CMS Football Dominates Again, Rolls Past Cal Lutheran 41-3

CLAREMONT, Calif. - Alessandro Maiuolo swung the momentum in the second quarter with a 54-yard field goal to tie it, and sophomore running back Justin Edwards (154 yards, 3 touchdowns) and the Stag defense took it from there as the Claremont-Mudd-Scripps football team rolled to a 41-3 win over Cal Lutheran on Saturday afternoon at Zinda Field.

The Stag defense played its third home game of the season without allowing a touchdown, after picking up a 42-0 win over Whittier (non-league) in its season opener and a 28-6 win over Chapman last weekend. With the victory, CMS now stands at 5-1 on the season and 3-0 in the SCIAC, as it heads into a bye week in prime position to chase a league title this season, with big games looming against Redlands and Pomona-Pitzer in November. Cal Lutheran, which CMS shut out last season 27-0, slips to 3-4 overall and 1-2 in the league with the loss. 

Cal Lutheran felt like it was poised to give CMS a game, leading 3-0 at the end of the first quarter after a 14-play, 67-yard drive that resulted in a 27-yard kick from Daniel Burgos. The Kingsmen had the ball again around the midfield stripe, when Christopher Wicke forced a fumble that was recovered by Ben Cooney to begin the momentum swing. The Stags only got as far as the Cal Lutheran 37-yard line, and Maiuolo, who had a 52-yarder in 2019 and hit the crossbar from 50 last season, was sent out to attempt a 54-yarder, making it with room to spare for a career best and giving CMS a 3-3 tie with 13;24 left in the half. 

The momentum completely swung at that point, and CMS scored touchdowns on its next two drives to take a 17-3 lead into halftime. The Stag defense held Cal Lutheran to three-and-out, and the offense took over and went 64 yards in nine plays, culminating in a 21-yard Edwards touchdown run to give the Stags the lead for good with 6:55 left in the half. 

The Kingsmen got the ball into CMS territory looking to answer, but an offensive pass interference penalty pushed them back, and Connor Cryan came up with a big open-field tackle on third down to stop the drive at the 49-yard line. After a Kingsmen punt, the Stags closed out the half by going 84 yards in the final 2:47 to take a 17-3 lead with three seconds left on a 16-yard pass from Walter Kuhlenkamp to Anderson Cynkar. 

The second half began with Cal Lutheran having the first threat, getting the ball down to the CMS 34-yard line. Cooney broke up a second-down pass, though, and Christopher Wicke and Michael Houk led a swarm of four Stags combining on a third-down sack to kill the drive. 

CMS then went on another long drive, churning out 86 yards in 10 plays, to effectively salt the game away on the second touchdown from Edwards, a two-yard plunge. Kuhlenkamp had a 30-yard pass to Edwards and an 18-yard pass to Cynkar to help set up the touchdown. Edwards added his third touchdown at the start of the fourth quarter, crossing over from three yards out after previously earning two yards on a 4th-and-1 to keep the drive going. 

With the 31-3 lead, the Stags were able to utilize all of their depth and had no drop-off in play, forcing two more turnovers to set up two more scores. Cesar Fernandez intercepted a pass and returned it 42 yards to the Cal Lutheran nine-yard line. Two plays later, Zach Fogel ran the ball in from nine yards to push the lead to 28-3. Chase Cioe then forced a fumble that was recovered by Gabe Gangi-Saroukhanioff, and CMS closed out the scoring with a 38-yard field goal from Rich Brutto. 

Kuhlenkamp finished the game 14-of-19 passing for 143 yards and a touchdown, while Cynkar had seven catches for 83 yards and a score. Cooney and Wicke led a balanced defense with six tackles apiece. 

CMS will be back in action after a bye week when it travels to Whittier on Oct. 29 for a 1 p.m. contest.