Romello Harris runs wild in return as Tulare tops Dinuba
Romello Harris picked up where he left off, and No. 16 Tulare High completed the first half of the regular season undefeated with a 35-19 victory over Dinuba on Friday at Bob Mathias Stadium.
Harris, the highly recruited senior who is chasing the Central Section’s career rushing record, carried 37 times for 243 yards and three touchdowns in his first action since breaking his left ring finger early in the Redskins’ 45-19 victory over Kingsburg on Sept. 18.
Harris didn’t carry the ball in that game, then had Tulare’s bye last week to recover from surgery on his finger, which required a plate and seven screws.
Playing with his left hand heavily wrapped, Harris ran for a one-yard touchdown to cap the opening possession and again on runs of seven and one yards in the second half as the Redskins (5-0) pulled away. Tulare opens East Yosemite League play on Oct. 9 by hosting Monache.
“It felt pretty good,” Harris said. “I tried not to think about it. I feel if you do, you’re just prone to get more injured.”
Harris increased his career rushing total to 6,558 yards, fourth-best in section history. He needs 1,472 to pass former Mendota star Edgar Segura for the record.
He would need to average 294.4 yards over Tulare’s five league games to break the mark during the regular season. The number drops to 245.3 if the Redskins, ranked No. 2 in Division II, play one playoff game, and 210.3 if they play two. Harris is averaging 238 yards per game this season.
“If the record comes, it comes,” Harris said. “I’m just trying to stay healthy and win games.”
Tulare also got a welcomed breakout performance from its passing game, with Josh Guerrero completing 21 of 31 attempts for 258 yards. Emoryie Edwards caught nine passes for 116 yards and a touchdown, while Kazmeir Allen had 10 receptions for 133 yards.
Allen earned an expanded role in the offense after stepping in at running back for Harris two weeks ago and rushing for 321 yards and four touchdowns against Kingsburg.
We still haven’t played as good as we’re capable, but that’s all right. Hopefully we’re at our best at the end of the year. The passing game improved tonight. We’re getting there.
Tulare football coach Darren Bennett
“We put a couple things in to get (Allen) the ball. And we wanted to get Emoryie going,” Tulare coach Darren Bennett said. “We wanted to get the passing game going, and we did.”
Nick Giannandrea: 559-441-6103, @NickG_FB
Tulare 35, Dinuba 19
Dinuba (3-3) | 6 | 6 | 0 | 7 | — | 19 |
Tulare (5-0) | 14 | 7 | 7 | 7 | — | 35 |
T: Romello Harris 7 run (Alexis Perez kick).
D: Lucas Tuttle 1 run (kick failed).
T: Josh Guerrero 7 run (Alexis Perez kick).
D: Elijah Benham 4 run (run failed).
T: Emoryie Edwards 21 pass from Josh Guerrero (Alexis Perez kick).
T: Romello Harris 7 run (Alexis Perez kick).
T: Romello Harris 1 run (Alexis Perez kick).
D: Gustavo Villarreal 2 run (Cesar Murrillo kick).
Rushing: Dinuba, Gustavo Villarreal 3-17, Adrian Garza 1-6, Elijah McCormick 2-32, Isaac Leppke 3-(-14), Lucas Tuttle 2-22, Elijah Benham 13-27. Tulare, Josh Guerrero 5-25, Romello Harris 37-243.
Passing: Dinuba, Elijah Benham 1-1-0-58, Gustavo Villarreal 6-9-0-63, Isaac Leppke 7-12-1-48. Tulare, Josh Guerrero 21-31-0-258.
Receiving: Dinuba, Emiliano Huerta 1-7, Elijah McCormick 2-16, Elijah Benham 1-(-9), Lucas Tuttle 2-23, Adrian Garza 6-116, Jacob Paradine 2-16. Tulare, Kazmeir Allen 10-133, Elijah Dailey 2-9, Emoryie Edwards 9-116.
This story was originally published October 2, 2015 at 10:59 PM with the headline "Romello Harris runs wild in return as Tulare tops Dinuba."