Harris hurtling to CFL history

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In Thursday’s 33-26 win over the Edmonton Eskimos, Winnipeg Blue Bombers running back Andrew Harris became just the 10th player since 1995 — and first since 2010 — to record 100 yards rushing and 100 yards receiving in a single game.

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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 22/08/2017 (2963 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

In Thursday’s 33-26 win over the Edmonton Eskimos, Winnipeg Blue Bombers running back Andrew Harris became just the 10th player since 1995 — and first since 2010 — to record 100 yards rushing and 100 yards receiving in a single game.

Harris, 30, finished the game with 11 carries for 105 yards and eight receptions for 120, totalling 225 yards, as the Bombers improved to 6-2 on the year.

It was just another solid performance for the veteran tailback, who is on pace this season to do something no other player has done in CFL history: record 1,000 yards rushing and 1,000 yards receiving in a single season. He’s nearly halfway there; with 10 games left in the regular season, Harris has racked up 495 yards on the ground and 459 yards catching the ball.

In honour of Harris’s big night, we take a look back at each of the 19 times he touched the ball:

 

First quarter

 

Bombers Series 1

Score: 0-0

Second and two, from the Edmonton 49

Harris takes a handoff from quarterback Matt Nichols on the fourth play of the game, bouncing off one defender before getting dragged down by three more en route to a 12-yard gain. Breaking tackles and carrying defenders on his back becomes a pattern as the game moves on.

 

First and 15, from the Edmonton 42

After an offside call on offensive lineman Travis Bond pushes the Bombers back five yards, Winnipeg goes right back to Harris, who scampers untouched up the middle before a crowd takes him down after a nine-yard gain.

Two runs by Nichols — for a combined gain of 22 yards — and a pass to Timothy Flanders pushes the Bombers inside the Edmonton four-yard line.

But an ill-advised trick play leads to an eight-yard loss and the Bombers settle for a 21-yard Justin Medlock field goal.

 

Series 2

Score: 3-0 Bombers

First and 10, from the Winnipeg 30

Harris makes his first catch of the game on the third play of the Bombers’ second possession. Nichols, under pressure, dishes a two-yard pass to Harris, who then rumbles 25 more yards before being pushed out of bounds. A holding call on Julian Feoli-Gudino is called after the catch, bringing the ball back 10 yards, but it’s another first down for the Bombers.

 

First and 20, from midfield

Nichols goes back to No.33 five plays later, but Harris gains only a single yard on the play. It’s the least-successful of his eight catches, well below the 9.5-yard average he finished with on the night. The Bombers are forced to punt shortly after.

 

Second quarter

 

Series 3

Score: 3-0 Bombers

Second and 10, from the Winnipeg 40

Facing second-and-long, Harris escapes up the middle uncovered before catching a pass just beyond the first-down marker. He won’t be wrapped up for another eight yards, for a 20-yard gain.

 

First and 10, from the Edmonton 33

The Bombers are marching and the most of the 30,554 in the stands at Investors Group Field are on their feet when the Bombers hand it off to Harris. The crowd turns up the volume when Harris pushes for another 12 yards, getting the Blue to just shy of the red zone. But as Harris is about to hit the ground, the ball pops out of his hands and the Eskimos recover the fumble, taking over possession on their own 21.

 

Series 4

Score: 3-0 Bombers

First and 10, from the Winnipeg 44

Not concerned about Harris’s mistake, the Bombers go right back to him on the first play of their fourth possession. He rewards that trust with a heavy 15-yard gain on the ground into Eskimos territory.

 

 

First and goal, from the Edmonton 4

After three straight completions by Nichols to get the Bombers within striking distance of the end zone, Harris drives up the middle, falling just short with a three-yard run. Backup quarterback Dan LeFevour finishes off the drive with a one-yard touchdown run on the next play.

 

Series 5

Score: 10-3 Bombers

Second and one, from the Winnipeg 37

A pass to Matt Coates leaves the Bombers just shy of a first down. With only a single yard needed to move the sticks, it’s automatic that Winnipeg gives the rock to Harris, who pushes up the gut for two yards and a new set of downs.

