Columbus North center Bryce Harriman prepares to hike the ball during a game against Roncalli Sept. 13 at Max Andress Field at Columbus North High School.
Tommy Walker | For The Republic
Bryce Harriman has been a cornerstone of the Columbus North football team this year.
The Bull Dog senior has been one of the leaders on the offensive line the past three years. The 6-foot-3, 305-pound center has played a big part in North’s success this year as the Class 6A co-No. 8 Bull Dogs head into Friday’s showdown with 5A No. 4 Bloomington North.
Harriman learned a lot about football early on through his father Wayne, a former high school football player in Belfast, Maine. Bryce was born in Ohio, with the family growing up Ohio State football fans.
Bryce Harriman then started playing tackle football in second grade when he lived in Iowa. He then moved back to Indiana and played at Center Grove in sixth grade until moving to Columbus starting in seventh grade.
Harriman played linebacker and some at the defensive line. Having good feet and a bigger size than everyone else, he transitioned to the offensive line.
“My dad taught me a lot in my elementary school years,” Harriman said. “I wasn’t really the best football player back in the day in elementary school. Everything clicked for me at about fifth grade. Ever since then, it’s been great.”
Columbus North’s Bryce Harriman (78) participates in the coin toss before a game against Roncalli Sept. 13 at Max Andress Field at Columbus North High School.
Tommy Walker | For The Republic
Harriman started at right tackle as a freshman, then was back at right tackle to start his sophomore year until moving to left guard toward the end of the season after he came back from injury. He’s been North’s starting center since the start of last season.
“We made the transition with Bryce going into his junior year, and it felt like the right move because of his football IQ,” North coach Logan Haston said. “You want to have your smartest guy at the center position who is going to make all your calls, and make your checks, and the kid knows football at a very high level. He’s sharp with his understanding of the game. We trust him out there because he truly is an extension of our staff. We know that he is going to get us in the right looks and the right calls and really be the leader out there on the field for us.”
The offense has seen bigger upticks in production, mostly due to the offensive line. The Bull Dogs have almost as many passing yards this season (1,297) compared to all of last season (1,369), and also as nearly as many rushing yards this year (1,419) compared to all of last year (1,456) with two more regular season games and the postseason left to play.
Bryce Harriman
It also helps that Harriman has established great communication over the past two years with junior quarterback Asher Ratliff.
“Our communication has been real good,” Harriman said. “It’s really developed over the past year-and-a-half playing together. It’s grown a lot over the past few years, and it’s one reason why we’re good this year offensively.”
“We wouldn’t be where we are without our offensive line,” Haston added. “The game has always started up front. It always will. We’re very blessed this year to have a group that is playing with great cohesion right now. They gel together. They blend together. They’re not the biggest size. We’ve got some big guys, and we also have some smaller ones. It really doesn’t matter because we are playing at a high level and they’re executing our schemes really well, and that really does go through Bryce.”
Harriman hasn’t decided on his college endeavors yet, but has a scholarship offer from St. Francis and a preferred walk-on offer to Campbell University in North Carolina.
Friday’s game against the Cougars will likely decide the Conference Indiana title.
“It’s definitely a big game for us. Everybody on our team is super excited,” Harriman said. “They got us last year. We did not start off the way the way we wanted to. If we started off the way we wanted to, it would have been a different game. This year, we know we’re a better team, a more disciplined team, more grown up, much more mature this year.”
