SCIAC title within reach for No. 15 Chapman football
Claremont-Mudd-Scripps at No. 15 Chapman
Saturday, November 9, 2019
Chapman Stadium (Orange, Calif.)
7 p.m.
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THE MATCHUP
The Chapman University football team looks to lock down a conference title as it welcomes Claremont-Mudd-Scripps to Chapman Stadium for the final regular season home game of 2019.
SERIES HISTORY
The Panthers are 10-5 all-time against CMS but have lost three of the last four matchups to the Stags. The Stags took last year's game 16-9 in Claremont on their way to a SCIAC title. The Panthers' lone win of the last four years came in 2017 when the Panthers won a 48-38 shootout in the regular season finale. The last two meetings between these two in Claremont have resulted in 25 combined points or less while both have scored at least 30 points in each of the last two matchups in Orange.
TITLE HUNT
With two games left and a one-game lead, the Panthers are just one win away from clinching their third SCIAC title in their eight years in the conference and second in the last three years. With a win over CMS or La Verne in the final two weeks of the season, Chapman clinches at least a share of the SCIAC title and the SCIAC's automatic qualification into the NCAA Championship.
BEST START CONTINUES
The Panthers continued their best start in school history with Saturday's win over Pomona-Pitzer. The narrowest win of the season for the Panthers improved their record to 7-0 – just one win shy of the most in school history. Chapman is just one of 12 teams in all of Division III to remain undefeated at this point of the season. With that, the Panthers jumped up one spot to No. 15 in the D3football.com poll and three spots to No 16 in the AFCA poll.
SOMETHING ABOUT THE SECOND
There is just something about the second quarter that clicks for the Panthers offense. Chapman has scored 107 of its 265 points (about 40 percent) in the second quarter and has outscored its opponents 107-31 in the quarter. The Panthers put up 20 points in the second quarter in the win at Pomona-Pitzer, marking the fourth time this season that Panthers have scored 20 points or more in the second quarter.
NO FLY ZONE
Senior Nathan Parkin put his name in the record book with three interception against Pomona-Pitzer last week, including a game-sealing pick in the end zone with just over one minute to go. He also knocked down three more passes and was rewarded with national recognition on the D3football.com Team of the Week as well as SCIAC Defensive Athlete of the Week honors. He ran his season total to four interceptions, which leads the defense.
BATTLE FOR THE CLOCK
Saturday's matchup features two of the best teams in the country at keeping their defenses off the field. CMS leads Division III with an average time of possession of 36:05. The Panthers rank third in DIII with an average TOP of 35:41. With strong ground games, both teams will look to move the chains and control the clock to get the advantage as the game moves along.
REYES EMERGING
Freshman Marcos Reyes hasn't had a quiet freshman year by any means, but the first-year running back has emerged from the four-pronged running attack. He has run for over 100 yards in three of the last four games against Redlands, Cal Lutheran and Pomona-Pitzer. He needed just 19 carries last week to accumulate 132 yards and score what proved to be the game-winning TD. His 83.1 yards per game this year rank second in the conference while his eight touchdowns rank third but are the most from a freshman. His 6.26 yards per carry ranks in the top-30 nationally and he has won back-to-back SCIAC Offensive Athlete of the Week awards.
200+ STREAK CONTINUES
The Panthers continued their streak of running for over 200 yards in each game this season. Chapman ran for 244 yards at Pomona-Pitzer to continue to rank 10th in Division III in rushing offense. The Panthers have rushed for at least 226 yards in every game, topped by 395 rushing yards against Pacific in the opener.
TOP DEFENSES
Both teams have had strong seasons on the defensive side of the ball. The Stags rank second in the conference and 39th in the nation, allowing just 289.1 yards per game. The Panthers rank third in the conference in total defense but continued to be especially strong against the run. The Sagehens ran for just 42 yards last week, becoming the sixth team out of seven to be held under 100 yards for the game. Chapman ranks fourth in the nation in rushing defense, holding opponents to under 48 yards per game.
ABOUT CMS
Senior Garrett Cheadle leads an efficient rushing attack that averages over 200 yards per game. The Stags have run twice as many run plays as pass plays this year with Cheadle taking the bulk of the carries. QB Zach Fogel has thrown eight interceptions in eight games but the Stags are one of just two teams in the nation to not lose a fumble this season. Defensively, the Stags have limited opposing offense to less than 200 yards per game through the air and just 98 yards per game on the ground. Stiles Satterlee leads the team with seven tackles per game and Benjamin Cooney has hauled in five of the team's 12 inte
rceptions