Harper College ends in style
The Harper College football team was looking to take something away from last week last-second’s loss to North Dakota State Science when it welcomed Dakota at Bottineau to Palatine.
What the Hawks did was take off to a 42-3 nonconference victory Saturday by scoring 21 fourth-quarter points.
After a scoreless first quarter, the Hawks only needed three plays in the second quarter to find the end zone for the first time. On fourth-and-2, Ronald Zollicoffer (9 carries, 52 yards) was able to scamper for a 3-yard touchdown.
The Hawks also converted a fourth-and-8 on the drive to finish 3-for-4 on fourth-down conversions for the game.
But the game was still in doubt when Harper led 14-0 at halftime.
“I was concerned,” said Harper coach Eric Waldstein.
Waldstein’s fears seemed to manifest themselves early in the third quarter when the Jacks were able to caplilize on one of Harper’s 4 turnovers as Alec Burks hit a 26-yard field goal.
“I told the kids (at half), ‘Defensively you guys are playing great,’” Waldstein said. “I challenged the offensive skill kids to step up and make plays. It should have been 28-0 (at half).”
There was no bigger playmaker than freshman running back Greg Kennedy (Warren). Kennedy finished the afternoon with 103 yards on 16 carries and became the first Hawks’ player to rush for 100 yards in a game under Waldstein.
The Harper offense also hit another milestone as its 401 total yards were its highest output under Waldstein.
“The offensive line played fantastic. They were the reason we where able to move the ball,” quarterback Cody Miller said of his unit’s success.
In the fourth quarter the fireworks really started to fly for the Hawks. Miller would connect twice with receiver Dom Failla (South Elgin), including a 44-yard touchdown while streaking down the home sideline.
Trying to run down the clock Waldstein turned to reserve running back Spencer Blank-Jones and he added 2 two touchdown runs.
“I think we found ourselves a power running back,” Waldstein said with a chuckle.
The Harper defense allowed only 201 yards and kept quarter Jose Sanchez under pressure from blitzing linebackers.
“We were able to find some weaknesses in their offensive line,” said Harper defensive coordinator Geoff Durian. “The kids did a great job of taking the scouting report and running with it.
Durian’s group was able to come away with 6 take-aways, including three interceptions by Jamell High and Martell Harris.
Volleyball: The Harper volleyball team went 2-2 at the recently completed Harper Invite. With one of the teams pulling out of the tournament early Saturday morning, Tournament organizers had to change the format from pool play with a playoff to a round robin with no playoff.
The Hawks beat Rock Valley and Moraine Valley and lost to Carl Sandburg and College of Lake County.
“I liked the consistency we had today,” Hawks coach Bob Vilsoet said. “We played very well against Rock Valley. It was a good time to play this tough a tournament.”
Sophomores Alyssa Cazzato (Bartlett) and Lauren LaMasse (Hoffman Estates) where named to the all-tournament team.