Harper's defense Diggs upset at Grand Rapids

Aaron Diggs missed a tackle last Saturday.

But the Harper College sophomore linebacker made more than his share with a team-high 13 stops at Grand Rapids.

"He had a heck of a game," said Harper coach Dragan Teonic of the all-area standout from Rolling Meadows.

And so did the Hawks as they rebounded from a last-minute loss to Joliet with a 21-7 victory over the NJCAA's sixth-ranked team in the preseason poll.

"To go up and beat the No. 6 team after a heart-breaking (29-28) loss … that upped everything," Diggs said. "We've had a good week this week and I think we're ready to take charge this season."

Defensive coordinator Todd Koehler said the difference was "we finished" after Grand Rapids scored an early touchdown.

There were solid efforts defensively from Kyle Jenkins, John Clark and Nathan McIntosh up front, linebacker Aaron Miller and Lionel Lamarre and Dillon Cappello in the secondary.

"Our defense was amazing," Teonic said.

"It looks like we got all the kinks out and everyone is starting to trust each other," Diggs said. "We know we're a good defense. We felt they couldn't move the ball on us."

And Diggs likes the defensive rotation of more than 30 players that keeps starters fresh in the fourth quarter.

"Everyone gets along," said Diggs, who moved into the starting lineup last year after missing the first two-plus games because of injury. "No one really cares if someone comes in for them and gets a break."

Teonic said the offense definitely needs improvement -- particularly up front for freshman quarterback Garrett Barnas.

Constant pressure and Grand Rapids' confusing defense led to Barnas missing 14 of his first 17 passes. But he bounced back to run for 2 touchdowns and throw one to Brian Mitz.

"As bad as we played we still scored 3 touchdowns and scored at key times," Teonic said. "We fought and showed a lot of character.

"There wasn't any panic like, 'Oh, here we go again.' It was, 'No big deal, we'll score again.'"

After two big Midwest Football Conference games, the big deal for the Hawks this week is to avoid a letdown at 1 p.m. Saturday on the road against Wisconsin-Whitewater's JV.

"We don't have that attitude, either," Diggs said of not looking ahead to unbeaten College of DuPage on Sept. 15. "With our sophomore leadership, we're not going to do that at all."

On the record: Harper College's volleyball team could have taken an easier path to start its season.

But coach Bob Vilsoet is encouraged after they improved to 4-6 overall with a 30-7, 30-6, 30-7 romp in their N4C opener with Triton.

"I'm impressed with how well we are responding to it," Vilsoet said of a schedule loaded with NJCAA Division II and four-year school JV teams. "I'm very impressed with how resilient and how well this team is doing.

"We're more resilient and better than I thought we'd be."

It showed against Triton as Aprille Richter hit all 15 of her serves with 6 aces and Christy Lima had 11 kills on 24 attempts with no errors. Harper was 84-for-87 serving.

"What I liked was we were still hustling and being consistent and trying hard," Vilsoet said. "We didn't play down (to the competition)."

And while Lisa LaMasse, versatile Karlee Didier and Nikki Maize have also been key players, it's been a starless approach to success.

"This team is coming together more like a team," Vilsoet said. "They don't care about personal gain and they want to play together.

"They have heart, hustle and determination. It's really a neat situation."

Harper has another tough weekend and will see McHenry and Rock Valley in a Friday tournament at Wisconsin-Waukesha before going to COD on Saturday.

Breaking through: Jenna Schneider went beyond a hat trick with all of Harper's goals as it beat Triton 4-0 Tuesday for its first women's soccer victory of the season.

Sam Witczak had 2 assists and Mindy Veracka and keeper Guiselle Vega had the other assists. The Hawks (1-2) out-shot Triton 20-6.

"We're getting in a groove and playing better soccer," said coach Dwayne Cruz. "We're looking to attack more and finish our chances … but we're not finishing the way we should be. I think in the next few weeks we'll get it going."

Harper plays South Suburban at 4 p.m. Tuesday at the Elgin Sports Complex and faces COD on Sept. 19.

Running on empty: The Harper men's soccer team was 59 seconds from its first victory Wednesday when Triton scored in what ended up a 1-1 tie.

Harper (0-2-1) had led nearly the entire game.

"We started off well, but our guys aren't quite fit yet," said coach Jason Diebold. "We just couldn't run anymore. It's an unfortunate way to end it, but it also gives them a clear idea of where they need to be."

Lukasz Borys had Harper's goal and also scored both second-half goals in a 3-2 loss to Moraine Valley.

"He's a workhorse," Diebold said. "He never stops working when he's on the field.

"He puts himself in good position because of that. A couple of goals were him outworking the other team."

Diebold said Harper took a positive turn in the second half against Moraine. Its next match is at 4 p.m. Tuesday at home against Elgin.

"We're definitely coming along and we'll be somebody to contend with," Diebold said.