REDLANDS, Calif. -
Robert Litscher threw a 22-yard touchdown to
Noah Macapulay on the final Claremont-Mudd-Scripps drive of the first half to break a 7-7 tie, and then threw a 66-yard touchdown to
Quintin Craig on the first possession of the second half, as the Stags broke a close game open and secured a spot in the SCIAC Championship game with a 35-14 road win over Redlands on Saturday.
With the win, the Stags move to 6-2 overall and 5-1 in the SCIAC, one game ahead of both Pomona-Pitzer and Cal Lutheran (4-2) with one game to play. CMS, though, holds head-to-head wins over both teams in the event of a tiebreaker, guaranteeing the Stags the second spot in the championship. Â
Chapman defeated Pomona-Pitzer 35-2 on Saturday to improve to 6-0 and secure the top seed and the right to host the championship game, and will face CMS in Orange on Saturday, Nov. 14 for the right to earn the SCIAC's bid to the NCAA Division III Tournament. Redlands slips to 3-5 overall and 3-3 in the SCIAC, heading into its finale at Pomona-Pitzer next weekend.
The Stag defense had numerous big plays as well to help the Stags secure a spot in the championship.
Andrew Carrasquillo and
Evan Gerber had key interceptions to help kill Redlands drives in CMS territory, while
Gavin Naylor forced a fumble and recovered it to help set up the first Stag touchdown.
Jack Davis then had a 26-yard interception return for a touchdown to finish off the CMS scoring in the fourth.
Naylor wrestled the ball away from a Redlands ball-carrier on the first Bulldog play with 12:23 left in the first quarter at the Redlands 26-yard line. The Stags were sacked on their first play from scrimmage to set up a 2nd-and-17, but Litscher then found Craig for 14 yards, and Macapulay for 18 yards to get it down to the one-yard line.
Cooper Nixon plunged in from a yard out to put CMS ahead 7-0.
Redlands answered back to tie it 7-7 with 6:37 left in the first quarter, and had a chance to take the lead in the second quarter as it moved to the CMS 19-yard line. Carrasquillo, though, intercepted a Bulldog pass at the five-yard line and returned it to the 20 with 5:27 left in the half.
Nixon busted loose on the next play for a 42-yard run to get the ball into Redlands territory. With a 3rd-and-8 on the Redlands 22-yard line, Litscher found Macapulay over the middle to put CMS in front to stay 14-7. After CMS earned a stop on the first Redlands possession of the second half, Litscher found Craig all alone behind the defense for a 66-yard strike with 9:24 left in the third.
Redlands drove to the CMS 31-yard line to try to answer, but Gerber pulled in a deflected ball for his third interception of the season to end the threat, including a pick-six in a win over Cal Lutheran. On the next Redlands possession,
Xzavier Sablan had a tackle for no gain on 3rd-and-2 to force the Bulldogs to punt from deep in its own territory.
The final Redlands threat ended with 5:16 left when Carrasquillo broke up a 4th-and-6 pass on the CMS 35-yard line to give the Stags the ball. Nixon then rushed for 54 yards down the left sideline to the Redlands 11-yard line, and
Owen Walz ran the next play in to make it 28-7.
Two plays later, Davis picked off a Redlands pass from 26 yards out and ran it back to make the score 35-7. The Bulldogs were able to use a 50-yard pass in the final two minutes to get inside the CMS 10-yard line and score on fourth down to make the final score 35-14.
Nixon finished with 19 carries for 158 yards, Litscher threw for 190 yards on 11-18 passing, and Craig had six catches for 127 yards for his second straight game over 100 yards receiving.
George Kruger led the defense with 11 tackles (nine solo), while
Joseph Kessler had nine, including two for losses, and Carrasquillo had seven.
CMS will play its final home game on Saturday at 5 p.m. against Azusa Pacific to conclude the regular season. The Stags will then play for the SCIAC title at Chapman on Nov. 14, hoping to make its first NCAA appearance since 2018.
