CLAREMONT, Calif. - The Claremont-Mudd-Scripps football team fell in an early 10-0 hole after the first quarter, but
Cooper Nixon scored two touchdowns six minutes apart in the second to jump-start the Stags on their way to a 31-10 win on Saturday evening at Rogan Stadium.
With the win, CMS improves to 7-2 overall and 6-1 in the SCIAC, as it heads into next week's championship game at Chapman for the right to earn the SCIAC's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. Azusa Pacific slips to 2-7 overall and 2-5 in league play in its debut season in the SCIAC.
The day also featured a couple of special events, as CMS honored its 21 seniors prior to the contest as part of Senior Day. At the half, CMS held an official dedication ceremony for Patrick G. Rogan Stadium, with members of the Rogan family in attendance for a ribbon-cutting, along with new Claremont McKenna president Will Dudley, who had his official inauguration on Saturday prior to the contest.
Azusa Pacific, though, got the early upper hand on the Stags with a pair of first-quarter scores, as Tyler Fogg caught a 24-yard touchdown pass from Brandon Valencia 5:18 into the game, and Tyler Nixon made a 41-yard field goal.
The Stags got back in it with a methodical drive, that started with a Nixon rush for seven-yards on 3rd-and-2.
Robert Litscher then completed a 12-yard pass to
Noah Macapulay, and found
Wilson Schwartz for an eight-yard pass on 3rd-and-3 to get the ball to the Azusa Pacific 38. Litscher then converted another third down with an eight-yard run on 3rd-and-4, and Nixon finished off the drive with a two-yard run with 13:23 in the second, capping a 13-play, 80-yard drive that ate up 7:42 of the clock.
Jake Son had a 19-yard punt return to the Azusa Pacific 38 to set up a short field, and Nixon caught an 11-yard pass on 3rd-and-8 to set up a first and goal at the four-yard line. Two plays later, Nixon scored to give CMS the lead for good with 7:23 left in the half.
CMS earned one more touchdown before the half, as
Tom Burton stopped a third down play short of the sticks to give the ball back to CMS. Litscher had a 39-yard pass to James Ruan to get the ball down to the APU six-yard line, then found Macapulay from seven yards out with 25 seconds left in the half to give CMS a 21-10 lead at the half.
The Stags had a 15-play, 74-yard drive that chewed up 9:27 off the clock, resulting in a 32-yard field goal from
Sean Lee, who improved to 12-16 on field goals this season (with two of his misses blocked). Son then had an interception that he returned 44 yards down to the Cougars 24-yard line, and
Owen Walz ended up plunging in from one-yard out to stretch the lead to 31-10 with 5:06 to go.
Azusa Pacific had one final drive, but
Brendan Cannon had three tackles and a pass break-up, and
Evan Siegel and
Anish Roy added break-ups as well to help stall the drive at the CMS 19.
Nixon finished with 66 yards on 18 carries and two touchdowns, while Walz added 49 yards on 12 carries and a score. Litscher finished 13-19 passing for 151 yards and a touchdown, giving him 15 touchdowns and only four interceptions this season. The Stag offensive line of
Teddy Lewis,
Gabriel Blanco,
Griffin King,
Esteban Morales and
Enzo Benzan helped pave the way for another impressive offensive performance as the Stags gear up for next weekend's championship.
The 21 seniors honored before the contest included
George Kruger,
Quintin Craig,
Robert Litscher,
James Ryan,
Kavin Prasanna,
Wilson Schwartz,
Gabe Menendez de Alencar,
Cooper Nixon,
Luke Gildred,
Jonathan Tabb,
Ben Kim,
Evan Siegel,
Andrew Carrasquillo,
Tom Burton,
Xzavier Sablan,
Drew Van Komen,
Brendan Cannon,
Grady Johnson,
Enzo Benzan,
Andrew Kress, and
Evan Gerber.
CMS will head to Chapman on Saturday looking to make its second-ever NCAA Tournament appearance, joining the 2018 team.
