Vanderslice breaks Berks record
Tanner Vanderslice felt it the first time he touched the football Friday night — a 45-yard touchdown run — that something special was happening.
The Daniel Boone senior running back knew he was headed for a big number and later in the game that he was approaching 400 rushing yards.
It wasn’t until after he came off the field for the last time, following a 12yard run lifted his total to 403 yards with 21/2 minutes left, that he was told he had set a Berks record.
“I was like, ‘Wait, what?’ ” he said the day after a 42-19 win over Muhlenberg that saw him become the first Berks back to top 400 yards.
Central Catholic’s Joey Rys set the Berks record in 2010 with 379 yards. Nate Romig set the Boone record with 330 yards in 2005.
Vanderslice had 217 yards and a pair of TDs by halftime, and 311 yards after three quarters.
“(In the fourth quarter) someone said I was at 350,” Vanderslice said, “so I said, ‘All right, let’s just get 400.’ ”
A 57-yard touchdown run put him on the precipice of history.
Vanderslice was aware that Boone running backs coach Pete Gilmore, who played at Wilson, once ran for 305 yards.
“I’ve always wanted to beat that, so that was my goal,” he said. “(Late in the game Gilmore said) ‘You’re way past that, you just want to get to 400.’ So they just started feeding me.
“At the end, they were like: ‘We’re getting ‘Slice’ the 400. Let’s do it.’ “
The huge night roughly doubled his season total; he’s at 859 yards, 4 less than he finished with last year, when he was an all-league pick.
The best game of his career came in Week 5 this season against Fleetwood: 220 yards on 27 carries.
“Three hundred was always in the front of my mind,” said Vanderslice who had 27 carries Friday. “From talking with Coach Gilmore, hearing about his game, I always wanted to get it. He’s always pushed us.”
Vanderslice’s total got a big boost from an 87-yard TD run that gave the Blazers a 21-6 lead in the second quarter.
“It was an inside zone,” he said. “I saw the hole open up, so I jabbed to the left to draw the defense, then another hole opened up on the right and I just took it and started weaving. I saw four guys behind me and thought: ‘I can not get caught,’ and just took off.”