Stags Take Over in Second Half for 34-10 Win Over La Verne

CLAREMONT, Calif. - Justin Edwards rushed for 174 yards and three touchdowns, closing in on the program record for rushing touchdowns in a season, while Jack Grasberger and Will Smith caught third-quarter touchdown passes 2:46 apart as the Claremont-Mudd-Scripps football team outscored La Verne 21-0 after halftime and pulled away for a 34-10 win on Saturday afternoon at Zinda Field.

The win was the third in a row for the Stags, who have outscored their three opponents 111-23 in that span (50-13 over Whittier, 27-0 over Cal Lutheran), as they improve to 6-2 overall and 3-1 in the SCIAC. La Verne falls to 2-5 overall and 1-3 in league play. 

Edwards now has 13 rushing touchdowns with two regular season games left, and stands two behind the program record of 15, set by Chris Dabrow in 1986. His 13 rushing touchdowns ties him for fourth, one behind Bill Reed (1980) and Peter Kimmey (2010) in a tie for second with 14. His 879 rushing yards this season also move him into the top 10 in school history in that category in 10th place, needing 121 more to become the ninth 1000-yard rusher in program history, which is even more impressive when factoring in that he only rushed the ball four times (for 11 yards) on opening day at Pomona-Pitzer. 

CMS didn't take its first lead against La Verne until Edwards plunged in from two yards out to put the Stags up 13-10 with 2:03 left in the half. La Verne began the game by recovering on onside kick, and possessed the ball for 11 minutes in the first quarter before scoring on the first play of the second quarter to cap a 16-play, 81-yard drive. 

Edwards scored from 15 yards out to cap a six-play, 77-yard drive to answer that touchdown, before La Verne converted a field goal with 6:52 left in the half for its final points of the afternoon. 

CMS took the 13-10 lead into the half, and then returned the onside kick favor, albeit accidentally. After CMS went ahead 20-10 on a 10-yard touchdown pass from Zach Fogel to Jack Grasberger to go up 20-10 with 4:48 left in the third quarter, Alessandro Maiuolo (who hit the crossbar with a 50-yard FG attempt to end the half with the wind at his back) pooched a kick into the wind that landed just outside the La Verne 20-yard line and bounced back into traffic, where CMS special teams player Caleb Carfaro was able to recover it and give the ball right back to the Stags. 

Five plays later, Fogel connected with tight end Will Smith from three yards out with 2:02 on the third quarter clock, putting CMS in command up 27-10. Edwards tacked on one more touchdown in the fourth on a one-yard run to close out the scoring. 

CMS was uncharacteristically losing the time of possession battle at the half, with La Verne having the ball for 18 minutes and the Stags having it for just over 11. CMS, which led the nation in time of possession in 2019, returned to form in the second half, possessing the ball for 23 minutes and winning the battle for the game 34:30 to 25:30. The Stags pounded out 34 first downs on the day behind the offensive line of Jacob Lyle, Kamarion Porter, Andre Nesbit, Sarath Kakani, and Anthony Carrano, with Smith and Nick Parise continuing to provide extra blocking from the tight end spot. 

Defensively, CMS didn't see the field much in the second half, but Dylan Porter (eight tackles), Michael Colangelo (seven), Stiles Satterlee (six) and Kirby Baynes (six) all had solid efforts to help CMS hold its third straight opponent to 10 points or less (Whittier had 13, but one of the touchdowns came on special teams), and fifth overall this season. 

CMS will be back in action when it travels to Chapman next weekend for a 7 p.m. contest, in a battle between two teams tied for second in the SCIAC. The Stags will then close out the regular season at home against Pomona-Pitzer on Saturday, Nov. 13 at 1 p.m.