Harris rushes for 274 yards against Bronchos; named MIAA offensive athlete of the week

Bearcat sophomore running back Jay Harris rushed for 274 yards and four touchdowns in leading the Northwest Missouri State University football team to a 34-21 victory over the. University of Central Oklahoma Bronchos at Bearcat Stadium.

Harris tied for the fifth-highest single game rushing total in program history as he carried the ball 22 times for 274 yards and four touchdowns. He was named the Offensive  Athlete of the Week by the MIAA.

Harris scored on plays of 15, 64, 45 and 44 yards. Harris’s four rushing touchdowns tied for the third-most by a Bearcat behind a pair of five-TD efforts by Xavier Omon in 2007. Harris extended his consecutive 100-yard rushing games to six straight in the October 7 win.

The Bearcats rushed for 324 yards on 36 carries. Northwest threw for 154 yards to account for 478 yards of total offense on Saturday vs. Central Oklahoma. UCO put up 305 yards of offense, but could only generate a defensive touchdown in the second half after producing two rushing scores in the first half.

The Bearcat defense forced three Broncho turnovers. Northwest tallied three sacks and six tackles-for-loss in the victory. The Bearcats had sacks from Andrew Dumas, Bryce Krone and Kobe Clayborne. Carter Olesen made his first career start and tallied three tackles and a forced fumble. Josh Turner and Charles Gadie each produced interceptions in the win. Dumas and Krone led the way with seven total tackles.

Northwest moved its mark to 3-3 overall and 2-3 in MIAA play.

Northwest will travel to St. Joseph, Saturday, October 14 to match up against the Missouri Western Griffons. Kick is set for 1 pm at Spratt Stadium.