CMS Football celebrating the win over Chapman for the 2018 SCIAC title

Posted: Oct 24, 2020

Championship Memories Saturday: 2018 CMS Football Takes SCIAC Title

Perhaps no single moment better encapsulates the mindset of the 2018 CMS Football team than the celebration after the big home win over Chapman which clinched the program's first SCIAC title in 31 years.

Or, to be more accurate, the lack of celebration.

The motto for the Stags all season was "one play at a time." They put a premium on putting the last play behind them, good or bad, and moving on to the next one, staying in the moment and not letting their focus waver.

So when the Chapman game ended with the Stags taking a knee and preserving the league title with a 16-9 win, which also clinched the program's first-ever bid to the NCAA Division III Championship, most of the team was still in the moment and not really thinking about the historical implications.

"That Chapman game was more like just another day at the office," said offensive tackle Jacob Lyle, a sophomore on the team. "We kinda forgot to celebrate after the game. I mean, that win was one of the most important in the history of our program, and we all sorta just walked off the field when it was over. We even neglected to give Coach (Kyle) Sweeney a cold Gatorade shower, which was a real missed opportunity in retrospect."

"To be honest, I think a lot of us didn't even realize what the Chapman game meant in terms of a league title and a playoff bid," said tight end Nick Parise, also a sophomore in 2018. "We were so focused on beating Chapman and getting a little revenge from the year before (a 48-38 defeat) that it wasn't until the game ended that everyone breathed a sigh of relief and celebrated. That whole season our ability to stay focused on our opponent that week and not look too far ahead made us successful."

As the only SCIAC sport without a postseason championship event, the road to the football championship is a long one, spread out over two months of regular season games. An early defeat can be the exit ramp that takes you off that road for good, which actually happened to the Stags in 2015, when a narrow 32-27 defeat to La Verne in the second week of league play was the difference in the Leopards taking the title (7-0) over second-place CMS (6-1).

That runner-up finish was a game-changer, though, in terms of the program's expectations. When Chapman joined the league in 2012, Cal Lutheran was the current powerhouse program (five championships in six years from 2007-12), while Redlands was the traditional power (20 titles in 50 years). The consensus opinion when Chapman came in was that those three programs would more or less pass the league trophy around from year to year, and indeed it began that way in 2012, Cal Lutheran (7-0) won a close battle for the title over Redlands (6-1) and Chapman (5-2). CMS, meanwhile, suffered through a tough 0-9 season in Sweeney's second year at the helm, with any thought of championship aspirations still a long way away.

In 2013, Redlands (7-0) earned the championship over Chapman (6-1), while CMS improved to 3-6 (2-5 in SCIAC) as Sweeney's influence began to take root. In 2014, it was Chapman (7-0) over Redlands (6-1), while the Stags moved over .500 at 5-4 (4-3 in the league), defeating Cal Lutheran 37-30 to start a three-game winning streak to tend the year.

The 2015 season, though, saw the big three all suffer down years, and the door was opened for the rest of the league. CMS opened its SCIAC schedule with a big double-overtime win over Chapman for the first shake-up in the standings, while week two saw La Verne score the winning touchdown with 1:24 left to defeat the Stags 32-27 in the game that would eventually determine the title.

CMS responded to the loss with an impressive comeback 25-23 win over Redlands to stay in the hunt, but La Verne won back-to-back 49-42 games over both Chapman and Redlands, and the Stags were never able to pull even in the standings. The Leopards won their finale over Cal Lutheran to clinch an undefeated SCIAC season and the league title, the same day that the Stags won the Sixth Street Trophy 20-17 over Pomona-Pitzer.

Redlands bounced back to win the 2016 title by two games over CMS and Pomona-Pitzer, and Chapman returned to form in 2017 and took the crown by a game over Redlands, as the league seemingly started to return to its normal pecking order. In the 2018 preseason coaches poll, Chapman, Redlands and Cal Lutheran were picked 1-3, with CMS behind them in fourth. The Stags, though, had other ideas in mind when preseason camp got underway.

