MICAH HARRIS Bulldog leaves a legacy of hugs and hits

The Poland High graduate and Duke student died in a car accident on Friday.
By BRIAN RICHESSON
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
POLAND -- When Ben Bair walked into the Poland High football locker room during his playing days, he would be greeted with high-fives and handshakes.
Except with Micah Harris.
"Micah would always have a smile on his face and he would give me a big hug," said Bair, a 2000 graduate who played quarterback. "He'd try to see how your day was going. He'd try to make you feel good."
Those who knew Harris relay the same stories about a pleasant young man who loved life and the people around him.
"We've gone through 100 pictures here, and in every picture he has an arm around someone and a smile on his face," said Raedine Hulea, wife of Poland football coach Paul Hulea.
Tragedy
But the Poland community is grieving this weekend after Harris, a junior defensive end at Duke University, was killed in a single-car accident in Virginia just before noon on Friday.
"There's a lot of tragedy in life," Paul Hulea said, "but in my mind nothing's worse than losing a young person before it's their time.
"It's almost surreal -- how something like that could happen, especially to somebody who had such an incredible future," Hulea said.
Harris, 21, the son of Richard and Diane Harris, was on pace to graduate from Duke in four years while balancing his time as a full-scholarship football player.
"How many kids in the country can do that?" Hulea marveled.
A 2001 Poland graduate, Harris was a standout on the Bulldogs' undefeated Division III state championship team of 1999.
"What made our team so successful was the relationships we had with each other," Bair said. "He was one of the biggest reasons we had such a good relationship with the kids in the grades below us."
What most impressed Hulea wasn't Harris' performance on game nights, but the player's effort in practice during the week.
"His practice habits were unbelievable," Hulea said.
Hulea recalled one practice in which Harris, with hard hits, knocked five players out of a drill.
"We're lining up to do line drills, and the other kids are looking over at me like, 'The hamstring's getting a little tight, Coach.' "
Lost control
Police say Harris was traveling north on Interstate 85 when his car ran off the road, struck several trees in the median and burst into flames about two miles north of Warfield, Va., said Sgt. D.S. Carr with the Chesapeake division of the Virginia State Police.
Witnesses stopped and tried to help Harris before the car caught fire, Carr said.
"Nobody could get to him in time," Carr said.
Carr said it was unclear why Harris' car ran off the road and into the tree-lined median, which divides the four-lane highway about 25 miles southwest of Petersburg, Va.
But Duke coach Ted Roof said he was told by authorities that Harris apparently fell asleep at the wheel.
Harris was on his way to visit a friend in Richmond, Roof said.
"It's a sad day, a big loss for his family and our football family," Roof said.
Harris was a two-year starter for the Blue Devils. Last year, the 6-foot-4, 235-pound defensive end had 32 tackles, 21/2 sacks and two forced fumbles for the Blue Devils, who finished 4-8.
Harris had 124 tackles and 61/2 sacks in his Duke career. He was expected to anchor the defensive line again this season.
According to the Duke web site, funeral arrangements have not been finalized.
XThe Associated Press contributed to this report.
richesson@vindy.com
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