Cooney, Edwards Earn First-Team All-Region from D3football; Asta, Porter on Third Team

CLAREMONT, Calif. - The Claremont-Mudd-Scripps football team, which had a 7-2 record in 2022 and shared the SCIAC title, had four players selected to the D3football.com All-Region 6 teams, the website announced this morning.

Senior cornerback Ben Cooney and sophomore running back Justin Edwards earned spots on the all-region first team, while senior offensive guard Kamarion Porter and junior defensive end Joey Asta were named to the third team. All four will be eligibile for D3football.com All-America honors, which will be announced on Friday, Dec. 16. 

Cooney came back for his fifth season this year and was part of a defense that ranked by far as the best in the SCIAC, allowing just 9.2 points and 211.9 yards per game. He ranked second on the team in tackles with 44, of which 29 were solo and 4.5 were for losses. He was a part of five turnovers as well, forcing two fumbles, recovering one and picking off two passes, while leading the Stags with nine pass break-ups. CMS did not allow a touchdown at home all season, allowing just nine points on three field goals in four games at Zinda Field (which included games against traditional league powers Cal Lutheran, Chapman and Redlands). 

Edwards was the SCIAC Newcomer of the Year last year and makes his second appearance on the D3football.com all-region team, after earning third-team honors last year. He rushed for 1090 yards and 13 touchdowns this year, while adding a 14th touchdown receiving. He now has 29 rushing touchdowns in two seasons, after setting a program record for a single season with 16 last year, and is just nine shy of the career record of 38, held by Chris Dabrow ('87), at the midway point of his career. 

Porter also earned his way into all-region honors after helping to pave the way for many of those Edwards touchdowns. He has been part of an offensive line that has helped CMS average 185 yards rushing in the last two seasons combined, while consistently dominating the time of possession category. In the last two years, the Stags have rushed for 48 touchdowns and allowed only 18 sacks. 

Asta earned all-region honors after a dominant junior season which saw him rank in the top 10 in the nation in sacks per game (9.5 sacks in nine contests). Nine of his sacks were solo, including three in the win over Redlands which clinched a share of the SCIAC title. He was twice named to the D3football.com National Team of the Week this season, and was the SCIAC Defensive Player of the Week after the Redlands clincher. 

CMS reached seven wins for the fourth time in the last six seasons and won a share of its second SCIAC title in the last four years, the fifth and sixth in the program's history. 

To view a complete list of the D3football.com All-Region teams, go to the following link:

D3football.com All-Region