Well Grounded! CMS Football Has Almost 400 Rushing Yards in 52-16 Win at Whittier

WHITTIER, Calif. - Senior Garrett Cheadle had 165 rushing yards on 18 carries as the Claremont-Mudd-Scripps football team carried the ball for 393 yards total in a 52-16 win over Whittier on Saturday at Memorial Stadium.

The win was the second in a row for CMS behind a dominant ground game, as it carried for 376 yards in a 56-9 win over Occidental last weekend. The Stags now stand at 4-4 overall and 2-3 in the SCIAC, while Whittier falls to 2-5 overall and 1-4 in conference play. 

Cheadle set a school record for rushing yards in a game against Whittier last year with 274 and had similar success this year, carrying for 165 yards before giving way to his teammates in the fourth quarter due to the lopsided score. Senior Christian Curcio had 95 yards on nine carries, including a 58-yard touchdown run in the first half, and sophomore Brian Loudermilk Jr. had 88 yards on 13 carries. 

The Stags used a 24-point second quarter to pull away and take a 31-10 lead into halftime. Whittier scored first on a 21-yard field goal, before Cheadle had back-to-back scores to make it a 14-3 CMS lead. His first came on a four-yard touchdown run with 7:08 to go in the first quarter, and the second came on an 11-yard scamper 1:25 into the second quarter to give CMS a 14-3 lead. 

The lead was extended only eight seconds later, as sophomore safety Stiles Satterlee forced a fumble on the ensuing kickoff that was recovered by first-year wide receiver Bryce DesJardins in the end zone for a special teams touchdown to shock the home crowd and make it a 21-3 CMS lead.

Whittier was able to answer back with a big play on a 55-yard touchdown pass to try to take the some of the momentum back, closing to within 21-10. However, four plays later, Curcio broke loose for his 58-yard touchdown run to make it a 28-10 CMS lead with 8:29 still left in the half. The Stags had a 12-play drive to close out the half that got into the Whittier red zone, before settling for an Alessandro Maiuolo 28-yard field goal to take a 31-10 lead into the locker room. 

The momentum carried over, as the Stags went the distance on their first drive of the second half, going 73 yards in nine plays before Curcio scored his second touchdown of the game from five yards out. Whittier answered back on a 51-yard touchdown pass for its final points of the contest, but CMS added an eight-yard touchdown catch from sophomore wide receiver Jack Grasberger, and a three-yard touchdown from Loudermilk 1:14 into the fourth quarter to close out the scoring. 

Sophomore quarterback Zach Fogel completed 12-of-20 passes for 131 yards and the touchdown to Grasberger in support of the team's running game. Grasberger had five catches for 42 yards and junior Carter Henderson had 53 receiving yards. Defensively, first-year linebacker Christopher Wicke hed CMS with seven tackles, while first-year safety Michael Colangelo had an interception. Senior defensive linemen Lukas Svitek and Luke Livingston each had sacks, while sophomore linebackers Trent Lindsey and Dylan porter combined on a third. 

CMS will be back in action next Saturday when it travels to face undefeated and nationally ranked Chapman for a 7 p.m. contest.