HARRIS PUTS RIGHT ARM TO WORK FOR HOSPITAL
Eskimos QB aims to rack up passing yards to help charity, writes Gerry Moddejonge.
CALGARY The 2019 Labour Day Classic featured a Battle of Alberta, but not the ancient Battle of Thermopylae. But that isn’t going to stop Trevor Harris from having his 300 moment.
OK, so he was facing the Calgary Stampeders instead of a Persian horde. And he’ll have to wait until next week’s rematch to actually carry through with it, but Monday’s showcase marked the first chance for the Edmonton Eskimos quarterback’s new initiative of donating $300 to the Stollery Children’s Hospital Foundation every game he hits the 300-yard mark in passing.
It’s a feat he accomplished six times over the first 11 games of the season, with honourable mention going to 294-yard and 298-yard outings. And, prior to a 216-yard outing on Monday, he’d been within at least 10 per cent of his target all year long.
“It was just something that my wife and I started talking about, different ways we can go back and give back,” said Harris, who added Monday to his league-leading 3,481 passing yards coming into the long weekend.
“A good way for us to do that is to find some catchy thing, so a 300-yard game is $300 to the Stollery to help a good cause.
“I want to make sure that I’m doing all I can to not only use this stage to help young people and mentor young people and show people that X, Y and Z can be done, but also to give back.”
Harris averaged 348 passing yards per outing over his first 10 games in green and gold, with a high of 447 passing yards in his Eskimos debut on June 14. He followed up with back-to-back 400-yard games in the two weeks leading into the Labour Day contest.
But the yardage isn’t the only unit of measurement Harris hopes make a difference.
“When you’re done, you’ll remember the people that you impacted,” he said. “If we can just make some small impact in those ways, those are the things people will remember.”
While he’s only a little more than half a season into his time in Edmonton, Harris has already been to the Stollery, with many more trips there to come.
“I’ve tried to make it a point to visit there, and I’m going to try to visit there every home game for the rest of the year, to go there, just visit the kids and spend some time with them,” said Harris, dad to three-year-old son T.J.
“Those sorts of things are great perspective and different ways to give back to the community, just by spending time with them.
“I think, when you do those sorts of things, you go there and end up getting more than you thought that you would be giving. Those kids inspire you when you go there, and the things they go through give you perspective after throwing an interception or having a fumble in a game.
It’s different than having a life battle.
“If you can just go impact them, to affect their attitude, it’s amazing, but what they can give you in terms of faith and strength and hope is astounding.”
HOMECOMING GAME
Eskimos receiver Davaris Daniels was back in Calgary for the first time since switching sides in Alberta’s CFL civil war in off-season free agency.
“It was weird to even be considering Edmonton, at the time,” said Daniels, who came in after setting career highs in receiving yards each of the previous two weeks.
It’s not a road well travelled, having a player from one side leave and join the rival camp.
But his concerns were eased after getting a call from Harris, a former Ottawa Redblacks quarterback who was also making the move to Edmonton.
“To get that call from Trev, it just made it feel like the right decision and everything was heading in the right direction,” said Daniels, who was forced to sit out the Eskimos’ first game in Calgary a month ago due to injury.
“So it made it a lot easier and I felt like I was coming to a place that I can call home.”
ROAD WOES
The road hasn’t been kind this season to the Eskimos, who left Calgary with a 2-4 away record compared to their 4-1 mark at home.
“I think it’s just been the results have been different,” said Harris, who has led the team to road wins against the last-place teams in each division.
“We’ve just got to make sure that we keep our process the same on game day, in terms of feeling like we’re at home.
“It’s just been small things here and there. I think we can make a mountain out of a mole hill, but when it becomes wins and losses, we’ve got to address things.
“When things aren’t going well, we’ve got to make sure that we’re doing things better, and hopefully, our new little road routine will serve us well.”