The freshmen on the Stags in 2015 were seniors when the 2018 season rolled around, four of whom were on the offensive line unit, and they wanted the SCIAC title they came so close to winning once before. The veteran O-line had a lot of starts under their belts, led by seniors Jackson Tate, Malcom Stolarski and Brian Wahl, while Lyle started every game at left tackle in 2017 as a first-year, junior Jett Zeimantz was in his third year as the starting center, with junior Matthew May consistently in the rotation as well. That group was rock solid, was used to playing with each other, and had the ability to open holes for the two-headed backfield returning of juniors Garrett Cheadle and Spencer Sheff and protect sophomore quarterback Jake Norville.

Defensively, senior linebacker Mitchell Allan (the eventual SCIAC Defensive Player of the Year) and senior defensive back Mackenzie Cooney were outstanding leaders of a young unit that had great potential. The senior class was small in numbers (nine), but its impact was in its quality over its volume.

"We were lucky that year to have some great leaders," said Lyle. "Mac, Mitch, and Jackson really did a great job keeping the team focused."

The defensive unit had to lick its wounds a little bit after a 45-35 opening-day non-league defeat to Puget Sound, but regrouped quickly. The Stags took a 14-3 win over Northwestern in week two and fell just 10-7 at Pacific Lutheran (with Norville out with an injury) to conclude its non-conference schedule 1-2. Sheff was also lost for the season with an injury on opening day, which put more of the workload on Cheadle's back, but fortunately for the Stags, he was ready to carry it.

Cheadle would eventually run for a whopping 1,305 yards (second in CMS history) and earn the SCIAC Offensive Player of the Year Award. His season would include a school-record 274 yards in a win over Whittier, and 41 carries for 173 yards in the SCIAC-clinching win over Chapman.

"Garrett was the best kind of running back to block for as an offensive lineman," said Lyle. "He was a guy who could make something out of nothing and make us look good when we missed a block, and he never stopped his feet. As an offense we took a lot of pride in making sure that piles moved forward, and I think if you look back at the film it would be hard to find times that Garrett got pushed backwards. He was just a big, tough guy who would wear out defenders throughout the course of the game."

"It was amazing to block for him all year," said Parise. "Garrett was a great player. His success meant a lot to us because he was great to block for, he always fought for extra yards and made us look good. Knowing that Garrett was going to do everything possible made us work hard. He made our offense work, we asked a lot of him and he always delivered."

The SCIAC season began with a home matchup against La Verne, which perhaps served as a reminder to the seniors of the importance of those early-season games. CMS built a 14-3 lead in the first quarter and held off the Leopards for a 37-24 win, behind four touchdown passes from Norville and 155 yards on the ground from Cheadle.

The Stags then hosted Cal Lutheran in the first of their matchups with the big three, and started to establish their identity – control the ball behind their ground game, dominate time of possession, stay solid on defense. The only second-half points in the 17-10 CMS win came on a field goal from first-year kicker Alessandro Maiuolo, and the Stags killed off the final 9:29 of the fourth-quarter clock with a 15-play drive that ended with CMS taking a knee on the Cal Lutheran 10-yard line. A total of 14 of those 15 plays were on the ground, with Jordan Leonard picking up a big first down on 4th-and-3 to help prevent the Kingsmen from getting the ball back.

CMS then took its 2-0 SCIAC record on the road to Redlands in a game that would determine sole possession of first place in the league after Redlands improved to 2-0 with a big head-to-head win over Chapman. If the CMS fourth quarter drive against Cal Lutheran maybe turned some heads, what the Stags did against Redlands was something out of The Exorcist.

The CMS defense was outstanding all day, and the Stags held a narrow 12-3 lead heading into the fourth quarter, before taking over on their own 14-yard line with 12:35 left to play. Cheadle opened the drive with runs of five yards, three yards and four yards to move the chains. Jordan Leonard had a 15-yard carry to move the ball into Redlands territory, before Cheadle rushed for another first down to move the ball to the Redlands 26. Norville snuck in one completed pass after 12 straight running plays, before two more Cheadle runs and a 10-yard Leonard touchdown carry put the Stags in the end zone.

All told, the drive went 86 yards in 16 plays (15 rushing), ate up 10:16 of the clock and salted the game away, putting CMS up 20-3 with just 2:14 left. The Bulldogs were able to punch in a last-minute touchdown, but much too little and much too late as CMS won 20-10 to take sole possession of first place. It would also end up being the win that would determine the NCAA bid: CMS and Redlands ended up co-champions at 6-1, but the Stags earned the bid due to the head-to-head victory.

