Football 11/2/1985 8:52:00 PM Gary Pine

Yellow Ribbons Tied Around Ol' Gridiron

Cougars commit 18 penaties but get 5 takeaways in 27-14 win at USD

SAN DIEGO, Calif. – It's not often these days that Azusa Pacific tailback Christian Okoye is out-done on the field. Today, however, his mates accumulated more yards than Okoye, though it wasn't something to celebrate.

Azusa Pacific was penalized a school-record 18 times today for a hefty 169 yards in the opposite direction, and yet, because of Okoye and a stellar defense, the NAIA's No. 3-ranked Cougars still prevailed, downing San Diego, 27-14, on the road to run their winning streak to 7 straight and a program record 13 in a row dating back to last year.

Despite the constant flying of yellow hankies, Azusa Pacific overcame its miscues by forcing turnovers and capitalizing with TDs. The Cougars' first 3 scoring drives all began with a Cougar takeaway, as Azusa Pacific induced 5 Torero turnovers, a trio of fumbles and 2 interceptions.

Junior DT Gary Gonzales recovered a Mark Covarrubias fumble at the Cougar 46-yard line on USD's opening drive. Five plays later, which included a 31-yard David Russell to Ted Campbell pass, Okoye barreled into the endzone from 11 yards out for his ninth rushing TD on the season.

After San Diego answered on the ensuring drive with a John Woodward 1-yard dive to knot the game at 7-7 midway through the first quarter, Azusa Pacific assumed a 14-7 halftime lead that started with junior Dana Harris' first inception as a Cougar that he returned 8 yards to the USD 27-yard line. With 44 seconds left in the first half, senior FB Greg Johnson cashed in Harris' pick with a 1-yard TD blast for a Cougar lead that Azusa Pacific would not relinquish.

Gonzales again figured prominently by recovering another fumble, this time by USD QB Pat Dixon, on the Toreros' opening drive on the second half. Senior wingback Jon Milhon turned the USD miscue with another Cougar TD, this one from a yard out to give the Cougars a 21-7 lead less than 5 minutes into the second half.

Dixon made amends by connecting with Lionel DeMorst on a 13-yard TD strike to pull USD back to with a TD at 21-14 with 6:49 left in the game. Milhon, however, made sure USD would stay at bay when he capped the scoring with a 4-yard TD run, his eighth on the season and more impressively, his fifth in the past 3 games.

The Cougars weren't just taking the ball away from USD either, they also made it very difficult for the Toreros to move the ball. USD was held to just 149 yards of total offense, 62 of which came on its second drive of the game. Additionally, APU held the Toreros to just 28 rushing yards, sacking Dixon 6 times for a loss of 45 yards. Gonzales, transfer from Merced Junior College, also had an 11-yard sack to highlight his finest game to date as a Cougar. Senior DB Mark Bitetti picked off Dixon on USD's final drive to assure the Cougar win.

Okoye finished the game with 156 rushing yards for his sixth 100-yard outing of the season, while Milhon added 55 yards on 10 carries, and Johnson tallied 51 yards on just 8 carries. In all, the Cougars amassed 303 rushing yards.

Not to hide in the shadows, Russell snapped out of the doldrums of the past 3 games with a very efficient 12-for-17 passing effort that accounted for 164 aerial yards, 63 coming on a second quarter bomb to Campbell, who finished with 3 grabs for 96 yards.

The 18 penalties, which breaks for former program "low" of 15 set in 1975 against Pomona-Pitzer, kept the game much closer than it should have been. The Cougars lost 2 interceptions to penalties, and another 2 flagged plays -- roughing the passer and defensive holding -- led to the Toreros' second touchdown in the fourth quarter. Still, the Cougars accumulated 467 yards of total offense.

Bitetti led APU with 8 tackles, a pass interception, and a fumble recovery that he returned 13 yards.

Now 7-0 for the first time in program history, Azusa Pacific came through this 4-game road trip (La Verne, Redlands, UC Santa Barbara and USD) with nothing but victories, and heads home for its final 2 game of the season with a first-ever NAIA Top 10 ranking, and, if they dare to dream, visions of a first-ever NAIA playoff berth.

However, the Cougars still have to host NCAA Division II San Francisco State, a team that crushed the Cougars 41-14 last year in San Francisco, and arch rival Cal Lutheran. Both games are set to kickoff at 1:30 p.m. on the Cougars' Hillside Field over the next 2 Saturdays.

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Players Mentioned

#37 Dana Harris: DB; 5' 9"; Sophomore

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

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

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

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

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

#49 Mark Bitetti: DB; 5' 9"; Senior

#78 Gary Gonzales: DT; 6' 1"; Junior

Players Mentioned

#37 Dana Harris
: 5' 9"; Sophomore
: DB

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

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

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

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

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

#49 Mark Bitetti
: 5' 9"; Senior
: DB

#78 Gary Gonzales
: 6' 1"; Junior
: DT