The world is made up of great rivalries. Athens versus Sparta. Day versus night. The Catholic Church versus science. Saturday's homecoming game would have a tough time living up to those great battles of yesteryear. But as the referee fired his pistol into the air to signal the start of the contest, nearly all of the 60,000 plus in attendance had a feeling that they were about to witness something special.

Indeed with Claremont-Mudd-Scripps coming into the game with a record of 2-5, it appeared as though there would be no chance of them stealing a victory at Merritt Field. Though the Hens would take the opening coin toss, they would squander their first opportunity to score as the drive eventually puttered out and they were forced to punt.

That whole punting idea would lead to nothing good as the Stags did what the Hens could not do in their first drive, and managed to pound the ball into the end zone, which under the rules of football is worth six points. Indeed, during that first drive, the CMS running back abused the Hens' defense, which would prove to be a bad omen for the rest of the game.

However, the Hens managed to answer back as the second quarter began. On a drive that took 15 plays, a veritable march down the field, and that ended with quarterback Teohua Sanchez '01 scrambling one long yard into the endzone, the Hens looked as though they might actually be able to parlay the Stags' poor defensive play into some points this game. Indeed, the Hens played a near-flawless second quarter, with Sanchez scoring once more, and utilizing their swarming defense to create two more points off a safety by Alan Flores '03. Indeed, as the first half drew to a close, it appeared as though the Hens had the game all but wrapped up.

However this is Division-III college football, where everyone always makes a late charge. That late charge for CMS began when the Stags' running back, who by all accounts is monstrous, exploded for 41 of his 231 yards on the day to spark a Stag drive which would net them seven points as the third quarter drew to a close.

The teams then proceeded to pass the ball back and forth like it was a cheap whore, with neither side apparently wanting to take control of the game. Both offenses seemed to have stalled and it appeared as though the Hens had stalled in the right place - up three points. However, the Stags finally managed to move the ball down the field, and they moved it far enough that it was worth points on the scoreboard with 4:07 left in the game. Thus the Hens, who had lost their primary running back Ryan Hattersley '01 earlier to a hamstring injury, were forced to take the ball to the air. However, with just under three minutes left in the game, the Hens fumbled to end their possession.

With the game all but over, the Hens needed a defensive stop in order to get the ball back. Rising to the challenge, the Hens defense, in the intimidating form of linebackers Jake Reed '01, Kahri Espy '01, and Dan Wire '01, stopped the Stags' gigantic running back for a loss on three consecutive bone-crushing plays.

With the ball back, and two minutes left, it appeared as the Hens might be able to pull a rabbit out of their hat, give the rabbit the ball, and let him go to work. However, instead the Hens decided to pass the ball. After a number of completions, and with time running down, the Hens managed to get as far as the Stag thirty-yard line. After three plays from the thirty with a net total of zero yards of offense, the Hens found themselves staring into the eyes of a loss. As Sanchez's last pass under intense pressure fluttered, and fell short of Jeremy Lim '03 at the goal line, the Hens hopes for a comeback vanished in a cloud of orange and blue smoke.

"It was the same thing that went wrong all season," said Hattersley. "No big plays and too many turnovers. We lost all those games because of turnovers." With the team finishing the season with four consecutive losses, the positive aspects of those games were easy to overlook.

"As a senior it's hard to take anything positive from that loss," said Hattersley. "But the underclassmen now realize how much it hurts to lose, and that will make them work harder in the future."