"The hands-down best moment of the year was our final offensive drive at Redlands," said Lyle. "We got the ball at the beginning of the fourth quarter up 12-3, and I remember Coach Sweeney saying 'Let's run it until they stop us.' I respect the physicality of that Redlands defense, but we simply lined up, played 11-on-11 football, and we just dominated them physically. No tricks, we didn't out scheme them; we were just the bigger, stronger, tougher football team that day. It felt great to beat up on a team that was nationally known for their toughness and physicality."

CMS maintained its grip on first place with wins at Occidental (27-7) and over Whittier (34-21), with Cheadle breaking the school rushing record with his 274 yards on only 22 carries in the Whittier win. That left the Stags at 5-0, with Chapman visiting CMS with its high-scoring offense (37 ppg coming in, 11 more than any other team in the league). A win would clinch at least a share of the SCIAC title, while guaranteeing that CMS would represent the SCIAC in the NCAA Division III Championship.

The Stags opened the game by setting the tone right from the start, using their typical playbook. The game plan was to keep the ball out of the hands of the potent Chapman offense, and Cheadle started out with runs of three, six and eight yards, then receiving a pass from Norville for nine yards. After two more carries moved the chains, Christian Curcio ran for 10 yards to get the ball to the Chapman 29, but the Panthers were able to come up with a stop. Maiuolo was called on for a difficult 42-yard field goal, and split the uprights to give CMS a 3-0 lead. The Stags didn't get a touchdown, but the key was that half the first quarter was already gone, and Chapman had yet to run an offensive play.

After the offense set the tone on its first drive, the defense did likewise, holding Chapman to three and out. CMS took over on its own 30, drove 52 yards in eight plays, and once again needed to call on Maiuolo, who came through a second time, nailing a 35-yarder. It was 6-0 CMS, with the first quarter almost gone, and the Panthers had run just three offensive plays.

The two first quarter field goals were huge for the Stags, which might have lost some momentum if they came away scoreless after holding the ball for so long. In fact, Maiuolo would earn National Special Teams Player of the Week after going 3-3 on field goals on the day, including one more in the second half.

"Ale was absolutely clutch that game," said Lyle. "That Chapman offense was very dangerous so every point was critical. Going in to that week we were very weary of Chapman's field goal block team. They had a lot of very good athletes and had been doing a good job at putting pressure on kickers. It was really phenomenal for Ale to do so well that day, especially against that unit."

"Ale was great for us all year," added Parise. "It's reassuring to have your kicker be as consistent as he was. With a team as good as Chapman, where a field goal might determine the game, it gave us a lot of confidence to have Ale back there."

The defense kept up its side of the bargain, with sophomore corner Cade Moffatt breaking up a third-down pass to force Chapman to punt, but a 60-yard punt was downed at the CMS 2-yard line, which would eventually result in a safety for the first Chapman points. CMS didn't let the momentum swing, though, as the Panthers got the ball after the safety and went backwards, with three plays resulting in a 4th-and-13.

CMS then took over on its own 35 and went 65 yards in nine plays, all on the ground. Curcio had two carries for 12 yards and Cheadle ran seven straight times, the last one a 29-yard scamper on 4th-and-2 to put CMS ahead 13-2.

Chapman drove all the way to the CMS 3-yard line on its final possession of the half, but Moffatt broke up two straight attempts at touchdown passes, and the Panthers missed a 20-yard field goal, making Maiuolo's successful kicks loom even larger. Flip one field goal make each way, and the CMS lead would have been just 10-5 at the half instead of 13-2.

Chapman started the second half with the ball, but Moffatt continued his big day with a quick interception, an important moment to prevent the Panthers from establishing momentum after the halftime break. CMS chewed up another 6:25 with an 11-play drive, before Maiuolo connected on his third field goal, this one from 24 yards, putting the Stags up 16-2 with 7:36 left in the third.

The Panthers had their drive of the day a the end of the third and beginning of the fourth, going 80 yards in nine plays and converting a 28-yard touchdown pass on 3rd-and-10, the only big play that the big-play Panther offense managed the whole afternoon. That made the score 16-9 with 13:20 left in the fourth, and after each team stopped the other, CMS took over with 9:22 standing between it and a championship.

