CLAREMONT, Calif. -
Cooper Nixon rushed for 117 yards offensively and
Evan Gerber had three sacks defensively, as the Claremont-Mudd-Scripps football team opened up its new home at Rogan Stadium with a 19-14 win over Northwestern (Minn.) on Saturday afternoon.
Nixon capped off a five-play, 60-yard drive on the opening drive of the game to give CMS a 7-0 advantage, all while averaging nearly five yards per carry during an efficient ground game for the Stags.
CMS quarterback
Robert Litscher completed 11 of 19 passes for 148 yards and a touchdown. Elijah Alexander also passed for 148 yards for the Eagles and tallied 85 rushing yards and a score. Michael Montoya tied the game at 7-7 after recording a one-yard score with 6:31 left to play in first quarter.
The Stags found more of their offense in the second quarter after a Nixon 10-yard run put them over midfield. Litscher then tossed a beautiful pass down the right side line to
Quintin Craig for a 41-yard reception, the longest play of the game for the Stags. The highlight worthy play then set up a seven yard
Noah Macapulay touchdown from Litscher with 11:23 left in the period.
Sean Lee added a 20-yard field goal with 8:07 remaining in the second quarter, lifting the Stags to a 17-7 lead.
However, the Eagles responded back with an eight play, 71-yard drive, which resulted in a one yard rushing score for Alexander with three minutes left in the first half. The Stags maintained a 17-14 lead over Northwestern (Minn.) going into halftime.
Both teams locked down defensively in the second half but it was CMS that was able to actually turn its effort into points. The Stags forced the Eagles to recover its own fumble in the end zone for a safety with 5:01 left to play in the fourth quarter and were unable to score the rest of the way, resulting in a 19-14 win for CMS.
George Kruger led the CMS with nine tackles, while Gerber had eight tackles and three sacks, and
Xzavier Sablan had a sack on fourth-and-1 that resulted in a 16-yard loss.
Rogan Stadium is part of
The Sports Bowl at the Roberts Campus, a new set of state-of-the-art facilities and playing fields for CMS Athletics. Rogan Stadium seats 1,211, with 900 on the home side and 311 on the visitors side, and is the new home for football, lacrosse, and track and field. It includes a lighted multiuse field, a track venue, a video scoreboard, a press box, and field houses with locker rooms, restrooms, showers, and common spaces.
The Stags will next have a bye week before returning for its second game at Rogan Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 19 against George Fox.
