PANTHERS COMPLETE SEASON UNDEFEATED LEAGUE CHAMPIONS

The Chaffey Panthers capped off a perfect season tonight with a 16-12 win over Pasadena in the American Division Championship Bowl game.

Game MVP and starting quarterback for the Panthers, Dereun Dortch completed his freshman season with 231 yards passing and a season record of 2350 yards.  Dortch scored the first touchdown of the game,a 1-yard leap into the endzone, to give Chaffey an early 7-0 lead over the Lancers.

Pasadena's offense had multiple drives to goal but failed to put a touchdown on the board.  PCC's Justin Vergara (Player of the Game for Pasadena) managed four fieldgoals including one that gave the Lancers the lead going into the 4th quarter.  It was only the third time this season the Panthers allowed an opponent lead.  The Panthers found a formidable opponent in the Lancers with both teams posting their lowest scoring game.  Chaffey delivered PCC's only other loss of the 2023 season.

Chaffey's Anthony Hagan had three fieldgoals on the night including a 43-yard shot in the 4th quarter that fully reclaimed the Panthers' lead.  Hagan was responsible for 10 of the Panthers' 16 game points.

First year head coach Darrin Chiaverini completes the season with an unblemished 11-0 record.  Chiaverini took over Chaffey's football program just months before the season start, recruiting a complete team of assistants and building a team from scratch.  This was the first undefeated season for the Panthers since 2019 when the team had the longest streak in the state with nearly two complete seasons in the win column.