Joe Harris said there was plenty of room for him to run. Even if there wasn’t, George Washington’s senior superstar would have made his own hole.
“There was room everywhere, on every play, every down, every quarter … every everything,” Harris said. “Every time I got the ball, there was an open hole on both sides of the line.”
In a win-or-go-home game against Class 4A Denver Prep League rival South, Harris racked up 204 yards rushing and four touchdowns on 26 carries to lead the Patriots to a decisive 41-13 victory in The Denver Post game of the week Friday at All-City Stadium.
That clinched the league title for George Washington (6-4 overall, 5-0 league) and left South (7-3, 4-1) with slim hopes for a postseason wild-card berth.
Whether or not the Rebels see the playoffs, this season was a success under coach Tony Lindsay. South was 4-26 in the three previous seasons and went through three head coaches last season alone.
With that newfound confidence and a little help from Lady Luck, South scored on its first possession.
Rebels quarterback Derek Robinson fired a pass down the middle of the field to Alex Jiles, but Patriots defender Sean Edwards made a break on the ball and looked to have a sure interception. The ball slid through Edwards’ fingers and into the hands of Jiles for the score.
George Washington responded on its next drive with a 14-play, 86-yard drive that ate up seven minutes, 33 seconds. Harris carried the ball on nine of those plays.
But Harris wasn’t thinking offense only. A stellar defensive effort turned the tide on a single play.
With South looking to take back the lead, Harris burst through the line and forced Robinson to fumble. Deven Griffin recovered the ball for the Patriots on South’s 32, and Harris needed just two touches to score again.
“Their line was pretty easy to move around. It wasn’t really that hard,” said Kendall Kemp, a 6-foot-4, 250-pound lineman for the Patriots.
George Washington kept it on the ground and Harris scored yet again before halftime.
On the first drive of the second half, Tyree Bishop officially turned the game in the Patriots’ favor with a 53-yard interception return for a touchdown.
South could not recover. The Rebels’ bread-and-butter passing game struggled, but not as much as the ground game. South finished with negative 18 yards rushing.
“We had a lot of dropped passes that could have done some things for us,” Lindsay said. “We tried to see if we could get a running game going on, but they were a little bigger up front that I thought.”
South 6 0 7 0 – 13
George Washington 7 13 14 7 – 41
S – Jiles 31 pass from Robinson (kick failed). GW – Harris 8 run (Morey kick). GW – Harris 6 run (Morey kick). GW – Harris 1 run (kick failed). GW – Bishop 53 interception return (Morey kick). S – Reynolds 30 pass from Robinson (Mohr kick). GW – Harris 4 run (Morey kick). GW – Edwards 31 punt return (Morey kick).
