Morris runs roughshod over Broncos
Greg Morris put the Westshore Rebels of Victoria on his back, scampered into the record books and ran the Kamloops Broncos out of the B.C. Football Conference [BCFC] playoff picture on Saturday, Oct. 6, at Hillside Stadium.
The Rebels’ running back set a Canadian Junior Football League record for rushing yards in one game — with 405 of them on 24 carries — and Westshore beat Kamloops 37-22 in front of more than 400 fans.
“It was just heartbreaking for everybody,” said Darryl Chow, the Broncos’ general manager.
“From the rookie players to those of us dinosaurs who have been here from the beginning.
“Tremendous credit to a heck of an athlete, though, in Greg Morris.”
Morris finished the game with four touchdowns, one of them a 91-yard scurry with 38 seconds on the clock in the fourth quarter.
If Morris can rack up a paltry six yards on the ground against Vancouver Island of Nanaimo on Saturday, Oct. 13, he will move into second all-time on the BCFC’s single-season rushing list, passing B.C. Lion Andrew Harris, who ran for 1,476 in 2009.
The league record belongs to Matt Medwick, who tallied 1,592 yards in 2000 with the Valley Huskers.
It was a must-win game for Kamloops, which has not qualified for the post-season since joining the league in 2007.
The 2-7 Broncos will finish their schedule with a mean-nothing game against the 0-9 Chilliwack Huskers this weekend on the Lower Mainland.
When asked what must be addressed this off-season, Chow was adamant the Broncos’ indiscipline can no longer be tolerated.
“I know we sound like a broken record, but the unsportsmanlikes, the yapping . . . maybe it’s just me being too old school, but you should just keep your mouth shut,” he said.
“Some coaches are forgiving of that, and not that there’s a controversy, but I guess I’m just too old school, in that those [penalties] are not forgivable.
“I know the coaches have tried to address it. I know it’s pervasive throughout the league. It seems that’s sort of what kids do nowadays. I don’t care. You don’t do that.”
Turnovers and penalties plagued Kamloops all season, and Morris’s ability to run almost at will is evidence enough the defence needs to get better.
There were strides made offensively, but the Broncos will again finish near the basement in the league’s points-for category.
The loss will likely be toughest to swallow for the seven Broncos — Dan Hodges, Tyler Lee, Shayne Arthurs, Derek Apps, Mike McMaster, Brennan Plante and Adam Nesbitt — who will not be eligible to play next season.
“Boy, we sure wanted to win that game for them,” Chow said.
“Players like Ty lee and Shayne Arthurs.
“They gave their hearts to our team. You just can’t say enough.”
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