CLAREMONT, Calif. – Rhodes Football made the miles count this week as they traveled to California to grab the dominating win over Claremont-Mudd-Scripps 36-9.
The win takes the Lynx to 2-1 on the year while CMS moves to 1-1 for their season.
Rhodes came to play, scoring on four of their four first drives, all by the 10:50 mark of the second quarter.
Rhodes won the opening coin toss, deferring to the home team till the second half. Starting on defensive, the Rhodes crew made a statement from the beginning, only allowing the Stags five plays and 16 yards. The Lynx's Michael Shield, Joseph Raby and Zac Hart grabbed early tackles for losses to force the CMS punt.
Rhodes took over on offense at the 12:25 mark, hitting the ground running. Blake Box found Jonathan Wiener to open the game for six yards to the Rhodes 39. The next six Lynx plays would stay on the ground, as Dane Wilson rushed for five yards on second and followed that by four, grabbing a Lynx first down. Rhodes continued to work the ball down field with runs by Box, Wilson, and Vieira to get Rhodes down to the CMS 32 yard mark. Box would get his first touchdown pass of the night on the first and ten play, a 32 yard pass completed to Charles Schneider at the 9:28 mark. Rhodes accounted for an impressive 67 yards in just under three minutes of possession. Tucker Nichols connected on the opening point after attempt, giving the Lynx a 7-0 lead.
Rhodes put up another huge defensive stop when CMS tried to convert a fourth and inches on their next possession. Lynx Mike Olushoga and Trey Hooper got penetration and caused the stuff. The CMS turned the ball over on downs at their own 27 yard line.
Rhodes capitalized on the defensive stop, finding a way to put points on the board for the second time in the contest. Taking over at the 7:36 mark, again the Lynx pushed the ball on the ground, picking up eight yards from Wilson to open the drive. Box rushed for seven yards on third and seven, good enough for a first down to the CMS 21. The Lynx struggled to push much further, as they were unable to pick up another first down. Nichols came out to try a 31 yard boot, adding three points to the Lynx total, making the score 10-0 with 4:05 left to play in the opening quarter.
On the CMS possession, the Stags began the drive picking up a first down after a Kohr 10 yard rush. But that would be the last first down of the drive, as big tackles from John Dodd and Walker McWherter staggered the Stags from advancing. CMS punted from the CMS 37 on fourth and ten.
The Lynx took over at the 2:42 mark on the Rhodes 34 to start their third drive of the contest. Box opened the drive with a 23 yard rush and a Lynx first down. Wilson earned another first down on the next play, picking up 11 yards to the CMS 32. Later on a second and seven, Box completed a pass to Jonathan Wiener for a big 20 yard pick updown to the CMS nine. Wilson found the end zone on second and goal, rushing for four yards with 43 seconds to play. Nichols point after attempt was good and after six plays and two minutes, the Lynx widened the score to 17-0.
Another quick defensive stand by Rhodes, caused a three and out after a first down holding penalty on the home team. A 33 yard punt by CMS Stanek saw the Lynx take back over near mid-field.
In the opening second quarter drive, the Lynx took to the air, completing a 28 yard Box pass to Wiener down to the CMS 20. The Lynx faced a fourth and three at the CMS 13 yard line, when Box connected with Matt Baldwin for 11 yards to convert and take the ball to the CMS 2 yard line. Box got his second touchdown pass of the night finding Mason Childers in the end zone at the 10:50 mark. A missed point after attempt made the score 23-0.
Both teams saw a scoreless set of drives before CMS was able to convert a 53 yard field goal in the waning seconds of the first half. Aven's field goal made the score 23-3 heading into the half.
Rhodes began the third quarter with possession, and converted eight plays and 75 yards into a touchdown when Box completed a 11 yard pass to Schneider to make the tally 30-3. The remainder of the third quarter was scoreless for both sides.
To start the fourth quarter, the Lynx picked up on a third quarter drive in which Lynx Vieira picked up ten rushing yards before Wilson found the end zone on a five yard dive up the middle. The Lynx two point conversion attempt failed, making the score 36-3.
CMS found the back of the end zone on its tenth drive which spanned 33 yards on nine plays. After several completions, Reynolds connected with Stanek at the two minute mark to make it a 36-9 game as the Stags missed a point after attempt.
Rhodes covered the final kickoff and aligned in victory formation for the final snaps. Taking the 36-9 victory back to Memphis.
"It was a total team effort. I was very pleased with our performance in all three phases of the game," said Head coach Dan Gritti. "Blake [Box] played his most complete game in his time at Rhodes. Charles Schneider led the resurgence of tight ends in the passing game with 2 TD catches while Mason Childers added to it with one of his own. The receiving corp was led by Jonathan Wiener with 6 catches for 120 yards."
Rhodes picked up 27 first downs on the outing, with 50 percent third down efficiency, converting on six of 12 attempts.
The Lynx had 216 yards through the air, going 15-21 on completions. Rhodes also ran for 230 yards, compared to CMS's 70 rushing yards.
Rhodes Blake Box threw for 205 yards, and completed 14-17 passes.
Wilson led all rushers, picking up 98 yards, while Vieira added 61. DeKozan contributed 47 and Box added 33 yards on the ground.
Wiener was the top target for Box, going for 120 yards on six catches. Schneider grabbed 50 receiving yards as well.
"On Defense, we played well and held tough when we needed to do," said Gritti. "I was particularly pleased with the play of the defensive line led by Michael Olushoga. Both corners, Trey Tamura and John Dodd had shutdown games on the dynamic wide receivers from CMS."
The Lynx had a solid defensive outing, with 11 tackles from Shield and Raby each. McWherter had eight tackles while Nunguesser picked up seven stops. Hooper and Olushoga each added five tackles a piece.
Rhodes will return home on Sept. 28 as they open conference play facing off against Berry at 1 p.m. at Crain Field.
