Football | 11/10/2016 3:06:00 PM

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. -- In 1977, gas was 65 cents a gallon, the mini-series "Roots" aired on ABC television, a BMW 320i cost $7990, and Kurt Swearingen set the Illinois Wesleyan season rushing record.

With one game remaining in 2016, at Millikin on Saturday, Nov. 12, senior running back Maurice Shoemaker-Gilmore (Kankakee, Ill., Bishop McNamara HS) has 1,075 yards this season (180 carries) and needs five yards to topple the 1977 mark of 1,079 yards set by Swearingen on a school-record 223 carries.

A 1979 Illinois Wesleyan graduate who came to IWU from Normal (Ill.) Community High School, Swearingen set his mark as a junior, eclipsing the standard of 962 yards set by Gary Vicini in 1974. He was named to the first team of the 1977 National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) All-America team, finishing fourth in the NAIA stats with 119.9 yards per game. Also in the 1977 season, Swearingen had eight touchdown runs, including jaunts of 63, 50 and 46 yards. He also completed six of 13 passes for 189 yards and averaged 43.5 punting on four quick kicks.

A two-time first team all-College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin player and honorable mention NAIA All-America as a senior in 1978, Swearingen remains IWU's all-time leader with 2,772 career rushing yards on 589 carries, third most in a career.

A four-year letterman and all-CCIW as a baseball player, Swearingen is now retired after long career as teacher and administrator in Normal's Unit 5 School District.

Shoemaker-Gilmore currently is No. 10 all-time in rushing yards at IWU with 1,943 and is tied at No. 9 all-time with 17 rushing touchdown. He is No. 9 all-time with 661 kickoff return yards and No. 11 with 2,845 all-purpose yards.