Brian Wahl Earns Second-Team All-America Honors from American Football Coaches Association

CLAREMONT, Calif. - Claremont-Mudd-Scripps senior offensive lineman Brian Wahl was named a second-team Division III All-American by the American Football Coaches Association, the organization announced on Monday.

Wahl adds the award to a growing list of postseason accolades, which has also included a first-team All-SCIAC selection, and a second-team All-West Region honor from D3football.com. 

During the 2018 season, Wahl was part of an offensive line that dominated games to lead CMS to its first SCIAC title since 1987. The Stags ranked second in the nation in time of possession during the regular season at over 36 minutes per game (third after an NCAA Tournament game with Whitworth), and helped pave the way for junior running back Garrett Cheadle to rush for 1,305 yards, second in program history for a single season, including a single-game school record 274 in a win over Whittier (Cheadle also missed most of the last two games with an injury, preventing him from a chance at the single-season record). 

Wahl was also named the SCIAC Offensive Player of the Week for his role in helping CMS to a 20-10 road win over Redlands, which turned out to be the difference in CMS earning a bid to the NCAA Tournament (the Stags and Redlands tied for the SCIAC title at 6-1, with the head-to-win resulting in the tiebreaker). In that game, the Stags rushed for 187 yards against a Redlands team that was only allowing 33 yards per game, including a fourth-quarter touchdown drive that lasted for over 10 minutes (10:14) to help seal the win. 

That wasn't the only long drive that the offensive line produced in key situations. CMS killed the final 9:29 of game clock before taking a knee inside the 10-yard line to finish off a 17-10 win over Cal Lutheran, and then killed the final 6:35 of a home win over Whittier. Then, with the chance to clinch the SCIAC title and NCAA bid on its home field, CMS kept the ball for over 43 minutes in a 16-9 win over Chapman, keeping the Panthers offense (38 points per game coming in) off the field. 

A four-year member of the CMS offensive line, Wahl appeared in 35 games in his career, starting every game he played in over the last three seasons. He was a two-time All-SCIAC selection and is part of the winningest class in program history, as the Class of 2019 won 25 games over their four years, including seven-wins seasons as freshmen, sophomores and seniors. Wahl and the senior class also left a legacy by earning the program's first-ever NCAA Division III Tournament bid this past fall.