Okoye Blows Open the New Season

Christian Okoye scores 4 times in a 37-14 victory over Whittier

AZUSA, Calif. – What may eventually prove to be the remarkable story of Christian Okoye at the very least took center stage for a moment today as the 6' 1", 250-pound Nigerian led Azusa Pacific to a 37-14 dismantling of Whittier in both teams' season-opener on a picture-perfect Saturday afternoon on the Hillside Field.

Shunned by his country for a spot in last year's Summer Olympics in Los Angeles despite having qualifying marks in the track & field's discus throw, Okoye has turned his attention to American football, a game he had never seen until 2 years ago, and a game that still needed to grow on Okoye who has been hesitant to embrace the physicality of the game.

Today, however, Okoye delivered the blows, rushing for a career-high 206 yards on just 17 carries, tallying 4 TDs in what was just his tenth game ever played – on any level. He wasted no time proclaiming that he was getting the hang of football, opening the game with a 56-yard TD on the Cougars' first offensive snap. Four carries later, he tallied a 65-yard TD run, and by his eighth carry he registered a 47-yard TD. APU scored on 4 of its first 5 drives, and Okoye found himself with 174 yards on just 8 carries by early in the second quarter. He went into the locker room at half time with 197 yards on 13 runs.

Okoye's rushing effort marks just the second time a Cougar has rushed for over 200 yards in a game, trailing only Jim Farmer's school-record 238 tallied in a 1973 Cougar win over the club team of Loyola.

Despite Okoye's onslaught, Whittier made a gallant effort in the early parts of the game. When Ramon Juarez captured a 6-yard pass from QB Mike Owens, the Poets were down just 17-14 with more than 7 minutes left in the first half. However, that was the last time Whittier found the endzone.

While the Poets tried to focus its effort on stopping Okoye, senior QB David Russell quietly picked apart the Whittier secondary, completing 12-of-14 passes for 164 yards. He capped the game's scoring with a 35-yard pass to senior RB Jon Milhon for the final margin of victory – before halftime.

Led by Eric Lemaster and Rod Price, the Cougars kept Owens under duress throughout the contest, sacking him 8 times, including 2 each by Lemaster and Price. Whittier finished with minus-1 yard rushing. Of the Poets' 31 rushing attempts in the game, only 13 garnered positive yards, and their longest run was just 7 yards.

With the victory, the Cougars capture their fifth season-opening win in the past 6 years, and in the process snap a 3-game losing streak to Whittier.

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Players Mentioned

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

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

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

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

Players Mentioned

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

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

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

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