The Stags then did what they do best and chewed up almost all of the clock with first down after first down. Chapman succeeded on its last-ditch effort to get the ball back, stopping CMS on 4th-and-1 at the Panthers' 16-yard line with 1:58 to go. The drive used up 7:24 and left very little time, but the fourth-down stop opened the door for a possible 84-yard tying drive.

One advantage to all that time of possession dominance was that the CMS defense was very well rested, after the offense kept them on the sidelines for long stretches, and Chapman's offense was never allowed to get in any sort of rhythm. As a result, CMS never allowed that potential tying drive to get started, allowing only four yards in four plays, and turning the ball back over and downs on an incomplete pass. Two Cheadle rushes moved the chains and wasted the last Chapman timeouts, and CMS took a knee to seal the 16-9 win, the SCIAC title and the NCAA bid.

The final statistics told the story in a lot of different ways. Cheadle was a workhorse, carrying 41 times for 173 yards. The Stags had 76 offensive plays, 64 of them rushes, and converted 20 first downs (16 via the ground). Chapman's vaunted offense had the ball for only 51 plays, managing only 175 yards and nine first downs (two of them via penalty). First-year defensive backs Stiles Satterllee and Benjamin Cooney led the Stags in tackles with just five apiece (by contrast, Chapman's top two tacklers had 17 and 15, respectively), as the Stag defenders didn't get much of a chance to rack up stats. After all, CMS had the ball for 43:04, and Chapman only 16:56.

"Time of possession has been our trademark these past couple years," said Parise. "During long drives we would get in a rhythm, and it felt like nothing was going to stop us, especially late in games. It's a great feeling to get on a roll where there was no doubt in our mind that the next play was going to work. Late in the game, you start to see some exasperation on the faces of our opponent as they lined up, especially when they know what's going to happen and they still can't stop it. There's no better feeling."

"By that point in the year, we had really embraced our identity as an offense and it was so much fun," said Lyle. "We knew we were going to run the ball, the other team knew we were going to run the ball, everyone watching the game knew we were going to run the ball, but it didn't matter. It was like, 'Alright, you know we're going to run the ball, now try to stop us.' There isn't a better feeling in the world than imposing your will on a defense in key situations. We were so confident in our ability to convert in those situations; it was a really special thing to be a part of."

Although the celebration immediately after the Chapman win didn't reflect the significance of the moment, the players eventually realized the magnitude of their accomplishments.

"It felt great to be a part of program history," said Lyle. "Later that night, I thought back to the last CMS SCIAC championship team and that put it all into perspective. We had succeeded in doing something that the program hadn't done for three decades. To be the first NCAA playoff bid for CMS made that realization even sweeter."

"We were all incredibly proud to be the first team in 30 years to win the SCIAC and first get a playoff bid in program history," said Parise. "It was something we had talked about in the offseason and it helped us set our goal of winning SCIAC. That group put a lot of hard work in the offseason and to see it pay off was incredibly satisfying."

CMS put up a good battle as heavy underdogs at Whitworth in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, despite injuries decimating the offense as Cheadle, Leonard, Norville and Chamberlain were all out of action. The Stags scored a touchdown on their first drive on a Zach Fogel touchdown run, and Cooney picked off a pass on the first Whitworth drive, helping CMS to a 6-3 lead after the first quarter.

The Pirates gradually took control, and a 58-yard touchdown pass with 12 seconds in the half was a back-breaker, putting Whitworth ahead 20-6 at the break after CMS had just driven to the Pirates 32-yard line with thoughts of maybe tying the score 13-13. Whitworth wore the Stags down in the second half and took a 48-6 win, but it didn't take away from the fight the Stags showed in their NCAA debut, or the journey it took to get there, making program history.

"My favorite memory from that season was after we beat Chapman," said Parise. "We were so focused on beating our next opponent I didn't even realize what a win against Chapman meant until after the game. To win SCIAC and know we were going to the playoffs meant a lot to the team, it justified all our hard work and proved how good we were."

It's an accomplishment that the 2018 Stags can celebrate for the rest of their lives.