Parity within the SCIAC has led to unpredictable results. Explore the competitive balance and discover if a team might emerge to challenge the NWC Champion in the playoffs. Watch it all unfold live on the SCIAC Network.
Written By
Cameron Macpherson
Contributor
Written By
Cameron Macpherson
Contributor
The SCIAC has been an interesting example of parity this year. It doesn't appear that there are any teams that will make noise in the playoffs, but there has not been much separation between the programs through the conference schedule. Some trends have developed, but it is also difficult to predict what will happen week to week.
It took most of the season, but Justin Edwards finally had his breakout of the season for CMS, rushing for 227 yards on 29 carries and 3 touchdowns.
He was the majority of the offense as the team only totaled 338 yards as QB Walter Kuhlenkamp struggled going 8/14 for only 42 yards, though he did throw for a touchdown.
The Leopards were surprisingly competitive in this game, though they were the inverse of the Stags.
Quarterbacks Nicholas Garcia and Johnathan Martin combined to go 32/49 for 313 yards and a touchdown, though they also took 8 sacks.
It hasn't been an easy season for La Verne, but the SCIAC seems to rotate through their top teams more than the Northwest Conference and so it may be their turn again before long. You can check out the detailed stats of this game in the official boxscore.
The Panthers have awoken.
After a sluggish start to the season they have dominated the presumed top 2 programs in the conference by a combined 41-7.
Tyler Pacheco started at quarterback for Chapman once again and ran for 27 yards and a touchdown on 7 attempts, but he would leave the game with an injury about 5 minutes before halftime.
He was taken down on a rush attempt near the Chapman sideline and quietly left the game and was replaced by Luke Peterman. There was nothing to suggest the nature or severity of Pacheco's injury but Peterman is a very similar quarterback and there seemed to be a negligible drop-off after he assumed the role.
Combined, the two quarterbacks threw for 50 yards and a touchdown on 11/15 passing and took two sacks. Peterman added 43 net yards on the ground over 6 carries which included a 43-yard touchdown sprinting down the sideline past Sagehens defenders.
Overall, the Panthers rushed for 315 yards on 50 carries, led by Isaiah Woods with 134 yards and Gio Ursino with 94 of his own.
On the other side, Nick Kim made his first career start at quarterback for the Sagehens and went 27/41 for 250 yards and an interception. The team is simply too pass heavy at this point as they only gave their running backs 3 carries for 9 yards and with the 5 sacks allowed had a net of -30 yards for the game.
I'm not sure if this simple read option rushing offense is the team the Panthers wanted to be but they have found an identity as the defense has stepped as well. They're bleeding the clock like an option team - the game time was only 2:14 - and suddenly find themselves in the driver's seat for a spot in the SCIAC Championship Game. You can check out the detailed stats of this game in the official boxscore.
Coming into the season, the Kingsmen were not expected to challenge for a conference championship, and this game showed why.
Even though Redlands came into the game without Tyler Tremain at quarterback, and used two quarterbacks throughout the game, they controlled the game from start to finish by dominating the line of scrimmage on both sides. Cal Lutheran may be a better team than they were a year ago, they still lack the talent in the trenches to deal with the more physical teams of the SCIAC.
The Kingsmen were only able to total 25 yards rushing on 13 carries from their running backs with a net total of -5 after the lost yardage on 4 sacks allowed on QB JP Andrade.
Tasked with being the sole provider on offense, Andrade only completed 20/37 for 198 yards and an interception.
RB Tony Williams Jr was once again the engine of the Bulldogs offense, gaining 174 yards on 29 carries and making up for the lack of yardage in the passing game. That passing game was far from a liability though as Jordan Ford and Jack Wilson combined to go 11/17 for 146 yards and a touchdown with no interceptions or sacks.
There is little reason to expect the Bulldogs to miss the SCIAC Championship Game on November 11th as their physical presence gives them the ability to match up with any program in the conference. You can check out the detailed stats of this game in the official boxscore.
In Week 8, the SCIAC Conference offers an exciting lineup of matchups. Don't miss out on the live coverage of these thrilling games, brought to you by the SCIAC Network. Enjoy the action from the comfort of your home and stay updated with Pacific Time game schedules.
This will be a matchup of the two best running backs in the conference: Tony Williams Jr and Justin Edwards. The two programs are fairly similar to each other and this should be a tough and physical game.
The game is important for both programs to keep position within their respective pods and it is possible that they would play again next month.
It is easy to view the Leopards as a “get right game” but they showed a lot of fight against the Stags last week with a competent spread passing attack.
Though the Sagehens showed a weakness to the running game against Chapman, their pass defense cannot really be measured in that game as Chapman did not really consider passing the ball for much of the game.
Both programs are in a different place than they were a month ago where Pomona-Pitzer won 34-7 and this could end up being a competitive game.
The Panthers can't afford to lose any more games if they want a shot at the playoffs, and their first test is a Kingsmen squad that beat them 24-21 on September 30.
But this is a Panthers squad that has found an identity on both sides of the ball and it will be a physical test for the Kingsmen to stand up to the aggressive run game that has turned around Chapman's season.
JP Andrade has struggled in situations where the run game has been unable to carry their water, so look for Cal Lutheran to try to establish something on the ground early before they need to think about coming from behind against a red hot and confident Chapman.
