A look at the numbers...again

One of the biggest stories this fall for Claremont High School sports is the huge improvement of its football program. After 6 years of records at .500 or lower, the Wolfpack guaranteed a winning season in 2010 with its 6th win over Charter Oak, 35-32, last Friday.

With a 6-1 record, Claremont isn't just better. They are currently the class of the Sierra League with a 2-0 league record. This Friday's Homecoming game against Ayala will be a good test to see if the Pack can continue to be the league's top team.

While I wrote a short story in today's paper regarding Claremont's latest win, here's a look at some of the season stats to date for the Pack:

Daniel Kessler (QB) - 2214 yards passing (1st in Sierra), 23 touchdowns, 7 interceptions

Aaron Dockery (WR) - 47 catches, 857 yards (1st in Sierra), 18.23 yards per catch, 10 touchdowns (3rd in Sierra)

As a team - 235 points, 2248 yards passing (both 1st in Sierra)

There's no doubt that Claremont packs (no pun intended) a high powered offense that will be hard for any opponent to stop. I will be at the game on Friday in what will be my first up close look at the Wolfpack this season. Expect full coverage in next Wednesday's issue.

PItzer College alumni set for Sagehen Hall of Fame

Pitzer College graduates Creed Pettit (1999) and Eric Dugan (2000) will become the newest members of the Pomona-Pitzer Sagehen Hall of Fame on November 6th.

Pettit was a 4-year starter on the Pomona-Pitzer football team as a defensive lineman. He earned 2nd Team All-SCIAC honors during his freshman year before the Sagehens exited the conference in football. He became team captain during his senior year.

Dugan was the Most Valuable Player all 4 years he participated on the Sagehens men's soccer team. He won the SCIAC Player of the Year award twice and was named to the All-SCIAC First Team all 4 seasons. The 2000 graduate was also named to the NSCAA All-Far West First Team 4 consecutive years and was selected to the NSCAA All-American Team on 2 occasions.

The 2 Sagehens will be honored in the Edmonds Ballroom during an induction ceremony at 6 p.m. Seven Sagehen Hall of Fame members and 5 faculty/staff select the inductees.

A look at the numbers...

Claremont High School quarterback Daniel Kessler is set on making his senior season his best season. And the numbers do not lie.

Leading the Wolfpack to a 4-1 record, Kessler has completed 99 of 143 passes (69 percent) for 1513 yards (302 passing yards per game) to go along with 16 touchdown throws (3 TDs per game) and just 5 interceptions (one INT per game). The senior currently has a quarterback rating of 127.

Yet Kessler has had plenty of help in the receiver area this season. Leading CHS receiver Tanner Kuramata has 39 catches for 598 yards and 4 touchdowns at the midway point of the season. Aaron Dockery has been another big play receiver for the Pack with 27 catches for 503 yards and 5 TDs.

Claremont is just one win away from tying last season's total. The rest of the team's games will be against Sierra League opponents, starting with Chino Hills at home on Oct. 15th.

Check below for a comparison of Kessler's numbers this year compared to last year.

2009: 166-237 (70 %), 2419 yards, 24 TDs, 7 INTs, 124.0 QB rating

2010 (5 games): 99-143 (69.2%), 1513 yards, 16 TDs, 5 INTs, 127.0 QB rating

If Kessler were to repeat the same success he's had through the first 5 games of the season, his final statistics for the 2010 season could look like this:

Projected 2010: 198-286, 3026 yards, 32 TDs, 10 INT, 127.0 QB rating

Pomona-Pitzer's Freese up for national award

Photo courtesy of the SCIAC website

Pomona-Pitzer cross country standout Alicia Freese has been chosen by the National Collegiate Athletic Association as one of 30 top honorees for the NCAA's Women of the Year award according to the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) website.

The senior is one of 10 Division III nominees and in now in the running for the 3 finalists positions from each NCAA division that will comprise a 9-member panel for the NCAA Woman of the Year Award. The award honors female student-athletes who display excellence in athletics, academics, community service and leadership. The winner will be announced on October 17th at an awards dinner in Indianapolis.

Freese has earned 2 All-American honors in cross-country and placed 2nd and 5th in the 10k and 5k respectively at last spring's NCAA Division III National Track and Field Championships. She is the record holder at Pomona-Pitzer for cross country and track and field distance events. The International Relations major added another notch to her responsibilities this season by filling in as women's cross country coach in the absence of head coach Kirk Reynolds.

Congratulations to Freese for her outstanding accomplishment.

40 Year SCIAC Anniversary

1970 team photo courtesy of C-M-S Athletics

It's been 40 years since C-M-S Stags football team won its first Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) championship in 1970. Claremont McKenna College (then Claremont Men's College) 1971 graduate Harry Wright wrote a memoir on the Claremont McKenna College website that is worth a read HERE.

Although the Stags finished 8-1 in conference play, it was Cal Lutheran who was selected as the SCIAC's playoff representative that year. C-M-S' (then Claremont-Mudd) lone loss was to Pomona-Pitzer.

This season, the Stags have jumped out to a 3-0 record with wins over Lewis & Clark College, Pacific University (Ore.) and La Verne. C-M-S has outscored its opponents by a 122-44 margin. The team's showdown with Pomona-Pitzer will take place on November 13th.

The Stags are the only undefeated SCIAC team for the 2010 season and share a similar 1-0 conference record with Cal Lutheran and Occidental. Could this season be the Stags' return to glory on its 40th anniversary?