The Offensive Line - Football

CLAREMONT, Calif. - The CMS football team defeated Chapman at home 16-9 on Saturday, clinching the first-ever NCAA Division III Tournament bid for the program, as well as a share of its first SCIAC title since 1987, behind the play of its veteran offensive line. 

One of the storylines of the win, as has been the case all year, was the ball-control offense of the Stags, as CMS held the ball for over 43 minutes on the day (43:04), keeping the ball away from the high-powered Chapman offense (37 ppg coming in). CMS ran 74 plays, 64 of them on the ground, and picked up 15 of its 19 first downs on rushing plays behind the offensive line's dominance of the line of scrimmage. For the fourth time this season, the Stags had a fourth-quarter drive of six minutes or longer (7:24) while preserving a narrow lead, including a fourth-quarter touchdown drive of 10:16 in a 20-10 win at Redlands, which ended up deciding the league title. CMS also killed the final 9:29 of the clock against Cal Lutheran, leading 17-10, and the final 6:25 off the clock in a 34-21 win over Whittier.   

Four of the nine seniors on the CMS team, who celebrated their Senior Day prior to the game, were members of the offensive line: Malcolm Stolarski, Brian Wahl, Jackson Tate, and Jim Keneally. Junior center Jett Zeimantz, junior right tackle Matthew May, and sophomore left tackle Jacob Lyle were also key components to the CMS ground attack, as was the program's four tight-end platoon of sophomores Nick Parise, Zach Heffernan, and Theo Chamberlain and freshman William Smith. 

CMS will try to complete an undefeated SCIAC season for the first time in program history when it travels to Pomona-Pitzer on Saturday for a 1 p.m. contest.