CLAREMONT, Calif. - The Claremont-Mudd-Scripps football team will try to earn its second trip to the NCAA Division III Tournament when it travels to Chapman on Saturday for the SCIAC Championship game at 1 p.m.

The Stags finished the regular season at 6-1 in the SCIAC, good for second place, one game behind Chapman at 7-0. The Panthers won the regular season meeting between the teams at home, in a game that CMS led 28-27 going into the fourth quarter before Chapman pulled away late for a 49-28 win. 

CMS made its first appearance in the NCAA Division III Tournament in 2018, when it defeated Chapman 16-9 to clinch first place and earn the SCIAC's automatic bid, while in recent years, the Panthers have stood in the way of the Stags' title hopes. The SCIAC had a two-division format in 2023 and 2024, and CMS and Chapman were in the same division, with the Panthers winning the division by narrow margins both times. 

In fact, the margin in 2023 was just one yard, as the Panthers made a game-saving tackle on fourth down at their own one-yard line with 30 seconds left to win 14-10 and secure a place in the conference championship game. In 2024, Chapman defeated CMS by a 9-7 final to win the division for the second year in a row, tipping a potential game-winning field goal from 56 yards out on the final play of the game. 

In this year's meeting, Robert Litscher threw for a career-high 357 yards, with Noah Macapulay (8 catches, 125 yards) and Quintin Craig (eight catches, 112 yards) each going over 100 yards receiving. Chapman quarterback Eli Brandt was 26-33 passing for 339 yards and two touchdowns, and added 50 yards rushing and two more scores. 

Last year, the two teams went to overtime at Chapman with the Panthers prevailing 37-31, spoiling a 207-yard rushing game from Cooper Nixon, which included an 84-yard touchdown run. George Kruger has had 13 tackles in both this year and last year's meeting for the Stags to lead the defensive effort. 

To watch the stream on the Flo, or to purchase tickets, visit the links below

Live Stream (FloSports)

SCIAC Championship Tickets