By the end of Saturday’s spirited B.C. Junior Football tilt at South Surrey Athletic Park, Big Kahuna Rams’ defenders were probably wishing Andrew Harris had stuck with the B.C. Lions.

Such sentiment is understandable considering the Vancouver Island Raiders’ running back ran roughshod over the Rams, leading the defending national champions to a 52-19 win over their South Surrey rivals.

Harris – who began the year at Lions’ training camp before returning to Nanaimo – ran for 248 yards and three touchdowns on just 14 carries. He also had 30 yards receiving and another TD on a 20-yard catch.

His individual rushing totals dwarfed that of the entire Rams’ squad, which finished with just 33 yards on the ground.

With the loss, the Rams’ record dropped to 1-1, while the high-powered Raiders moved to a spotless 2-0.

Despite struggling on offence, the Rams stuck within two scores of the Raiders until just before halftime, and appeared to gain momentum after a red-zone interception by former White Rock-South Surrey Titan Jamahl Knowles, but the visitors tacked on a late TD to take a 31-13 lead into the break.

The Raiders pulled away in the second half, tacking on a pair of touchdowns in the third quarter and another in the fourth, compared to just one TD for the Rams, on a goal-line run by quarterback Cam Clark.

Clark, the former B.C. Junior Football rookie of the year, finished the game with 226 yards passing - giving him a league-leading 411 through two weeks – but it was not a vintage performance by the North Delta passer.

He completed just eight of 23 passes, and 71 of his yards came on one play – a touchdown toss to receiver Thomas Rafuse in the first half. Clark also thew a pair of interceptions. Rafuse finished with four receptions for 169 yards.

The offence struggles appeared to grate on Clark as the first half ticked down.

Midway through the second quarter, with his team inside the Raider 30-yard line, Clark threw a pass to go-to receiver Xavier Johnson, which was dropped.

The Rams were then forced to settle for a field goal from Curtis Glawson, which clearly upset Clark, who was heard yelling “That was a touchdown!” repeatedly on the sidelines, and eventually had to be calmed by head coach Chris Butschler.

Clark’s outburst was far from the only one Saturday, and considering the Rams/Raiders rivalry that has brewed the past few seasons, such fireworks were likely expected by both sides.

At various points in the first half, the two benches jawed loudly at each other – the most and heated exchange occurring between Raiders’ head coach Matthew Blokker and Rams’ defensive assistant Daved Benefield, and there were plenty of hard hits on the field – legal and otherwise – that left players lying prone on the turf.

The Rams travel to Kamloops this weekend to battle the Broncos, and are at home the following week, hosting the Victoria Rebels.