State title football appearance at stake for host BCHS, facing La Habra in 2-AA SoCal final

It’s easy to get caught up in everything that goes into a season like the one Bakersfield Christian football team is having. Darren Carr, head coach since 2016 and who has taken multiple Eagles teams to the level where his 2025 group currently resides, is cutting through the pressure.

“We’re just happy to host and play in a state playoff home game. There have been a lot of firsts for our guys this year, and God has been good to us,” he said.

Carr and this year’s team, 12-0, a league champion and a CIF Division I-A Central Section champion, will take the next step at 7:30 p.m. Friday. BCHS hosts CIF Southern Section Division III champion, Orange County’s La Habra (11-3), in the CIF Southern California Division 2-AA regional championship.

Win this week and BCHS will play for the 2-AA state championship on Dec. 12. That would put the Eagles up against the winner of Friday’s Northern California Regional final between San Mateo Junipero Serra (8-5) and host Stockton St. Mary’s (11-2).

“We’re honored to be in the 2-AA state playoffs. La Habra is a good team. They are here for a reason,” Carr said.

Last season, BCHS got to this state playoff level and after a 10-7 halftime lead, gave up three scores in the second half and lost 28-10 to Palos Verdes. Carr sensed his team wasn’t as ready as it thought. Many of those players are back in this position again and Carr believes it is a lesson learned.

Indeed. Both teams are here because they’ve navigated the pathway to be in position to finish the year where all of their preseason goals were ultimately centered.

Carr’s assessment of La Habra is that the Highlanders remind him of Liberty, which BCHS beat 38-16 in the section final.

“Good size line, a quick passing game and they run the football,” he said. “The quarterback can get up and run. It’s a spread offense, but they want to run.

“Defensively,” Carr said, “they have some good size and play solid defense.”

Key players include defensive lineman Luke Hedgpeth with seven sacks, 54 tackles and 14 tackles for loss, senior outside linebacker Noah Barajas (85 tackles, 6.5 sacks and 14 TFL) and junior linebacker Barrett Blied (80 tackles, 4.5 sacks. Three players have four or more interceptions, led by junior defensive back Santi Bautista Cuesta with six. La Habra has four pick-six scores.

The Highlanders have played two more games than BCHS due to the latter receiving a first-round bye in the Central Section playoffs and another bye after winning its section title game Nov. 21. La Habra limited three of its four playoff opponents to a lone touchdown and beat San Jacinto 27-13 in the SS final.

Offensively, quarterback DJ Mitchell, a junior, has amassed 2,576 passing yards, 30 touchdowns and seven interceptions. He’s run for 690 yards and 11 touchdowns, too, and has run for 87 or more yards in each of the team’s playoff games. Mitchell’s top receiving targets are Bryce Vasquez with 62 catches for 1,045 yards and 13 TDs and Blake “Blaze” Rogers with 905 yards and nine TDs.

The Highlanders’ top rushing threat is Kevika Mata’Utia-Martinez, a junior. He has 1,350 yards, 13 rushing TDs and 650 yards and five TDs have come in the playoffs. He had 205 yards in the section title win over San Jacinto.

BCHS has put together a 12-game resume that features senior quarterback Lincoln Adame’s 2,337 passing yards, 23 touchdowns to seven interceptions.

Senior wide receiver Michael Smith has been Adame’s most frequent target with 43 catches, 1,144 yards and 16 TDs. Other top targets include seniors Jason Gutierrez with 32 receptions for 406 yards and a TD, and Andre Calderon’s 17 for 348 yards and four scores. Buddah Walker, a junior, has 14 catches for 165 yards and a score. Owen Yurosek has the only other TD reception.

Adame credits a work ethic in his receivers, times when he and his receivers stay after practice to just throw the ball, continue to sharpen timing on routes.

“All that extra work has paid off,” Adame said.

Smith, who is in his second full season at BCHS after two years at Garces and was a late-summer arrival his first season, has enjoyed his full senior year and being in sync with Adame.

“Lincoln knows how to put the ball on the money. He’s got a great arm,” Smith said. “I’m so confident in his abilities. When I watch film and see the routes I’m running, he’s throwing the ball before I ever turn around. He knows exactly where I’ll be.”

Running the ball is just as effective for the Eagles. Senior Darriyon Page has been BCHS’s workhorse and is closing in on 1,000 yards with 954, three games with more than 100 yards and 10 rushing TDs.

“He’s such a baller, so shifty and he hits the holes,” Adame said of Page. “He’s so fast. He’s a really good back.”

Page was especially vital, running behind his big blockers for 178 yards and three scores against Liberty.

A complementary BCHS back has been sophomore Richlyn Gooden, who has 362 yards and five touchdowns.

While the BCHS offense has been continually improving against the competition, the other side, the defense, has had its share of success, too.

It all starts with defensive end Arnez Lee, a transfer from Highland, who has 21 quarterback sacks. He has multiple-sack games against Faith Lutheran in Las Vegas, Tehachapi, Tulare Union, Ridgeview, Highland, Bakersfield and Garces. He’s got 36 quarterback hurries, 76 tackles and 33 tackles for loss.

When Smith isn’t catching passes from Adame, he’s had four interceptions, two for a pick-six and 60 tackles as a free safety.

BCHS also has a huge weapon on special teams. Senior kicker Cohen Peters has delivered when the Eagles need it most. He’s made 47 of 51 extra-point kicks and is 9 for 11 on field-goal attempts.