O’Shea sings Harris’s praises; Bombers thump Argonauts, 38-20
TORONTO — 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, in Canadian Football League action 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 been 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, won three Grey Cups as a linebacker with the Argos and won the league’s top Canadian award in 1999.
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, 211-pound 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. Those five guys up front 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 him 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 season-low 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.
So, through three home dates, Toronto is averaging just over 13,100 fans in its first year of ownership by Maple Leafs Sports & Entertainment. The Argos averaged under 14,000 spectators last season.
Toronto visits Winnipeg next week at Investors Group Field.