 

Second and 20, from the Edmonton 52

Facing second-and-long near midfield, Nichols plays it safe by ditching a pass to Harris at the line of scrimmage. It’s well short — a five-yard gain — and Medlock is called on to punt for the second and final time of the game.

 

Series 6

Score: 10-3 Bombers

Second and four, from the Edmonton 38

The Bombers don’t wait long to get the ball back, with Chris Randle stepping in front of a Mike Reilly pass for his first interception of the season on Edmonton’s next drive. Harris is handed the ball on the second play, needing four yards, but gets 13 on another punishing run. Nichols then hits Darvin Adams for a 25-yard touchdown on the next play.

 

Third quarter

 

Series 7

Score: 17-10 Bombers

First and 10, from the Winnipeg 40

The Eskimos open the second half with a touchdown, cutting the Bombers’ lead to 17-10. Needing an answer, Harris provides a boost on the first play of Winnipeg’s next drive. He reels in a catch near the sidelines, shedding one tackle before being pushed out of bounds for a 20-yard gain.

 

First and 10, from the Edmonton 17

Four plays later — and for the second time in the game — Harris is taken down just inches shy of the goal-line, this time on a 16-yard reception. Nichols finishes the drive with a one-yard touchdown run.

 

Series 8

Score: 24-17 Bombers

First and 10, from the Edmonton 42

The pesky Eskimos won’t go away, however, scoring another major on their second drive of the half. But neither does Harris, whose 26-yard run — his longest of the night — takes the Bombers into the red zone. A pass for no gain and an incomplete throw follow and the Bombers settle for another Medlock field goal.

 

Series 9

Score: 27-17 Bombers

Second and seven, from the Winnipeg 40

With the Bombers holding onto a 10-point lead and the clock ticking down on the third quarter, Winnipeg wants to maintain possession and start eating up time. Facing another second down, Harris extends the drive with his longest catch of the night — a 35-yard strike — that puts him over 100 yards receiving on the night.

That puts the Bombers into field goal range, but Medlock’s attempt at 51-yard attempt sails wide.

 

Fourth quarter

 

Series 10

Score: 27-17 Bombers

Second and 10, from the Winnipeg 50

Harris’s final catch of the night comes on the Bombers’ next possession. Needing 10 yards, No. 33 can rack up only three. But a 10-yard penalty on Edmonton during the Bombers’ punt leads to a fresh set of downs for the Blue and Gold.

 

First and 10, from the Edmonton 47

With the ball back and a healthy lead, the Bombers go back to the ground game to milk the clock. Harris rushes for two yards on first down and the Bombers march to the Eskimos’ eight on the next six plays before settling for a 15-yard field goal.

 

Series 11

Score: 30-23

First and 10, from the Edmonton 47

As has been the case for Bombers this year, it’s another fourth-quarter nail-biter. While Winnipeg settles for field goals, the Eskimos cut the lead to seven after a one-yard Reilly run into the end zone.

Nichols is able to move the ball to midfield, ensuring at least the chance of strong field position. That’s when Harris moves his team into field-goal range with a 12-yard run up the middle, losing his helmet at the end of the play. The play put Harris above the 100-yard rushing mark, making him just the second Bomber to reach 100 yards in rushing and receiving in the same game since Charles Roberts did it in 2002.

 

Second and 11, from the Edmonton 24

Harris loses a yard on a handoff – his only negative yardage of the night. He finishes the game with 225 total yards, — 105 on the ground and 120 through the air.

Medlock hit his fourth and final three-pointer of the night. The Esks add a late field goal of their own, but the Bombers win 33-26 to improve to 6-2 on the season.

 

jeff.hamilton@freepress.mb.ca

Jeff Hamilton

Jeff Hamilton
Multimedia producer

Jeff Hamilton is a sports and investigative reporter. Jeff joined the Free Press newsroom in April 2015, and has been covering the local sports scene since graduating from Carleton University’s journalism program in 2012. Read more about Jeff.

Every piece of reporting Jeff produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.

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