Glendale Pair Offers Foes No R&R;

Ramone Archie and Rahsaan Harrison are sitting with football teammates in the Glendale College athletic office when Archie pops a question.

“Hey, you guys wanna see my speech?” Archie asks.

Harrison grabs the handwritten paper and looks it over. Archie then stands and explains how he hooked his classmates with the speech.

“Sex,” Archie says.

“All I said was ‘sex’ and looked around [the class].”

Everyone howls.

The short speech indeed was about sex and how to engage in it safely, so Archie cast the simple but reliable lure right away.

It worked.

“They paid attention,” Archie says, beaming.

These days, Archie and Harrison have plenty to laugh about.

The two sophomores form one of the most productive running back tandems in school history and are vital components in Glendale’s quest for a Western State Conference Northern Division title.

Going into a pivotal game against Bakersfield (5-1, 1-0 in the division) on Saturday afternoon at Glendale High, Archie and Harrison have combined for 1,230 yards rushing, third on the all-time single-season Vaquero list for running back duos.

Ahead are Bobby Webster and Wes Bender with 2,502 yards rushing in 1990, and Sean Hampton and Doug Dragomer with 2,103 yards in 1988.

Only Santa Monica’s Lonnie Landry and J’von Willis, who have pulled together for 1,135 yards rushing, are close to Archie and Harrison this season in the WSC.

Archie, 6 feet and 180 pounds, ranks fifth in the WSC with 675 yards rushing, and Harrison (6-0, 210) is seventh with 555 yards. Archie’s 10 touchdowns tie him with Landry for the conference lead among rushers.

The Glendale pair runs primarily out of the I-formation or single-back ground attack Glendale (3-3, 1-0) complements with a respectable passing game, with tailback Archie (104 carries) getting the ball more frequently and fullback Harrison (82 carries) opening holes in front.

Sometimes, one will line up in a slot on passing downs, deciding themselves in the huddle who will run the route and who will remain in the backfield.

But despite the difference in the workload, Archie and Harrison won’t allow jealousies to come between them.

“There’s nothing going on like that,” Harrison said. “He asks me for advice and I ask him for advice.”

Both prefer to run straight ahead, blasting through gaps and hitting the open field without much choreography. Last week, in a 49-7 victory at Ventura, Archie had 119 yards in 10 carries and broke one for a 76-yard touchdown. Harrison had 66 yards in 13 carries.

“Archie is real quick when he hits the holes and Rahsaan is real fluid when he runs and is a little more powerful,” said John Cicuto, Glendale coach.

Said Harrison: “I throw a couple of jukes here and there, but if I don’t feel like doing that, I just try to run right over [the defenders].”

For Harrison, that’s a style carved from his days as an outside linebacker and seldom-used fullback at Muir High in Pasadena, where his senior season in 1993 was far from fulfilling. Although he is comfortable with his role at Glendale, Harrison desperately wanted more rushing opportunities with the Mustangs but finished with only 13 carries for 130 yards and two touchdowns.

“I ran 96 yards for a touchdown against Palmdale [in the third game of the season] in the first quarter and never touched the ball the rest of the game,” Harrison said.

The following season, Harrison was a redshirt at Temple, paying his way. The coaches, he said, had promised him a scholarship but did not produce one, so Harrison left and enrolled last year at Glendale.

Harrison went to Glendale as a running back but was forced to play cornerback for the first few games when the Vaqueros were depleted at the position because of injuries. He later switched to fullback and finished with 323 yards in 75 carries and two touchdowns.

Archie also tried to play in Division I, spending the 1994 summer working out with Ohio State, but failed to make the team. He then hooked up with the Vaqueros, who were more than happy to make room for a former All-City Section second-team selection. In his senior season at Belmont, Archie had 1,131 yards rushing and 23 touchdowns, and was named the player of the year in the Northern Conference.

At Glendale last season, Archie carried 164 times for 894 yards and 10 touchdowns, and was selected to the All-WSC second team.

“That was hard, too, coming back after sitting out one year, especially underestimating this [junior college] level,” Archie said.

Few underestimate Archie and Harrison, least of all themselves. Although worried that he might sound conceited, Harrison talks candidly about his and Archie’s ability.

“I feel we are the better backs in the league because we are always faced with eight-man fronts,” Harrison said. “I don’t mean to downgrade the other backs, but some of them play in the [run and] shoot and I feel we have to work harder for our yards.

“Everyone has been coming up on the run [against Glendale] a lot.”

But often without great success. Cicuto attributes that in part to Archie’s and Harrison’s willingness to help out each other.

“It’s a unique situation,” Cicuto said. “Rahsaan takes great pride in blocking for Ramone, and Ramone sees that and makes sure Rahsaan knows how much he appreciates it.

“The last two [Glendale running backs] who were that friendly with each other were Dragomer and Hampton. These guys are even closer.”

Especially to a prominent spot in the Glendale record book.