Baynes, Edwards Win SCIAC Weekly Honors for CMS Football

CLAREMONT, Calif. - Kirby Baynes was named the SCIAC Special Teams Player of the Week for the Claremont-Mudd-Scripps football team, and Justin Edwards earned the Offensive Player of the Week award for the second week in a row, the conference office announced today.

Baynes earned the honor after a 66-yard kickoff return that helped CMS swing the momentum back its way after Redlands took its only lead of the game at 7-3. It was actually a 91-yard return for a touchdown, after he broke four Redlands tackles between the CMS 20-25 yardlines and escaped down the left sideline, but an illegal block was called 25 yards behind the play as he crossed the goal line, which left him with a 66-yard return statistically. 

Two plays later, Edwards ran in from seven yards out to give CMS the lead at 10-7, while enabling him to tie the CMS record for rushing touchdowns in a career with his 38th. He added a one-yard touchdown in the second quarter to break the record to put CMS ahead to stay at 17-10 and capped off his day with his 40th career rushing touchdown, and third of the day, with a 13-yard scamper in the third quarter to put CMS ahead 31-10. 

Edwards finished the day with 111 yards of total offense, with 57 yards and three touchdowns on the ground, to go along with 54 yards on six catches receiving. 

CMS was able to come away with the 31-17 win a battle of SCIAC division leaders and improve to 6-1 overall and 4-1 in league play. The Stags will host Chapman this coming Saturday, with a chance to avenge their only loss of the season, a 20-7 defeat at Chapman on Oct. 7. 

A win on Saturday would not only give CMS a measure of revenge, it would also clinch the right to host the first-ever SCIAC Championship game on Nov. 11. The Stags are now one game ahead of Chapman in the Surf Division, and would clinch the division title outright with a win, while also holding the tiebreaker with both Pomona-Pitzer and Redlands in the opposite division for the right to host a championship matchup. The Stags could still qualify for the SCIAC Championship with a loss, but would need to win its regular season finale at Cal Lutheran and then hope that Chapman loses to La Verne.