ORANGE, Calif. — The SCIAC Championship Game is coming back to Orange. The Chapman University football team clinched the top seed in the SCIAC with a dominant 35-2 win over Pomona-Pitzer in a Halloween matinee.
Chapman outgained Pomona-Pitzer by 228 yards on offense. Brendon Manzano returned a punt for a touchdown. The defense held the Sagehens to a negative net total for rushing yards as the game was never left in doubt.
I took just four plays and two minutes for the Panthers to get on the board. The first play from scrimmage was a 53-yard swing pass to Fischer Huss. Two plays later, Huss sprinted 15 yards into the end zone for a 7-0 lead.
The Sagehens' first drive went seven yards in the wrong direction and ended with a snap out of the back of the end zone for a 9-0 Panther lead and the rout was on.
Chapman sacked Pomona-Pitzer quarterbacks six times, including a hat trick for Nic Ramos. Caleb Padrid intercepted a pass and took it back 46 yards before he was brought down a yard shy of the end zone. Sawyer Hughes picked off another pass as three Pomona-Pitzer quarterbacks combined to go 23-for-42 for just 191 yards and were locked out of the end zone
Eight tackles for loss from the Panthers' defense ended the day with negative two rushing yards for Pomona-Pitzer. Seven different players ran the ball for Chapman, combining for 164 yards and three touchdowns. Eli Brandt completed 13-of-18 passes, including a toe tap touchdown from Jason Bruce. Bruce caught four passes for 85 yards.
The safety was followed by Manzano's first career punt return for a touchdown – an 87-yard return. It was the second-longest punt return touchdown in Chapman history and the second-longest in the NCAA Division III this season.
Of Pomona-Pitzer's 13 drives, just four crossed the 50 yard line and it wasn't until the waning moments of the game that the Sagehens visited the red zone. The Sagehens were on the one yard line for the last play of the game but Johnny Breen knocked away the fade to keep the defense from allowing any points.
Pomona-Pitzer's only points came on a blocked extra point attempt that fell and was returned, after some confusion on both sides, 98 yards for a defensive two-point score.
The Panthers finish the regular season at Cal Lutheran at 7 p.m. on Saturday but will return home to host the SCIAC Championship Game for the second year in a row and the third time in four years. As of Oct. 31, the CMS Stags are holding tight to second place and will be the likely opponent in the championship.
