Normally a fullback, Harrison was the featured back in the Purple Raiders' one-back offense in the first quarter against Big 12 Conference foe Normal West.

The senior responded by gaining 85 yards on five carries and set the tone for BHS' 43-7 victory before a near-capacity homecoming crowd.

Harrison finished the night with 124 yards on just seven carries and scored three touchdowns to help BHS move its overall and conference record to 6-1.

BHS went to the one-back offense because standout tailback James Wade was held out of the first quarter for missing too much practice time during the week.

"It wasn't a disciplinary thing in terms of something bad," said BHS coach Rigo Schmelzer of Wade's status. "He needed to take care of his academic work in a honors class no less and missed enough time during our hard practice days that we couldn't reward him starting time.

"That's a message a lot of our kids have to recognize. They have to learn to balance everything. James is a captain, but we have to hold everyone accountable for the same things."

Wade entered the game in the second quarter and promptly ran 88 yards for a touchdown the first time he touched the ball. He finished as the game's leading rusher with 156 yards on 10 carries.

"Their speed was really the difference," said West coach Darren Hess, who saw his team's record drop to 2-5 overall and 2-4 in Big 12 play. "They have big-play makers and they made the plays.

"They stumbled a few weeks ago against Eisenhower, but great teams respond and they have responded. They played super tonight. It's a tribute to them.

"But our kids competed hard for four quarters against a heck of a team. We'll pick out the good things and build on them and work on the areas we need to improve in."

Harrison gave BHS its first touchdown on a 6-yard run. The Purple Raiders increased the advantage to 14-0 when quarterback Jeremy Peden hit Daniel Nathan with a 43-yard scoring strike.

Wade added his 88-yard touchdown run early in the second quarter. Harrison added a 44-yard touchdown run and Mike Neumann caught a 31-yard touchdown pass to give BHS a 34-0 halftime edge.

Peden, who kicked four extra points, nailed a 28-yard field goal in the fourth quarter and Harrison completed the scoring with a 5-yard touchdown run.

"Coach said I'd have to be versatile and step up tonight," said Harrison. "I waited for my line to block and they did a great job.

"Tonight was a lot different than playing fullback. I'm used to more quick hits into the line. It was fun to set back and watch the plays develop and the holes open up."

West scored its lone touchdown in the fourth quarter on a Josh Lacombe 5-yard run.

Matt Logsdon and Rod Castillo led the BHS defense with eight tackles each. Logsdon also forced a fumble, recovered a fumble and had a quarterback sack.

"Rod has played consistent game-in and game-out," said Schmelzer. "Logsdon was able to get a lot of good push and clogged up the middle."

The victory was the 98th of Schmelzer career and moved him into second on the school's all-time list. He trails Terry McCombs by 13.

Contact Bryan Bloodworth at bbloodworth@pantagraph.com.