Najee Harris (Photo: Army All-American Bowl)
Antioch (Calif.) running back Najee Harris, the nation’s No. 1 recruit, was playing in his last high school football game — win or lose — Saturday night.
He ran for 179 yards on 23 carries and one touchdown in a 42-18 loss to Monte Vista in the North Coast Section Division 1 championship.
Harris, an Alabama commit who took an official visit last weekend, finished with 7,947 career yards, fourth in California history, according to Cal-Hi Sports. His total was 2,775 as a senior, after 165 yards as a freshman, 2,263 as a sophomore and 2,744 as a junior.
His one touchdown gave him 99 for his career (94 rushing and five receiving).
Harris is also a finalist for the American Family Insurance ALL-USA Offensive Player of the Year.
“I’m proud of my team. I always told myself if I can win like a man, I can lose like a man. It sucks to lose, but it doesn’t faze me,” Harris told SFGate.com after the game. “I’m just glad we came this far.”
Despite the loss, Antioch has four playoff wins in Harris’ four years. The school had three from 1975 to 2012 and had reached the section championship game only once before Saturday – in 1977.
“It’s been the toughest season of my four years,” Harris told SFGate.com last week. “Every time we play, you know the other team is going to play their best. You hear everyone on the sideline yelling, ‘Najee is right there!’ Everybody just adjusts to where I am, or to the strong side.”
He will play one more game as a high schooler in the U.S. Army All-American Bowl on Jan. 7 in San Antonio. Harris is a finalist for Army Player of the Year and will be in New York this week with the other finalists.