ORANGE, Calif. — Football claimed the first-ever Surf Division title by defeating La Verne 37-7, and moved on to host the inaugural SCIAC Championship game next weekend.

Luke Peterman had his best game for the Panthers as the starting quarterback, throwing for 221 yards and three touchdowns in Saturday's senior night rout. 

Amir Adams grabbed two of his touchdown passes, both in back-to-back offensive drives in the third quarter and the opening seconds of the fourth, racking up 97 yards. 

The Panthers got off to a slow start, however, and after a three and out on the opening drive, La Verne drove 73 yards, all the way to the Chapman six yardline. Once the Leopards got inside the ten, Chapman's defense awoke and stayed that way for the remainder of the game.

The Panthers would force a field goal attempt, which La Verne missed, and would go on to create two turnovers as the game waned on, including an interception by senior Evan Greve. Chapman forced five Leopard punts and two turnovers on downs. 

Colin Keefe led the Panthers in tackles with nine, and was closely followed by Alexander Terriquez and Roman Hardin who had eight and seven tackles respectively.

The offense kicked into another gear in the second half. The third-quarter passing attack was helped by a strong ground game as Panther backs rushed for 256 yards on the night, led by Isaiah Woods. In the fourth, Fischer Huss took his first career carry into the end zone for a 38-yard touchdown run. He finished with 52 yards.

Senior Brandon Yue also saw his first action at quarterback on the season, rushing for 44 yards on three carries.

The Panthers will take their five-game win streak into the SCIAC Championship where they will host Pomona-Pitzer, who took down Redlands 20-7. Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 11.