Harper intent on getting sharper
Stay sharp.
It's something Harper College defensive end Kyle Jenkins alluded to after a 34-14 victory over Grand Rapids last Saturday.
"Every game it seems like we're gaining a lot of confidence and playing pretty flawless football," said Jenkins, a sophomore from Driscoll who has received interest from Western Michigan, Eastern Michigan and Illinois State. "But every week we need to sharpen the knife and get better and better."
And that's what Harper coach Dragan Teonic expects at 1 p.m. Sunday when his 2-0 team that broke into the NJCAA/JC Football.com poll at No. 15 hosts the North Central College JV team.
"We've got to treat it like a regular game," Teonic said. "I want to see what some of our kids can do. I want to see some these guys compete."
That's why Teonic didn't want to refer to this one as a tuneup even though the Hawks will see a lot of similar looks from North Central to what they'll see the following week at College of DuPage.
And Teonic and defensive coordinator Geoff Durian know they're up for a good test against North Central coach John Thorne. But so far the sophomore-dominated defense has risen to a higher level by cutting its points allowed a game in half from 28 a year ago.
"Defensively, what can I say, they're just playing awesome right now," Teonic said. "It's scary because there's room for improvement."
Durian likes the dilemma he has with Jason Mielzynski, Kevin Konrath, Aydoeji McCarthy and Michael Brown all capable of starting at inside linebacker. Freshman Jaz Granderson, a wide receiver in high school, has been a nice surprise in the secondary.
And reserve linebackers David Seisser (Rolling Meadows) and Karl Watts (Thornton Fractional South) have made an impact on special teams and making sure the camaraderie stays at a high level.
"They come from good programs," Durian said.
"They're great team kids," Teonic said.
Perfect weekend: The women's volleyball team, ranked fourth in NJCAA Division III, went 9-0 last weekend in tournaments at Wisconsin-Waukesha and College of DuPage to improve to 13-2 overall.
Harper didn't lose a set in three wins at Waukesha but ended up not facing fifth-ranked Rock Valley. Anie Fitzpatrick had 22 kills and Christy Lima added 15 kills, Nikki Maize had 62 assists and 11 aces, Megan Maize had 14 digs and 6 aces and Diane Janik and Kate Paulson added 18 and 16 digs respectively.
Assistant coach Kisha Cameron led the team with head coach Bob Vilsoet away in Connecticut on business.
In the 21st annual COD tournament, Fitzpatrick (45 kills) and Kamila Lakoma (26 kills, 17 blocks) were named to the all-tourney team as Harper won six matches. The Hawks beat the hosts in three sets in the championship match after winning four pool-play matches and a semifinal match.
Running along: The Harper men's cross country team took fourth at the Waubonsee Invitational last weekend. Chris Hoffman (Hoffman Estates) took eighth in the five-mile race in 28:16 and Josh Perez was 15th.
In the women's race, Harper's Irene Villadares took 11th in 21:23.
Corner kicks: The men's soccer team lost its first 3 matches and the women lost its first 2 matches going into Wednesday meetings with Triton.