Sixth Street Trophy Migrates North! CMS Defeats Pomona-Pitzer 20-17 in 2019 Finale

CLAREMONT, Calif. - Senior running back Garrett Cheadle was one of 11 seniors honored before the game and rushed for 121 yards in his final contest as the Claremont-Mudd-Scripps football team won back the Sixth Street Trophy with a 20-17 win over Pomona-Pitzer on Saturday afternoon at Zinda Field.

Cheadle finished his career with 2,987 yards, just missing becoming the third running back in school history to reach the 3,000-yard mark. Sophomore quarterback Zach Fogel was 8-9 passing for 102 yards and ran for 82 yards and a touchdown, while Dylan Porter had six tackles and two sacks to lead the defense. 

CMS ends its season at 5-5 on the year and 3-4 in the SCIAC, while Pomona-Pitzer concludes at 5-4 overall and 4-3 in league play. The Sagehens had won the Sixth Street Rivalry game each of the last two seasons, but the Stags were able to return the trophy back to the north side of Sixth Street in the 2019 finale. 



"It means a lot," said Cheadle of ending with a win and earning the rivalry trophy. "Considering the season and how it went, there's nothing that could really make or break our season in the last game against our rivals, and we really came out to win today. It was an absolute team win." 

The score was tied 17-17 late in the third quarter, when a 50-yard pass from Fogel to sophomore wide receiver Jack Grasberger helped get the Stags deep into Pomona-Pitzer territory at the 15-yard line. Pomona-Pitzer was able to hold after the Stags got down to the three-yard line, and sophomore kicker Alessandro Maiuolo made his second field goal of the night to put CMS ahead 20-17 with 2:30 left in the third. 

The Stag defense held Pomona-Pitzer to three-and-out and chewed up 5:45 of fourth-quarter clock before giving the Sagehens the ball back on their own 23-yard line with 9:15 to go. First-year cornerback Jack Holden then came up with an interception at the Pomona-Pitzer 45-yard line to give the Stags possession with just 6:48 left. 

Adam Webber intercepted a pass for the Sagehens in the end zone to give the Sagehens the ball again with 3:18 to go, and the Sagehens appeared to strike for a 67-yard touchdown pass, but they were flagged with offensive pass interference to move the ball all the way back to the 18-yard line, with an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty placing it on the nine-yard line for 3rd-and-31. An incomplete pass and a punt gave CMS a chance to seal the game with one first down. 

However, Pomona-Pitzer's defense got the stop they needed and they took over at their own 13-yard line with 1:39 to go, but the CMS defense forced four straight incompletions to stop a potential tying or winning drive before it even got started. First-year linebacker Emmett Thomas King III hot Pomona-Pitzer quarterback Karter Odermann as he threw on first down, and Holden and first-year Michael Colangelo each broke up pass attempts on second and third down. Odermann then threw deep on fourth down hoping for a big play, but overthrew his intended target (Cole Barry) at midfield as CMS took over and was able to take a knee twice to finish off the win. 

The game started with CMS using its ground game and its offensive line to set the tone. The Stags went 59 yards in 16 plays to score on a one-yard rush from Cheadle on fourth and goal to take a 7-0 lead after a drive that lasted for 9:37. Fogel completed a third-down pass to junior Carter Henderson to keep the drive going, and then completed a nine-yard pass to Cheadle on 3rd-and-7. Cheadle had a third-down carry to the Pomona-Pitzer 10-yard line for a first down and then ran it to the one, before needing three tries to get in, with seniors Michael Streinz and Jett Zeimantz leading the push that allowed Cheadle to cross the line untouched. 

"It felt great, oh my gosh," gushed Cheadle about starting off the game with a nearly 10-minute drive, which is the sort of ball-control success that led to the SCIAC Championship last year, the first since 1987. "We needed to come out and do what we do best, just sticking it to them, knowing that they knew exactly what was coming."

Pomona-Pitzer answered on its first possession with a touchdown, before Maiuolo made his first of two field goals with 9:49 to go in the half, from 28 yards out, to make it a 10-7 lead. Evan Flitz gave Pomona-Pitzer its only lead of the game on a 16-yard run with 4:40 to go, but Fogel led the troops back down the other way and scored on a nine-yard run with 59 seconds left to give CMS a 17-14 lead heading into the break. 

Cheadle, Zeimantz, and Streinz were among the members of the Class of 2020 honored before the contest, along with Dylan Byrd, Alex Plunk, Jonah Cartwright, Connor Sinclair, Christian Curcio, Luke Livingston, Lukas Svitek, and Matthew May. The seniors were a big part of the SCIAC Championship last year and ended their careers with 23 wins, including the one to end their careers today to return the Sixth Street Trophy back to CMS.

Cheadle's 121 yards gave him 2,987 in his career, just 13 shy of becoming the third running back in school history to reach the 3,000-yard mark. CMS took a knee on the 15, where in theory, he could have gone for that milestone with another rush or two, but of course, he wasn't the least bit concerned about that. 

"It means nothing. I don't care," Cheadle said of the almost milestone. "We've had a wonderful season here, and an absolutely an amazing career with every single person I've played with."