Harris atones for fumbles with TD

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This article was published 26/08/2016 (2797 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

MONTREAL — Andrew Harris had been perfect all season when it came to protecting the football. Through the first eight games, Harris, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers starting running back, had yet to turn the ball over, an impressive feat when you consider he gets more touches in the air and on the ground than anyone else on the team.

So when Harris had fumbled twice by the midway mark of he third quarter in a 32-18 win over the Montreal Alouettes at Molson Percival Memorial Stadium Friday night, he knew he needed to make things right. Better yet, Harris said after the game, he could feel things were about to shift in his favour.

That hunch came true on a 19-yard touchdown run with 2:35 left in the fourth quarter, a score that put the Bombers up 28-18 and ultimately ended any chance for an Alouettes’ comeback.

“I had a feeling that we were going to end it on a running play,” said Harris, who finished the night with 16 carries for 70 yards, adding 61 more yards on five catches. “I was able to redeem myself and make a big play for the team, but I couldn’t have done it without the guys in front of me and the receivers making blocks down field. I tip my hat to them.”

Harris’ first fumble came at the end of the first quarter with the Bombers marching into Alouettes’ territory. Montreal scored on the ensuing drive, a series that ended with a one-yard touchdown run from Vernon Adams Jr. The other came midway through the third frame, but the Bombers were able to stop the Alouettes on a third-and-one, one of the six turnovers forced by the defence on the night.

“I was apologizing to the guys and they know it was uncharacteristic of me,” said Harris. “I just got to be better. I was trying to do too much on the second one and on the first one he got good hand replacement. That’s unacceptable and I’ve got to be better in that aspect.”

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Harris now has four touchdowns in his last four games, all of which have come on the ground. His 70 yards rushing Friday was a respectable total — he had averaged close to 100 in his previous three games — but it was his return to the air attack that stood out, if only because it has gone dormant since quarterback Matt Nichols took over for Drew Willy after Week 5.

With Nichols under centre, Harris had only three catches out of the backfield in three games, totalling seven yards. Nichols said Friday it was part of the plan to get Harris involved in the passing game against a stingy Alouettes’ defence.

“He just gives you that extra effort and he’s a guy that obviously we try and get the ball to as much as we can throughout the game,” said Nichols.

Harris currently leads the CFL in rushing yards with 575 through nine games and is on pace for 1,150 through 18 games, which would be the most in his career. His 351 receiving yards puts him on pace for 702, which is 16 fewer than the personal best of 718 he finished with in 2012.

jeff.hamilton@freepress.mb.catwitter: @jeffkhamilton

Jeff Hamilton
Multimedia producer

After a slew of injuries playing hockey that included breaks to the wrist, arm, and collar bone; a tear of the medial collateral ligament in both knees; as well as a collapsed lung, Jeff figured it was a good idea to take his interest in sports off the ice and in to the classroom.

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