Alabama recruit Najee Harris rushes for 268 yards, four TDs leading Antioch to Big Little Game thriller

Pittsburg (Calif.) football coach Vic Galli said this week he didn't care if Antioch five-star running back Najee Harris rushed for 500 yards as long as his Pirates prevailed.

Harris, an Alabama recruit, didn't nearly rush for 500 yards, but Pittsburg didn't win either.

The 6-foot-2, 215-pounder, rated the top junior running back in the country, rushed for "only" 268 yards and four touchdowns as Antioch won 44-42 in a tremendous 97th Big Little Game on Saturday afternoon. In fact, it will go down as one of its greatest game.

Harris, a national Junior of the Year finalist, now has 2,217 rushing yards and 29 touchdowns this season.

Before more than 6,000 fans jammed in and around Pittsburg's stadium, the Panthers (10-0, 5-0 Bay Valley Athletic League) broke a nine-game losing streak to the Pirates while winning their first league title since 1984. It is their first 10-0 start since 1977.

Though Harris was once again front and center for the Panthers, they wouldn't have won without the huge contributions of Ryan Payne, who scored two defensive touchdowns to help wipe out a 14-point deficit.

Pittsburg (8-2, 4-1), which got a terrific game from Montaz Thompson (218 yards rushing, three touchdowns), could face Antioch in the North Coast Section Division I playoffs which start next week. Antioch is ranked 11th in Northern California and Pittsburg No. 12.

Down since late in the first quarter, Antioch went up for good 38-35 with 7 minutes, 29 seconds left on an 80-yard touchdown run and two-point conversion by Harris. It gave him 31 carries for 252 yards.

After holding on downs, Antioch quarterback Numan Najib connected on a 49-yard pass to Antione Tanner, setting up Harris' fourth touchdown, a 9-yard run with two minutes left, making it 44-35.

But Pittsburg came right back and closed to 44-42 on Dushawn Thomas' third touchdown catch of the game, a 28-yarder from backup quarterback Seu Kuka with 1:01 left.

Antioch recovered an onside kick, Pittsburg held on downs but used all three timeouts. From its own 20 and 37 seconds left, Pittsburg could only get to its own 40 before the final gun.

It took just three plays for Harris to strike, bouncing of a would-be tackle by Oklahoma-bound cornerback Jordan Parker and scampering 53 yards around right end. Harris' two-point conversion made it 8-0 with 10:47 left in the first.

Antioch drove deep on its second possession but it ended in a turnover. Thompson finished off a 71-yard drive with a 6-yard touchdown run and Pittsburg closed to 8-7 with 1:22 left in the first quarter.

Productive Pittsburg linebacker Charles Ramirez caused Antioch's second turnover with an interception and quarterback Christian Young immediately cashed in with a 9-yard touchdown pass to Thomas, giving the Pirates a 14-8 lead near the end of the first quarter.

After Antioch went three-and-out, Thompson scored again, this time on a 4-yard run capping a 68-yard drive in just three plays. A 52-yard run by Isaiah Turner set up the score that put Pittsburg up 21-8 early in the second quarter.

Antioch close to 21-14 on a 49-yard interception return by Payne, but Thompson returned the ensuing kickoff 92 yards for a score and Pittsburg led 28-14 at halftime. Thompson had 197 yards rushing and three scores by intermission.

Antioch's took its first possession of second half all the way to the Pittsburg 2, but a shotgun snap glanced off the facemask of Harris and the Pirates recovered at the 1. On the next play, Turner was tackled in the end zone by Fine Hafoka for a safety, cutting Pittsburg's lead to 28-16.

Payne scored his second defensive touchdown for Antioch, stripping Thompson of the ball and returning it 18 yards to make it 28-24 with 5:40 left in the third.

Pittsburg, which implemented a fast-paced spread offense before the season, had it pay dividends on its next drive. Two quick completions from Young, a 43-yarder to A'jae Boyd and 14-yarder to Thomas which went for a TD increased its lead to 35-24 with 1:43 left in the third.

Harris cut the lead to 35-30 with his 27th rushing TD of the year on a 1-yard run with 10:53 left. A two-point try failed. That's when things really got crazy.

Tweets from Chace Bryson (@SportStarsMag), Nate Smith (@CoachNateSmith), Harold Abend (@HaroldAbend), Trine Gallegos (@TrineG6), Daniel Mano (@DanielManoBang) and Luke "Scoop" Johnson (@Scoop_Johnson) contributed to this report.