Greg Morris didn't just break records late Saturday night, he annihilated them.
The Westshore Rebels speedy running back tore through the Kamloops Broncos' defence to the tune of 405 rushing yards on 24 carries, breaking not only the B.C. Football Conference record for ground yards in a single game, but also the Canadian Junior Football League standard.
The sophomore Rebels' star eclipsed Eric Scott's 338 rushing yards mark set in the 1985 regular season as a member of the Richmond Raiders. He also surpassed current B.C. Lions running back Andrew Harris's 400 yards that he managed in a post-season game with the Vancouver Island Raiders in 2008.
The previous CJFL record was 365 yards, established just two weeks ago by Jordan Samoil of the Edmonton Wildcats, who carried the ball 33 times for 365 yards.
"He smashed our team rushing record for a game," said Rebels' offensive coordinator Charlie Cardilicchia, who saw something in the Broncos' defence and exploited it in the second half in which the Rebels managed 303 yards.
"We started running Greg outside."
Morris broke his own club record for rushing yards in a game (259, which he also racked up against Kamloops on Aug. 27, 2011) and snapped the team mark for rushing yards in a season. Sam Adu had previously recorded 1,139 yards for the Rebs in 2010. Morris now, unofficially, sits at 1,471 yards rushing with one game to go.
That game is set for Saturday afternoon in Nanaimo against the VI Raiders. Morris needs just six more rushing yards to eclipse Harris's mark of 1,476 that he managed in 2009 - the second-highest total for rushing yards in a BCFC season. That league record is 1,592 yards and belongs to Matt Medwick, set in 2000 with the Valley Huskers.
Morris, a Toronto native, also scored four touchdowns (including runs of 61 and 92 yards) in the 37-22 win in Kamloops, breaking Blaine Kruger's single-season Rebels record for majors. Morris now has 17 TDs, improving Kruger's mark for touchdowns by two.
"He was very, very impressive," said Cardilicchia. "He had an incredible night."
As did his offensive line which avenged a poor showing the week previous in a 41-7 loss to the Langley Rams, who the Rebels will face in the post-season. Just where the two teams finish is yet to be determined. The Raiders (8-0-1) have clinched first place with the Rebels presently slotted in second at 7-2 and the Rams third at 6-2-1.
The Rams face the Okanagan Sun on Saturday and a Langley win combined with a Westshore loss means the Rebels would start on the road.
"Our offensive line was resilient," Cardilicchia said of Saturday's performance. "They [the Broncos] blitzed hard. They were very aggressive, but we came away with a great team victory.
"Our defence really held us in the game, too. Our defence was all over their quarterback," Cardilicchia added of the Rebels, who were up 10-0 early, recording three Broncos' turnovers, but then trailed 21-17 at the half.
The Rebels' defence recorded four interceptions while Mark Black threw two of his own, including one for a Kamloops touchdown. Black finished just 4-of-12 for 86 yards, but the Rebs amassed 416 yards along the ground in total.
Kicker Quinn Van Gyl-swyk connected on field goals of 18, 27 and 41 yards.
Quincy Van de Cruize, Tyler Fong, Chris Pastro and Braeden Swatez all had interceptions and Justin Perrie had a fumble recovery and five solo tackles. Fifth-year linebacker Andrew Johnston had seven solo tackles and Wyatt Gray had two sacks.
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