The
Claremont-Mudd-Scripps football team lost its home opener 36-9 last
Saturday to the Rhodes College Lynx of Memphis, Tennessee. The Lynx
jumped on the board early; they scored 17 points in the first quarter and
never let the Stags back into the game. This is the second year that the Stags have faced off against Rhodes.
Last year’s game was a much closer contest, with the Lynx earning the win
on the game’s final possession.
The
Lynx jumped out to a 23-0 lead early in the second quarter, scoring
on each of their first four drives. Sophomore quarterback Blake Box led the charge, throwing two touchdowns before the Stags
ever got on the board. Box completed an impressive 14 of 17 passes
on the game, throwing three touchdowns and no interceptions. The
ground game was just as efficient, racking up 230 yards on the night,
98 of which came from senior running back Dane Wilson. Wilson also
punched in two rushing touchdowns for the Lynx.
The
Stags offense never got in rhythm, as its only first-half points came
on a 53 yard field goal from Matthew Aven CM ’17 as the clocked
ticked to zero on the first half.
While
quarterback Sean McKaveney CM ’15 was effective through the air,
completing 23 of 38 passes for 210 yards, CMS gained only 70 yards on
the ground. CMS
did create some solid scoring opportunities, but they failed to
capitalize on their chances. Inside the Lynx 30-yard line, the
Stags turned the ball over on downs twice and lost one fumble. While
the offense struggled to claw back into the game, the defense was
kept on its heels. The Stags tried to limit the Lynx offense, but
the Lynx managed to put up two more touchdowns in the second half,
putting the game out of reach.
Perhaps
the best sequence of the night for CMS came late in the fourth
quarter when Griffin Lazarus CM ’17 intercepted a pass in the
Stags’ own end zone and returned it to the Lynx 33-yard line. Nine
plays later, backup quarterback Trey Reynolds CM ’17 found
receiver Tyler Stanek CM ’16 in the end zone from two yards out
for the Stags’ only touchdown of the game.
Saturday’s
loss was a letdown after the Stags’ overtime win two weeks ago at Lewis and Clark. In that game, down
28-21 in the fourth quarter, McKaveney found receiver Kris Otterholt
CM ‘14 in the end zone with eight seconds remaining to send the
game to overtime. In the extra period, Aven kicked the game-winning
field goal on his first collegiate attempt to secure the
31-28 victory for the Stags.
The
Stags have a bye this week, but they will return to action on Oct. 5 at University of La Verne.