May 14, 2015

By Bob Balgemann

Reporter

MACHESNEY PARK - After being held to one run in two games, Harlem's bats came to life at home May 7 in a 14-4 rout of NIC-10 opponent, Rockford Guilford.

Meanwhile, the Rock River Raptors semi-professional football team completed the exhibition season with a 2-0 record. Saturday night they routed the visiting Joliet Buccaneers, 40-0, in preparation for their conference opener this Saturday (May 16) at home against the Wisconsin Wolfpack. Kickoff will be at 7 p.m. on the artificial turf field next to the Indoor Sports Center off East Riverside Boulevard.

Now back to baseball.

In this age of specialization, the Huskies have a pinch-hitting specialist on their baseball team. He is Tyler Dietz, whose older brother, Cody, was a mainstay for Harlem baseball several years ago.

Injuries made it necessary to bring Tyler up from the junior varsity team and, so far, the move has paid dividends.

He was hit by a pitch in his first appearance at the plate. Then, against Guilford, he smashed a key RBI single down the left field line in a decisive six-run fourth inning that broke open a 3-3 tie.

Tyler, a junior, understands his rule. "I'm up here to pinch hit," he said after the game.

Harlem pitchers Sam Libby, Joey Parsons and Zach Jones combined to throw a three-hitter at the Vikings.

Head coach Doug Livingston was pleased with the way his team battled back, after once again falling behind early. This time they were down, 3-1, before striking twice in the third to tie it up.

The third was a strange inning in that Tyler Ellinger (3-for-3 with a walk) and T.J. Chance (2-for-4) hit consecutive doubles, but no run was able to score. It was possible that Chance's deep drive to right center would be caught, so Ellinger had to stay at second in case he needed to tag up. The ball eventually fell between two onrushing Guilford outfielders, allowing Ellinger only to reach third.

The same thing happened in the fifth on back-to-back doubles by Cody Paholski and Bryce Goodall.

A delayed double steal involving Chance and Jake Nimtz tied the game. That came after Nimtz's grounder enabled Ellinger to score.

Coach Livingston was pleased by the way contributions to the win came from most everyone in the lineup.

Bases-loaded walks in the decisive fifth inning were issued to Parsons, batting eighth, and Aaron Cusimano, hittin in the ninth slot. Ellinger drove in two runs in the fifth and he scored his third of three runs on a wild pitch.

The first four batters in the lineup were on base 11 times, scored 10 runs and collected six RBIs. In the middle portion of the batting order, Nimtz had two RBIs and Jones doubled home two runs.

Raptors offense sharp

The Raptors offense was in sync from the start with quarterback Matt Becker, a Boylan Catholic High School graduate, at the controls.

Running backs Peter Bell (Rockford East) and Paul Barmore (Boylan) sparked an opening 60-yard drive.  Becker snuck in front the one, Justin Kanuf (curent Boylan player) kicked the extra point and it was 7-0 with 9:19 remaining in the first quarter.

Joliet couldn't move with its second possession but gambled on fourth down and came up short. From the Buccaneer 27, runs of 16 yards and seven yards by Matt Stromgini (Belvidere) put Rock River in business at the four. Barmore scored from there, Kanuf kicked another PAT and the rout was on.

The efficient Raptors made it 3-for-3 with another touchdown on their third possession, an 21-yard scoring pass to a wide open Antwon Teal (Auburn) with 12 seconds still left in the opening period. The PAT was blocked, leaving it at 20-0.

Rock River's defense, which had been solid throughout the early going, provided a turnover early in the second quarter when Bobby Farrar (Freeport) intercepted a pass.

A fight interrupted the ensuing 70-yard scoring drive, with one Raptor being ejected and two Buccaneers getting tossed. After order was restored Bell scored on a three-yard run, the PAT was good and Rock River led, 27-0, at 12:01 of the second.

It was 33-0 at halftime thanks to another Becker-to-Teal scoring pass, this one down the middle of the field and covering 33 yards.

Any Joliet hopes of putting late points on the board were dashed when Deejay Spencer (Beloit Memorial) intercepted a pass moments before the break.

The Raptor defense stayed sharp throughout the second half, keeping Joliet out of the end zone with the help of an interception by Randy Scott (Auburn) and another theft by Spencer.

Quarterback Joe Cotton (Elgin) took most of the snaps and ran for the only Raptor touchdown, from five yards out, with 2:29 left in the game.

"We've got a big game coming up," Matt Becker said of Saturday's conference opener against the Wolfpack. "We'll do our bbest to prepare and then take it to them."

Wisconsin, based outside of Milwaukee, played for the league championship last year.

May 14, 2015

By Bob Balgemann

Reporter

MACHESNEY PARK - Freshman Elle Adams was at the top of her game last week and Harlem was the beneficiary in a couple of one-sided conference softball wins.

She threw consecutive shutouts at Auburn and Jefferson, by identical 10-0 scores, as the Lady Huskies improved to 12-4 overall and 8-2 in NIC-10 play.

In addition, she hit a two-run homer against the Lady J-Hawks that pushed her team toward the eventual 10-run win.

