LA VERNE, Calif. - The Cal Lutheran football team earned a resounding 45-3 road victory over La Verne on Saturday afternoon improving to 5-0 in conference and earning at least a share of the 2009 conference crown. Senior tailback Antoine Adams career-high three touchdown performance led the CLU rushing attack.

Box Score: CLU 45, ULV 3 - F

The Homecoming crowd at Ortmayer Stadium was getting settled as La Verne capped off a 10 play, 61-yard drive with a 34-yard Wesley Dean field goal. Marking only the second time this season CLU has trailed in a SCIAC contest through five games, the onlookers had mere seconds to admire its accomplishment.

On the ensuing kickoff, CLU's Derek Wilson slithered up the middle 89 yards to the end zone scoring six points, erasing the deficit while starting a 45-0 run over the remainder of the game.

The Kingsmen offense ran full steam ahead and never looked back. A running back carousel of five CLU players featured 20 carries, 73 yards and four scores combined by Adams and Bobby Rodrigues.

"There's one thing that's true when you have running backs that succeed; they always have a great offensive line," stated CLU Head Coach and former Kingsmen all-SCIAC offensive lineman Ben McEnroe.

The offensive line has been the catalyst for a running game averaging nearly 41 carries and 186 yards per game this season. This unit has allowed only one sack in each of the past three games after giving up 13 in the first two contests of the year.

Following the three points allowed on the opening drive, the Kingsmen defense shutout the Leopards and held them to only 116 offensive yards the final 57 minutes of regulation.

The defensive front line is matching its counterpart's success having allowed 24 yards on 38 carries over the past two games against Occidental and La Verne.

Knowing this the Leopards threw early and often calling for an aerial attack on 15 of its 17 first quarter plays. On ULV's second drive after completing a 23-yard pass to Erek Brown, CLU's Patrick Knox bobbled the Anthony Andre toss before securing possession and his first career interception.

The freshman defensive back had three pass breakups, the interception and two tackles on the day.

The Kingsmen capitalized as Jericho Toilolo saw Eric Rogers open underneath on a post route for a 25-yard touchdown completion. The lengthy six-foot-three freshman receiver grabbed a career-high four catches for 88 yards, all of 20 yards or more and for either a score or CLU first down.

Leading 14-3 through one quarter Jackson Damron tacked on a 35-yard field goal to take a two touchdown advantage. Adams crossed the goal line for his first of three scores with 24 seconds left in the first half to go up 24-3.

Despite the commanding lead several holding penalties took away from big gains forcing the Kingsmen in long down-and-distance situations.

"We did not have a great week of practice and it showed. We came out slow to start the game and were fortunate to have the margin we did after 30 minutes."

The defense turned things up with individual efforts from several players.

Back-to-back La Verne drives to end the first half and start the third quarter were halted by CLU takeaways courtesy of defensive lineman Jordan Barta. The junior stripped and recovered a loose ball on the final opening half snap before picking up a fumble on a quarterback keeper.

The Kingsmen racked up 21 points within the first 8:36 of the third quarter after Adams and Rodrigues combined for all three second half TDs.

The final score was set up by a Michael Azhocar interception deep in ULV territory, along with a 19-yard return set up the offense with a first-and-goal. On the following play Adams capped off the scoring with a six-yard scoring rush.

The last time Cal Lutheran allowed three points or less in a game-November 8, 2008 as the Kingsmen defeated La Verne 37-3.

Cal Lutheran (7-1, 5-0 SCIAC) earns at least a share of the SCIAC title with only one game remaining in the season. In 2007 the Kingsmen faced an identical scenario as CLU dropped its final game to Redlands and a Whittier upset of Occidental kept Cal Lutheran at home and still without an NCAA postseason appearance in the program's history.

"This is a much different group," said Coach McEnroe after taking the Kingsmen to a co-title in his first year at the helm that season. "That is ancient history...we don't even think about that anymore."

A victory next Saturday, November 14 at home against Redlands would squash any afterthoughts and secure the first outright conference title in Kingsmen football history, since Cal Lutheran joined the SCIAC in 1991.