Antioch High’s Najee Harris breaks school rushing record, doesn’t even play 4th quarter in victory over Milpitas
Antioch High running back Najee Harris on his way to breaking the school record for rushing yards on Friday, September 4, 2015. photo by Luns Louie
By Luke Johnson
Antioch High School’s superstar running back Najee Harris has inserted himself into the record books again by rushing for 396 yards off 22 carries against Milpitas, at home Friday night, breaking a school record which he already possessed. In addition, he had two receptions for 94 yards, five touchdowns all together (three rushing and two receiving). The amazing part is he sat out the entire fourth quarter.
Harris did not know he passed his own mark until after the game in which Antioch was victorious 47-22. Once he was informed, the only thing he could think about was Antioch’s game at San Leandro next week.
“Nothing really,” he said when asked what was going through his mind now knowing he set a new record. “Just worried about San Leandro. That’s it… Nothing really special is going through my mind.”
Last year, in the first round of the North Coast Section Playoffs at San Leandro is when Harris originally broke the record with 371 rushing yards in a 50-26 win for Antioch. He passed Joe Madrigal’s mark from 1981 when he rushed for 308 yards. The record was originally set by Carl Maxwell, who rushed for 304 yards in 1953.
Harris now has 31 career touchdowns on varsity, and is approaching Brian Boccio’s record of 32 set back in 1992-93. With 3,011 career rushing yards, Harris already has the record previous held by Madrigal (2,103) set in 1980-81.
In Friday night’s matchup, Antioch trailed 16-8 late in the second quarter. On third and long, quarterback Numan Najib scrabbled outside the pocket and flung a short pass to Harris, who caught it just inches above the ground and ran 76 yards to the end zone; breaking five or six tackles along the way. On the second play of the ensuing drive, Antioch’s defense fell on a fumble behind the line of scrimmage, and Najee Harris scored a 30-yard touchdown run the very next snap through wide open space created by his offensive line. That sequence swung the momentum into Antioch’s favor with a 20-16 lead at halftime.
The team dominated from there, outscoring Milpitas 20-0 in the third quarter, propelling the Panthers to a 2-0 record to start the season.
“We knew coming in that this team was going to be hard [to beat],” Harris said. “I just told us to compete. I guess those little-big plays gave our team some momentum, and we never looked back.”
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Najee Harris 9-4-15
