the Bulldogs. Golden West is 3-0 in the series between the teams. The Rustlers beat the Bulldogs 28-7 in the Southern California Bowl at Golden West last year.

Golden West leaders in that win graduated. However, freshmen have helped the Rustlers average 230 yards a game through the air.

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Freshman quarterback Noah Barua has completed 35 of his 57 passes for 455 yards. He has thrown six touchdown passes and two interceptions.

The top two Golden West receivers are freshmen. Tanner Schmidt has 10 receptions for 177 yards and two touchdowns. Will McKissick has caught eight passes for 90 yards and a score.

There is one encouraging Rustlers stat for the Bulldogs. Golden West’s pass defense has leaked. The Rustlers give up an average of 269 passing yards a game.

Hancock sophomore quarterback Drake Missamore had a huge game in a 42-20 win against Orange Coast College in the Bulldogs’ season opener. Missamore threw for 328 yards and two touchdowns. Missamore completed 17 of his 27 passes against Bakersfield for 128 yards, but he was intercepted twice.

Golden West doesn’t have a running back with flashy stats. The Rustlers just pile up steady rushing yardage, 177.5 a game. Golden West has used seven ball carriers this year. Sophomore Kendric Thompson is the Rustlers’ leading rusher at 44 yards a game.

Hancock’s usually powerful run game has struggled in the early part of this season. The Bulldogs rushed for 124 yards against Orange Coast, but it took them 43 carries to get there.