Football 10/5/1985 5:32:00 PM Gary Pine

Grind 'em Down

APU's Powerful Ground Attack Wears Out La Verne, 37-12

LA VERNE, Calif. – If the mid-afternoon 98-degree weather didn't wear down the La Verne Leopards, then Azusa Pacific's overall physicality did. In a classic display of "wear 'em down, and grind 'em down," Azusa Pacific methodically rolled to a 37-12 nonconference victory over the Leopards, Saturday afternoon in La Verne.

Behind the bruising attack of junior running back Christian Okoye, and the relentless pounding of the Cougar defensive front, Azusa Pacific amassed 412 yards of total offense while limiting the Leos to just 194. In fact, APU crushed any semblance of a La Verne ground game, holding the Leopards to minus-10 yards rushing on 27 carries, thanks in part to a trio of quarterback sacks.

Okoye rushed for 190 yards on just 20 carries, and scored 1 TD, a 50-yard sprint up the middle on his first carry of the game. It marked the third time in 4 games this year that Azusa Pacific scored on either its first or second snap from scrimmage. It was Okoye's only score of the game, but he also tallied runs of 33 and 29 yards, and his 190 yards are the fifth best single-game effort in program history.

And it wasn't just Okoye. Fullback Greg Johnson registered 54 yards on 9 carries. Wingback Jon Milhon added 46 on 7 carries, and even QB David Russell got in on the act with 44 yards on 8 carries. Azusa Pacific finished the game with 395 rushing yards, running the ball on 59 of 80 plays.

The Cougars' produced a trio of 80-yard scoring drives and managed another one of 74 yards. In fact, their opening drive in which Okoye scored on the 50-yard run was their shortest scoring drive of the game – just 54 yards. The rushing game's dominance was on full display midway through the third quarter when APU marched 80 yards on 9 consecutive running plays, highlighted by Milhon's 9-yard scamper that pushed the Cougar lead to 30-12.

The constant pounding wore down the Leopard defense as Azusa Pacific jumped out to a 23-6 lead with just under 4 minutes left in the first half. Thus, ULV's hand was forced on offense, trying to generate quick strikes to get back into the game, which proved useless as the Cougar defense held the Leopards to just minus-9 yards rushing on 12 carries in the second half while grounding their air game into an 8-for-21 effort for only 93 yards over the final 30 minutes. For the fourth straight game, the Cougar defense did not give up a point in the second half.

Russell proved to be enough of a change-up in the Cougar attack to keep the ULV defense somewhat honest while it tried to slow the Cougar ground game. Russell was 10-for-19 passing for 170 yards with a TD, a 25-yard strike to TD Charlie Hetzer that put the Cougars' up 13-0 early in the second quarter. Senior WR Ted Campbell collected a career-high 6 receptions for 100 yards.

Senior LB Craig Wall led all Cougars with 10 tackles. Senior DT Rod Price added 7 tackles, and blocked a 38-yard field goal attempt on La Verne's second possession.

With the win Azusa Pacific improves to 4-0 on the season, marking only the fourth time in program history that the Cougars have opened a season with 4 straight wins (1975, 1980 and 1981 are the others). Additionally, Cougar Head Coach Jim Milhon moves to 6-2 vs. his Alma mater and his college coach Roland Ortmayer.

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Players Mentioned

#1 Ted Campbell: WR; 6' 0"; Senior

#7 David Russell: QB; 5' 11"; Senior

#15 Craig Wall: LB; 6' 0"; Senior

#28 Jon Milhon: RB; 5' 7"; Senior

#35 Christian Okoye: RB; 6' 2"; Senior

#41 Greg Johnson: RB; 5' 8"; Senior

#64 Rod Price: NG; 6' 2"; Junior

#87 Charlie Hetzer: TE; 6' 5"; Senior

Players Mentioned

#1 Ted Campbell
: 6' 0"; Senior
: WR

#7 David Russell
: 5' 11"; Senior
: QB

#15 Craig Wall
: 6' 0"; Senior
: LB

#28 Jon Milhon
: 5' 7"; Senior
: RB

#35 Christian Okoye
: 6' 2"; Senior
: RB

#41 Greg Johnson
: 5' 8"; Senior
: RB

#64 Rod Price
: 6' 2"; Junior
: NG

#87 Charlie Hetzer
: 6' 5"; Senior
: TE