LA VERNE, Calif. -
Owen Walz ran for two touchdowns and
Robert Litscher threw for two as the Claremont-Mudd-Scripps football team held off La Verne for a 27-18 win on Saturday afternooon at Oltmayer Stadium.
With the win, CMS moves to 4-1 on the season and a perfect 3-0 in SCIAC, while La Verne falls to 2-3 overall and 0-3 in league play.
CMS jumped out to a 13-0 lead in the game's first 5:18, but had to hold off the Leopards, which got back within 13-12 and 20-18 before the Stags were able to finish off the win.
Walz opened the scoring just 2:03 into the game, after Litscher found
Quintin Craig for a 56-yard pass to put the ball at the La Verne 13. Walz then rushed for nine yards down to the four, and carried it in on the next play to put the Stags up 6-0 after they were unable to run in a two-point conversion.
La Verne went three-and-out on its first possession, with
Joseph Kessler and
Owen Martin making a third-down tackle two yards short of the sticks. Litscher then completed a 44-yard pass to
Noah Macapulay to get the ball into La Verne territory, and finished off the drive with a 28-yard pass to
James Ryan to put CMS ahead 13-0 with 9:52 still showing on the first quarter clock.
La Verne got back within 13-12 with a pair of touchdowns in the first and second quarters, but
Evan Gerber blocked the first extra point, and
Zeke Vallez blocked the second to keep the Stags in front. The Leopards had a chance to take the lead on the final possession of the half, but their fourth-down pass from the CMS 13-yard line fell incomplete.
CMS scored on its first possession of the second half with a 76-yard touchdown drive. Litscher found Ryan for a 13-yard pass on 3rd-and10 to keep the drive going, and then threw a 37-yard touchdown pass to
Tyler Chelew with 7:37 left in the third. La Verne answered on its next possession with a touchdown, but failed on a two-point conversion attempt to keep the score 20-18 in favor of the Stags, after three unsuccessful conversions after touchdowns.
Litscher and Macapulay then connected again for a deep pass, this time a 30-yarder, all the way down to the La Verne one-yard line. Walz then punched it in for his second touchdown of the day to put the Stags ahead by nine after
Sean Lee converted the extra point.
La Verne got as far as the CMS 25-yard line on its next possession, but
George Kruger had a tackle for a loss of three yards, and
Zeke Vallez had a fourth-down sack to turn the ball over on downs with 7:46 to play. La Verne's final drive ended on an
Andrew Carrasquillo interception at the CMS 19-yard line with 1:27 to go, and the Stags were able to kneel down and win it.
Litscher finished 14-22 passing for 250 yards and two touchdowns, while Walz had 66 yards on 15 carries for his two touchdowns. Macapulay finished with six catches for 89 yards, and Craig had 67 yards on two receptions. Kessler had 16 tackles to lead the defense, while Kruger had 12 and Carrasquillo had seven to go with his interception.
CMS will be back in action next weekend when it hosts Whittier at Rogan Stadium for a 1 p.m. contest.
