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Harris runs amok
By The Associated Press
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MORGANTOWN, WV Kay-Jay
Harris answered questions about his durability and whether he could
become West Virginia's next star running back.
Harris ran for a
school-record 337 yards and four touchdowns to lead No. 10 West Virginia
to a 56-23 victory over East Carolina on Saturday night.
"Every time I just ran to
daylight," said Harris, who had 524 yards last year as Quincy Wilson's
backup. "This is a sign of things to come."
Harris, who had 25
carries, broke the school record of 291 yards set by Kerry Marbury in
1971 against Temple. It also was a Big East record, eclipsing the mark
of 299 set by Miami's Edgerrin James in 1998 against UCLA.
Jason Colson added two
scores as West Virginia's platoon rushing attack continued the
Mountaineers' recent dominance of East Carolina in the opener for both
teams.
The Mountaineers compiled
478 yards on the ground. In the two previous seasons, they ran for 361
and a Big East-record 536 against the Pirates.
"They ran over, through
and around us," East Carolina coach John Thompson said. "The success
they've had against us the past few years is unbelievable."
Harris was slowed by
various leg injuries during preseason camp. There were doubts about
whether he could become West Virginia's ninth straight 1,000-yard
rusher.
West Virginia coach Rich
Rodriguez had questioned Harris' ability to carry the ball 25 to 30
times a game after he reported to camp at 245 pounds. He shed 20 pounds
during camp.
"I think I answered that
question tonight," Harris said.
Colson was selected the
starter for the season opener late in the week. Harris entered the game
on the third play and ran for 223 yards by halftime.
He set the records midway
through the fourth quarter, breaking a tackle and going 76 yards up the
left sideline for his fourth score. His others came from 2, 5 and 51
yards in the first half.
"At the half, I came into
the locker room and asked the O-line, 'How do you all feel about
breaking the record?" Harris said. "And they said, Let's do it."
Rodriguez said he was
unaware of how many yards or carries Harris had during the game.
"We were just trying to
get into a rhythm and get into a flow," Rodriguez said. "He got a good
workout in today."
West Virginia made the
game a rout with three touchdowns in a 2:27 span of the second quarter,
including Adam Jones' 76-yard punt return sandwiched around two Harris
TDs.
Half of West Virginia's
eight touchdowns were 50 yards or longer.
Chris Henry, a 1,000-yard
receiver last year, made up for two first-half personal foul penalties
by catching a 60-yard TD pass from Rasheed Marshall on the first series
of the second half.
"I definitely did not
expect the big play to come this easy," Marshall said. "This offense has
the capability to score quickly, and we can do it more than we did
tonight. There were mistakes that should not have been made."
West Virginia had nearly
as many yards in penalties (141) as passing (143).
East Carolina sputtered at
times under first-year offensive coordinator Noah Brindise, an assistant
under Steve Spurrier at Florida and with the Washington Redskins.
James Pinkney was 26-of-51
for 322 yards and three scores in his fourth career start. But he was
intercepted twice, and 1,000-yard backs Marvin Townes and Art Brown were
held to a combined 36 yards rushing.
East Carolina has lost 12
straight non-conference games.
02/23/2007 10:53 AM
Copyright 2004 The
Associated Press. Bonesville.net contributed to this report. All rights reserved. This material may
not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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