Defending co-SCIAC regular season champion Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges have been picked to take sole possession of the conference title in the 2023 SCIAC Football Preseason Poll, as voted by the league’s head coaches.
CMS returns five All-Conference players from last season as the Stags are expected to march to the inaugural SCIAC Championship game that will pit the top team in each of the newly dubbed Sun and Surf divisions on Nov. 11, 2023. The conference’s top defense by a wide margin surrendered a mere 50 points in six games and returns All-SCIAC First Team edge rusher Joey Asta, who ranked second in the conference with 9.5 sacks and 14 tackles for loss, as well as second team defensive back Jacob O’Connell. Two-time 1,000-yard running back Justin Edwards, a 2022 First Team choice and the 2021 Newcomer of the Year, once again will tote the rock with Second Team selections Anderson Cynkar and Caleb Carfaro back in the wide receiver corps.
Chapman University ranked second among challengers for the title with a whopping 11 All-SCIAC honorees back this season. Special Teams standouts Ken Baierl and Owen Tapia headline the squad, having both been named 2022 d3football.com All-Americans and with Tapia recently tabbed the preseason First Team punter. Coaches anticipate that last season’s most offense, which generated 2,980 yards and 31 touchdowns through the air, will again be firing on all cylinders with the return of First Team quarterback Nathaniel Espinoza and left tackle Donovan Porter. Fifth-year senior Marcos Reyes is back as another dangerous weapon having averaged 6.1 yards per carry over his career since being named the 2019 Newcomer of the Year and will have Second Team left guard Brandon Fleiss opening holes for him. On defense, five players return led by First Team linebacker Alexander Terriquez, who paced the team with an eye-popping 86 tackles and four sacks. Defensive linemen Evan Greve and Isaiah Munoz, linebacker Kade Jordan and defensive back Devin Cobb round out the rest of the experienced defense after combining for 10 sacks, 23.5 tackles for loss and all three forced fumbles for the Panthers.
Co-champion and 2022 NCAA Championship participant Pomona-Pitzer Colleges tied for third but received one vote to repeat in the poll. Three of last year’s seven First Team All-Conference performers return for Coaching Staff of the Year winner John Walsh. Tight end Quinten Wimmer broke out last season with 64 catches for 779 yards and 11 touchdowns and the offensive line will benefit tremendously from the presence of fifth-year center Adam Camargo while linebacker Thomas McConnell marshalls the defense on the heels of a 66-tackle season.
The University of Redlands was tied the Sagehens in third after playing for a share of the conference title in the penultimate week of last season following their 2021 championship. Second Team All-SCIAC punter Vicente Garcia, a 2022 AFCA First Team All-American, has been named preseason First Team Lindy’s Sports All-America after leading the nation with a 45.6 yards per punt average. First team wide receiver Evan Aguon and offensive lineman Kaleb Gibson return along with First Team defenders Craig Hunter, Mikey Duran IV and Scott Tinsley as well as Second Team pick Jacob Sega. Aguon pulled in 51 receptions for 502 yards and five scores while also returning kicks. The defensive quartet combined for 226 tackles, 23.8 tackles for loss, 7.5 sacks and three interceptions.
California Lutheran University and the University of La Verne each bring back just one Second Team offensive selection. Cline showed signs of a breakout in 2022 with 27 catches for 280 yards and a pair of touchdowns for the Kinsmen while offensive lineman Aaron Erlenmeyer started seven games in his sophomore season.
Teams will compete against members of their pod twice and members of the other pod once for a total of seven games, upon which the Championship Week matchups will be determined. Cal Lutheran, Chapman and CMS will compete in the Surf pod while La Verne, Pomona-Pitzer and Redlands occupy the Sun pod. The team in each pod with the best record will face the corresponding ranked team in the other pod, with results in the final week deciding the order of end-of-season standings. The winner of the Championship game will be awarded the conference's automatic qualifer to the NCAA Championship, regardless of record.
The season kicks off on Saturday, Sept. 2 with five teams in action; Pomona-Pitzer opens its season on Sept. 9. SCIAC play will commence in the new division format on September 23.
Sept. 2
CMS at Chicago, 11 a.m.
Redlands vs. Pacific Lutheran, 1 p.m.
Cal Lutheran vs. Southwestern, 1 p.m.
Chapman at Pacific, 7 p.m.
La Verne vs. Willamette, 7 p.m.
Sept. 9
Pomona-Pitzer at Carleton, 11 a.m.
2023 SCIAC Football Preseason Poll
1. Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, 34 points (4 first-place votes)
2. Chapman, 26 pts (1)
3. Pomona-Pitzer, 24 pts (1)
4. Redlands, 24 pts
5. California Lutheran, 11 pts
6. La Verne, 7 pts
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