Harper, COD renew rivalry

An old rivalry takes a new twist when Harper College plays its final home football game of the season at 1 p.m. today against College of DuPage.

The Midwest Football Conference has switched to a division format that has Harper (2-4) and COD (5-2) in the East with Joliet and Grand Rapids. Iowa Western, Iowa Central, North Dakota State Science and Ellsworth (Iowa) are in the West.

The two division winners will play in a conference title game Nov. 5 as the regional tournament has been discontinued.

College of DuPage defeated the Wisconsin-Whitewater (JV) 37-28 on Sunday. After winning its first three games, COD is 2-2 in its last four.

“They have been in games that the ball bounced their way,” said Harper coach Eric Waldstein.

COD quarterback Bobby Vega has passed for 19 touchdowns and 8 interceptions.

“We have to get pressure on him and make him make bad decisions,” Waldstein said. “He plays hard. They get the best out of him.”

The Harper defense will have to stop the three-pronged running game of Charlie Davidson (430 yards), Darnell Ratcliff (329 yards) and Jacob Arnold. Davidson is the team leader in total yards.

For the Harper secondary to be successful it must stop COD’s 6-foot-3 Johnny Holton (208 receiving yards, 468 total yards).

“He is a concern for us. We have three corners that we feel comfortable putting on anybody,” Waldstein said.

Offensively the Hawks are going to do what they do best even though it might be difficult against the COD defense.

“We still want to try to run the ball,” Waldstein said. “They attack you. We have no idea what we are going to get (from a scheme standpoint).”

Look for Harper freshman running back Spencer Bank-Jones to get more carries after last week’s 2-touchdown performance.

“Spencer Bank-Jones really opened our eyes on Saturday,” Waldstein said.