Defending Co-Champion CMS Football Picked Second in SCIAC Preseason Poll

CLAREMONT, Calif. -- The defending 2018 SCIAC Co-Champion Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Football team was selected to finish second in the SCIAC in a vote by the league's member head coaches today. 

CMS was picked to finish second in 2019 after receiving three first-place votes and 52 total points. The Stags secured a 6-1 record in SCIAC play a year ago and earned a share of the conference title with Redlands. CMS won the tiebreaker and was the SCIAC's representative in the NCAA Division III Championship. CMS and Redlands split first-place votes at three apiece and Chapman (3rd) and Pomona-Pitzer (4th) each received one first-place vote. 

Junior quarterback Jake Norville and senior running back Garrett Cheadle lead the charge for the Stags going into a new season with unlimited possibilities after winning the SCIAC last season and earning an NCAA berth for the first time in school history a season ago. Cheadle dominated the ground game as the big tailback finished second all-time in CMS football history in single-season rushing with 1,305 yards which helped the Stags finish second in the conference in rushing at 202.1 yards per game. The defense was one of the best in the conference, holding opponents to 26.9 points per game and 362.3 total yards per game which were both good for second among SCIAC teams. 

The Stags open the 2019 season at Puget Sound on Sept. 7 after the Loggers enter the year on the heels of a 5-5 performance a season ago. CMS looks to avenge one of its two early-season losses in 2018. In Week 2, the CMS football team travels to Northwestern (Minn.) on Sept. 14, who were picked second in the Upper Midwest Conference after a 5-5 record and fourth-place conference finish a season ago. The Stags then return home to host Pacific Lutheran of the Northwest Athletic Conference for their home opener on Sept. 21. CMS football has just four home games this season including the Sixth Street Rivalry matchup with Pomona-Pitzer on Nov. 16.

CMS brings back a combination of experience and new faces to help lead the Stags to a repeat in 2019. View the links below to learn more about your CMS football team. 

Find a full season preview here. 

Find a video preview here. 

2019 SCIAC Football Preseason Poll
1. Redlands - 55 points (3 first place votes)
2. CMS - 52 points (3 first place votes)
3. Chapman - 51 points (1 first place vote)
4. Pomona-Pitzer - 42 points (1 first place vote)
5. Cal Lutheran - 39 points
6. La Verne - 25 points
7. Whittier - 14 points
8. Occidental - 10 points