BELVIDERE — Tiras Harris had the kind of game most fantasy football owners would drool over.
The Belvidere senior running back rushed 35 times for 315 yards and scored four touchdowns as the Bucs hung on to beat Rockford Jefferson 45-41 Friday night at Funderburg Stadium.
Harris scored four times on runs of 5, 11, 12 and 12 yards. He had 14 carries of 10 or more yards on the night.
He flirted with Belvidere’s all-time single-game rushing record, which is held by John Grubb, who had 353 yards in a game back in 1962.
The performance by Harris was even more impressive given that he plays both offense and safety on defense. He also handles punting duties for the Bucs.
“It’s kind of hard going both ways,” he said. “Especially with a team that has just 30 players. You can’t really get a break. If I’m tired, I have to tough it out. And I was really tired tonight.”
“That’s just Tiras being Tiras,” Belvidere coach Matt Weckler said. “You give him a crease, he’s going to get yards. Every team keys on him, so he has to work for every yard he gets.”
Jefferson (0-8) stayed with Belvidere the entire game. “Every time we made an adjustment, they would make an adjustment,” Jefferson coach Franklin Craig said. “It was a chess match, and I’m not a good chess player.”
Mario Manns led the way for the J-Hawks with a 49-yard TD run and an 18-yard TD pass to Jordan Ulrich. Manns finished the game with 149 all-purpose yards.
The J-Hawks also scored on a 1-yard rushing TD from Shaquille Hardeway and two TD passes from quarterback Mike Dalsanto, who finished with 141 passing yards. Trevor Duncan returned an interception 48 yards for another score.
“We finally got the offense clicking,” Craig said. “We were making the reads and we spread the ball out, and not just to Mario Manns.”
Belvidere rushed for 456 yards. Matt Safranek chipped in with 17 carries and 96 yards and two TDs (6, 9).
The Bucs (2-6) led at halftime 26-21.
The second half was all Harris, who scored three of his four touchdowns to keep Jefferson from posting its first win of the season. “I had no clue I had so many yards,” he said. “I thought maybe I passed 200.”
— Paul Anthony Arco, rrstar.com
