Nichols, Harris lead Bombers past Argos
Andrew Harris is Mike O’Shea’s kind of player.
Harris ran for a career-high 161 yards and scored two TDs to lead the Winnipeg Blue Bombers past the Toronto Argonauts 38-20 on Saturday afternoon. It was the second career-best in as many weeks for Harris and his third straight 100-yard effort.
“Man, I would’ve loved to play with him,” said O’Shea, the Bombers head coach. “I would’ve been fired up on the sidelines all the time he got the ball, I would’ve begging the offensive coaches to just give it to Andrew.
“I think I would’ve cheered every time he scored or ran somebody over. He can do it all. He thinks of himself as an O-lineman when it’s pass and thinks of himself as a receiver when he’s running routes. When he carries the ball it’s like he wants to serve the offensive line for its effort ... he makes people around him better.”
Heady praise, indeed, from a Canadian Football Hall of Famer and one of the most decorated Canadians in CFL history. O’Shea, 47, of North Bay, Ont., won three Grey Cups as a linebacker with the Toronto Argonauts and the league’s ‘99 top Canadian award.
O’Shea amassed 1,154 tackles over his illustrious playing career, tops among Canadian-born players and second all-time. He was later named an All-Time Argo and earned a fourth Grey Cup with the franchise as its special-teams coach in 2012.
The five-foot-10, 211pound Harris anchored Winnipeg’s 184-yard rushing attack. The Bombers came into the game averaging a CFL-high 171 rushing yards per contest.
But Harris, a 31-year-old native of Winnipeg, couldn’t forget about the fumble he lost late in the first half that allowed Toronto to kick a field goal and pull to within 25-12 at halftime.
“It feels great but I think the biggest thing about this game is I’ll be looking back on that fumble,” he said. “Those five guys up front (offensive live) are doing an amazing job.
“There are times I just have my head down and I am pumping my legs and they’re carrying me through an extra three, four, five, six yards sometimes ... I’m so proud of them.”
Harris now has 6,878 career rushing yards, moving past Jon Cornish (6,844) for second all-time among Canadian-born players. The late Normie Kwong is tops with 9,022 yards.
The contest drew a seasonlow 10,844 spectators at BMO Field. That comes after just 12,196 fans watched the defending Grey Cup champions dispatch Edmonton 20-17 on July 7.