LOS ANGELES — Kwame Do has been nearly unstoppable all year long and homecoming night against Chapman was no different.
The Occidental College all-time leading rusher finished with another 200+ yard rushing performance, wide receiver Devin Bullock made two outstading touchdown catches when Oxy needed them most and the Tigers knocked off the defending SCIAC champions with a thrilling 35-27 victory at Jack Kemp Stadium.
Do's career rushing total now stands at 3,423 yards. He needs 621 yards in the next four games to catch Claremont-Mudd-Scripps' Ryan Gocong, who holds what is believed to be the SCIAC record at 4,044 career rushing yards.
The senior running back totaled 213 yards on the ground with 35 receiving yards and three touchdowns.
"The win feels bigger than the record, I couldn't do it without these guys," said Do, referring to his offensive line. "I don't really know what to say, my offensive line is everything to me. Without them I'm nothing."
VIDEO: Interview with Kwame Do and O-Line
Do scored on rushes of one, two, and 20 yards. He even converted two key fourth downs off direct snaps to keep drives alive.
Game Winning Drive: Cordell Harris came up huge with a 18-yard punt return to put the Tigers in Chapman territory. The Tigers caught a break after a late hit was called on the Panthers, placing the ball just outside Chapman's 20 yard line.
After a series of Do rushes, quarterback Bryan Scott connected with Devon Bullock who shook off a would be tackler and scampered into the end zone to put the Tigers up 33-27.
VIDEO: Scott on Game Winning Play/Drive
On one of the strangest two point conversions you'll see, Garrett Bronken's kick was blocked but recovered by Zach Heerwagen who found a way across the goal line for two points, extending the Tigers' lead to 35-27.
Turning Point: In a game filled with big plays and huge momentum shifts, one of the biggest ones came on a Chapman 3rd and long when Chapman center Jacob Speer snapped the ball when quarterback Mac Vail wasn't ready, sending the ball rolling to midfield. The Panthers recovered, but were forced to punt, giving Oxy the ball at their own 18 yard line.
Key slip-ups cost the Panthers all night. With just under five minutes remaining in the third quarter, Vail dropped backed to pass and let the ball slip from his hand and Tiger linebacker Chris Garcia pounced on the ball at Oxy's own 24 yard line.
Scott led the ensuing drive with a 12-yard completion to Max Gruber and a seven-yard connection to Kaleb Mitchel. Do finished the drive off with a rush of 30 yards and a touchdown run of 20 more to tie the game at 27 all with 2:05 to go in the third.
Scott finished 26 of 38 passing for 246 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions.
Bullock Standout Perfomance: Devin Bullock had a monster game for the Tigers, totalling 121 receiving yards on 7 receptions with two touchdowns, including the three biggest plays of the night.
Bullock's most impressive play of the game came when he made a spectacular one-handed, diving catch in the end zone with 7:52 left in the second quarter. The 26-yard reception from Scott put the score at 14-13 following the extra point by Bronken.
Later in the game, Bullock hauled in a 48-yard reception from Scott to put Oxy inside the Panthers' 15-yard line. A roughing the passer penalty moved the Tigers inside the 10. Three plays later Do grabbed a direct snap and scampered two yards into the end zone untouched.
Big Plays: Chapman kept Oxy on edge all night, converting big plays that put the Tigers on their heels early.
Mac Vail completed an 85 yard catch and run to Noah Rivard on the first play of the second quarter, extending Chapman's early lead to 14-6.
Hakeem McGrew caught a 25-yard reception from Vail to put the Panthers on the Tigers' two yard line. Jeremiah McKibbins finished off the drive with a two-yard score, giving Chapman its biggest lead of the night, 27-13.
Vail finished with 244 yards through the air. McKibbins rushed for 134 yards and two touchdowns and Rivard had 115 receiving yards.
Defensive Standouts: Nicholas Mungia led the Tiger defense with seven solo tackles. Chris Garcia, Zachary Hunter, Casey Dudley, and Matthew Mulvehill each had four tackles.
Heerwagen had a sack and two tackles to go with his two-point conversion.
Harris finished the game with 141 return yards.
Season Impact: With the win the Tigers improve to 3-2 overall and 2-1 in SCIAC play, putting them into a four-way tie for second place with Cal Lutheran, Claremont-Mudd-Scrips, and Redlands. Chapman falls to 1-4 and 1-2.
Next Game: The Tigers travel to Claremont on October 24 to face the Stags at 1 p.m.
Week 1: Tigers win shootout at Puget Sound, 46-41
Week 2: Pacific (OR) rallies to beat Tigers
Week 3: La Verne Rushes Past Oxy
Week 4: Tigers Crush Poets to Keep Shoes
Athlete of the Week: Kwame Do was named SCIAC Male Student-Athlete of the Week on Oct. 13 after rushing for 205 yards and scoring four touchdown in Oxy's win at Whittier.
Bryan Scott was named SCIAC Male Student-Athlete of the Week on Sept. 15 after throwing for 421 yards and five touchdowns in Oxy's season opener at Puget Sound.
Getting Ink: Oxy head coach Doug Semones was featured in the Los Angeles Times in August.
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