ORANGE, Calif. — In a battle for the top spot in the SCIAC, the Chapman University football team (6-1, 5-0 SCIAC) outlasted Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (5-2, 4-1 SCIAC) with a 49-28 victory.
It was a weekend full of pomp and circumstance with the Night of Champions on Friday and the newly-inducted Chapman Hall of Famers being honored at halftime. The Panthers continued that momentum by outscoring the Stags 22-0 in the fourth quarter.
Eli Brandt led the comeback with 339 passing yards and 4 total touchdowns. The Chapman quarterback made some crucial throws down the stretch, such as dropping it into the bucket at the back corner pylon for Brendon Manzano to haul in to take the 33-28 lead.
To get a seven-point lead, Chapman converted the two-point conversion with Jason Bruce's toe-tap reception in the back of the end zone. Bruce led the Panthers in receiving with 9 receptions for 159 yards and a touchdown, including a 44-yard reception that set up the Manzano score.
The Chapman offense did its job to take the lead and the defense followed suit with a fourth quarter shutout. Tyler Boynton had a crucial quarterback hurry, forcing an errant throw for Reagan Palmer to intercept and return for 29 yards.
Chapman followed the sudden change with a one-yard rushing touchdown from Andrew Latu to get some breathing room for the 42-28 lead with seven minutes remaining. Latu had another impressive game on the ground with 14 attempts for 62 yards and 2 touchdowns.
Fischer Huss had an equally impressive game as he also had 62 rushing yards on 12 attempts and a touchdown. Chapman outrushed CMS in yards 174-28 and touchdowns 4-1.
Andrew Buck was a big reason the CMS offense slowed down in the fourth quarter as he led the team with 14 tackles and 1.5 sacks.
CMS was undefeated in SCIAC play coming into this game for a reason as they put 28 points on the scoreboard by the end of the third quarter, which is especially impressive considering Chapman never allowed more than 14 points in a conference game this season.
Robert Litscher carried the CMS offense with 357 passing yards and scored all four of the team's touchdowns.
Chapman plays a massive final regular season home game against Pomona-Pitzer on Oct. 31 at 1 pm. Pomona-Pitzer comes into the game with a 4-1 SCIAC record, so a win for Chapman would clinch hosting the SCIAC Championship on Nov. 14.
