The Pomona-Pitzer (P-P) Sagehens ended the 2024 football season on a high note as SCIAC champions, securing an upset victory over the Chapman Panthers. While the pre-season SCIAC poll projects Chapman to oust P-P in the 2025 championship, the Sagehens have no intention of letting off the gas.
After securing last season’s SCIAC championship, the Sagehens were granted a playoff berth in the NCAA Tournament, where they came up short in the first round against Whitworth University.
The two SCIAC divisions, Surf and Sun, which were created after the 2022 season, have now been reshuffled. Last year’s finalists, Chapman and P-P, will both play in the Surf division this upcoming fall.
Many key players from that championship win, including last season’s SCIAC Offensive Athlete of the Year Quinten Wimmer, have now graduated.
With the revised divisions, as well as new expectations and an extensive roster overhaul, the Sagehens have been taking the past month to reorganize, strategize and adapt with a new squad of their own.
Even with a new rotation of incoming underclassmen, it is undeniable that the outgoing seniors will be missed; and with their departure comes new challenges for the Sagehens, as offensive captain Michael Ryan PO ’25 noted.
“We had a couple of very impactful players on our team [who] have graduated,” Ryan said. “Some playmakers that are no longer with us…[on] both sides.”
This transition hasn’t shaken the Sagehens’ spirits, though, as Ryan has seen many new players step up to fill the roles left by those who graduated.
“The challenge is [figuring out] who’s going to be the next guy up,” Ryan said. “The best part is, guys are already stepping up. We’re spreading it out to a lot of new guys who are trying to prove themselves as playmakers.”
Other veterans and upperclassmen have also expressed confidence in the team’s new additions. Offensive captain Grady Russo PZ ’27 spoke about the team’s young core and their developing chemistry on and off the field with optimism.
“It’s getting better and better… seeing the freshman getting in there,” Russo said. “A lot of them are making a big impact…even if they’re not playing [in games], they’re making a big impact in practice.”
Not only is winning games a priority for the Sagehens, but so too is maintaining the bonds between players that have brought them to the past two SCIAC championship games.
“We are all super close,” Russo said. “We all want to keep playing football. The longer we can play football, the more time we can spend together. This team hasn’t won an NCAA playoff game…that’s our main goal this year.”
These goals are especially salient for those veterans who played in both championship games the past two years.
Defensive captain Jake Sugawara PO ’26 commented on the guiding principles that have recently brought P-P football to two conference championship wins and a national playoff berth.
“What really matters [are] the guys on the team…the guys in the building, the guys in the locker room,” Sugawara said. “We know our expectations. The outside noise, the preseason rankings…it doesn’t really matter to us. We just want to go out there and play our football that we’ve been playing the past few years, and we’ll be alright.”
The initiative to mentor future leaders and playmakers defines the heart of P-P football. As mentioned by Sugawara and the other captains on the team, excellence on and off the field is key to setting the right example for next season’s leaders.
“These younger guys look up to you, whether you realize it or not, and so, everything you do as an upperclassman…the younger people will follow,” Sugawara said. “Culture starts from the top down.”
Russo also reflected on his role in leadership and what it means to leave a meaningful impact as a captain and quarterback on the team culture.
“I want to leave a legacy of excellence,” Russo said. “I want guys to [join] this team and see that [we] do the right things, on and off the field.”
The P-P Sagehens opened the 2025 season with a decisive 41-17 win over Willamette University on an away trip to Salem, Oregon. Their home-opener will be on Sept. 20 as the Hens take on Lewis and Clark College at Merritt Field. SCIAC action will take place at home the following weekend in an early Sixth Street rivalry match.