CLAREMONT, Calif. - Justin Edwards reached both the 50-touchdown and the 50-rushing touchdown milestones, and Mason Cotton (punt) and Joey Asta (interception) scored touchdowns on returns as the Claremont-Mudd-Scripps football team rolled past La Verne 57-14 on Saturday afternoon at Zinda Field. 

CMS improves to 5-1 overall and 3-1 in the SCIAC with the win, while La Verne slips to 0-6 overall and 0-4 in the league. The Leopards had been competitive all season, including overtime losses to Willamette and Puget Sound, and a 27-20 loss to Pomona-Pitzer in which it was 11 yards away from a tying score late in the fourth quarter. 

Edwards came into the game with 49 career touchdowns, 48 rushing and one receiving, and scored on a pair of rushes to become the first Stag to reach 50 in both categories.  He had a three-yard rush in the first quarter to give him 50 overall touchdowns and put CMS ahead 14-0, and then added a 27-yard run in the second quarter to give him 50 rushing scores and make it a 27-7 game.  

Cotton got the scoring started after the CMS defense forced a three-and-out to open the game, avoiding three La Verne tacklers and breaking a 67-yard punt return up the right sideline to put the Stags ahead 7-0. Michael Houk then forced a fumble which was recovered by Austin Andersen, and four plays later, Edwards rushed in from the three-yard line to complete a 14-yard drive. 

La Verne got that touchdown back and was in position to go for a tie at the CMS 20, but Andersen and Nick Wilde combined on a key tackle for a loss, and the Leopards missed a field goal from 39 yards out. 

That swung the momentum back to the Stags, and Walter Kuhlenkamp was able to convert a 3rd-and-3 with a three-yard rush, and then found Daniel Rosenberg for a 39-yard touchdowns to make it a 20-7 lead.

CMS was then able to salt the game away by halftime with two more touchdowns in the final 2:21. Edwards scored from 27 yards out to push the margin to 27-7, and Kuhlenkamp connected with Ben Kim from five yards out to make it a 34-7 lead going into the break. 

Asta started the second half scoring with a 12-yard interception return, and Peter Boehm (13 yards) and Cooper Nixon (three yards) added touchdown runs. Dylan Sherman capped off the scoring with a 29-yard field goal. 

Edwards finished with 21 carries for 122 yards for CMS, which rushed for 312 yards as a team, as Jake Son added 50, Kuhlenkamp had 49, Nixon had 43, Boehm had 32 and Calvin Miller had 19. Gabe Gangi-Saroukhanioff led the defense with six tackles, as 30 CMS players recorded at least one. Aengus Wilson also had a fumble recovery in the fourth quarter. 

CMS will be back in action next week when it travels to Redlands for a 7 p.m. contest.