Justin Edwards went over 1000 yards for the second time in two seasons (photo by Caleb Flegel)
Justin Edwards went over 1000 yards for the second time in two seasons (photo by Caleb Flegel)

CMS Football Falls in Season Finale, Earns Share of SCIAC Title

CLAREMONT, Calif. - The Claremont-Mudd-Scripps football team saw its six-game win streak come to a close as it fell 28-14 to Pomona-Pitzer in the regular season finale, earning a share of the SCIAC title.

CMS ends the year at 7-2 and 5-1 in league play, sharing the conference crown with Pomona-Pitzer, which earns the NCAA bid due to the head-to-head win over the Stags. 

The Stags struck first in the second quarter on a 14-yard touchdown run from Zach Fogel. Justin Edwards had a six-yard carry on 4th-and-1 to keep the drive going, and Fogel found Mason Cotton with a 12-yard pass to move the chains inside the Pomona-Pitzer 25-yard line. The Sagehens came back with a touchdown drive of their own, leaving the game tied 7-7 at the break.

Connor Cryan had an interception in Pomona-Pitzer territory to start the second half, but CMS was only able to gain three yards and was unable to turn it into points. When the opposite happened, and the Sagehens had an interception in CMS territory, they converted on a 40-yard touchdown pass on 3rd-and-18 to take the lead with 4:38 left in the third. 

CMS then used a 40-yard run from Edwards to get into the Pomona-Pitzer red zone, but the Stags once again were unable to convert, and one drive later, Pomona-Pitzer blocked a punt and Michael Ryan ran it back 38 yards for a touchdown making it 21-7. After the Sagehens added another score, Fogel threw a 90-yard touchdown pass to Anderson Cynkar with 2:34 to go, but that was as close as CMS could come. 

Edwards finished with 106 yards on 22 carries as he went over 1000 yards (1090) for the second year in a row. Anderson Cynkar had seven catches for 155 yards, including the 90-yard touchdown. Kirby Baynes led the defense with 13 tackles, while Stiles Satterlee had 10.

CMS earned a share of the SCIAC title despite the loss, marking the sixth time that the Stags have earned a SCIAC crown in their history. CMS also reached the seven-win plateau for the fifth time in the last seven seasons.