"It's definitely fun being on the varsity," said Adams, one of five freshmen playing at that level. "The girls are awesome."

She said she was "a little bit surprised" at pitching as much as she had so far this spring, but added, "I'm happy they're giving me a chance."

Harlem bunched its runs against Jefferson, scoring three in the second, another three in the fourth and four in the fifth, to bring in the 10-run Mercy Rule and an end to the game.

Yet another freshman, Kirstin Fudge, was back catching after after being injured recently in a collision at home plate. Consecutive one-out walks to her and Adams got the Lady Huskies going in the third.

Senior Dakota Watson, who had four RBIs that afternoon, collected her first two by singling to right. Senior Torah Morgan bunted for a single, as did freshman speedster Mackenzie Lawrence, to fill the bases. Then freshman Bianca Barone grounded to short, which brought in Morgan.

Barone had a two-out, two-run single in the fourth and she scored when junior Emily Guske reached on an error.

The decisive four-run fifth started when freshman Megan Johnson was safe on an error with one out. After a fly out to center, the Lady Huskies put the game away by striking quickly.

All of the damage was done - again - after two were out. First it was Adams, stroking a two-run homer that made it an 8-0 game. Then Watson (3-for-3) lofted her second walk-off home run of the season, which was good for two more runs and brought about an end to the game.

Adams blanked the Lady J-Hawks on just one hit, a third-inning single, while striking out 12, including the side in each of the first and third innings.

"Definitely a memory," she said afterward.

In addition to Watson, Lawrence had a perfect day at the plate by going 2-for-2 and scoring one run.

The Auburn and Jefferson games were preludes to another conference showdown, Friday on the road at Boylan.

Barone said it was good to have games like that, to work on some areas that needed improvement and to keep their confidence level high.

Earlier this season, Harlem scored nine runs in the sixth and seventh innings, with a Watson walk-off homer, to edge the Lady Titans, 9-7. 

May 7, 2015

By Bob Balgemann

Reporter

MACHESNEY PARK - The first batter of the game grounded hard to Harlem's third baseman. She fielded it cleanly and in one fluid motion fired a strike to first base for the out.

That helped ease the butterflies for junior Lexis Kelley in her first start at the hot corner. She was promoted as head coach Jennifer Corwin shuffled her lineup a bit following the season-ending injury to freshman catcher Kirstin Fudge, in a recent collision at home plate.

Harlem's usual third baseman, freshman Bianca Barone, moved behind home plate.

Also in that game another freshman, Mackenzie Lawrence, was brought up and served as the designated hitter against the Lady Indians.

Kelley said she was nervous at the start, but once she got further in the game she was more comfortable in the field. "You just try to relax and play your game," she said.

She played a flawless third base, fielding five chances including a sacrifice bunt that required a quicker than usual throw to first base.

At day's end, Hononegah (9-6, 6-1) went home with a 4-0 victory thanks primarily to a three-run homer by Arianna Kim in the top of the seventh inning.

The battle between evenly-matched teams was expected to be close. It featured a pitcher's fuel between Harlem ace, senior Olivia Fluehr, and Hononegah junior Kylee Johnson, with Johnson filling in for the Lady Indian mainstay, Taylor Boelte, who was injured.

Hononegah broke a scoreless tie in the fifth when Kim got her first of four RBIs, a two-out single to center field. Kim homered with two aboard in the top of the seventh to put the game away.

Fluehr allowed a total of four hits, the first one coming in the fourth inning.

Harlem's best scoring opportunity came when it loaded the bases in the bottom of the sixth. Emily Guske (1-for-2) was hit by a pitch while Barone and Dakota Watson walked to loaded the bases. But Johnson struck out the next batter to retire the side without any damage being done.

The Lady Huskies did have runners in scoring position in the first and fourth innings, but Johnson escaped unscathed both times.

Harlem had better luck in the other games the afternoon of April 29 with the junior varsity rallying for a 9-6 win, while the freshmen routed Hononegah, 13-3.

Go 2-0 at St. Charles

Earlier, the Lady Huskie varsity (10-4, 6-2) traveled to St. Charles for a tournament and came home with two victories.

They opened with a 7-2 win over Maine South out of Park Ridge, behind the four-hit pitching of Elle Adams. She helped herself by going 1-for-2 at the plate with her first home run of the season, scoring once and driving in two runs.

Watson (2-for-3) also went deep, for the second time this spring, scoring one run and having two RBIs. Guske was 3-for-3 with a double and two runs scored; Kelley went 1-for-3 with a double and one run scored.

In another pitcher's duel, Harlem rallied from a 2-0 deficit to edge St. Ignatius, 3-2. Senior Torah Morgan sparked the offense with her first home run of the season, a solo shot in the sixth that broke a 2-2 tie.

Guske continued her hot hitting by going 2-for-3 with one RBI and one run scored. She went 5-for-6 in the two-day tournament, which was rained out on Saturday.

The Lady Huskies returned home April 27 and clubbed Guilford, 17-1, with Adams picking up another victory on the mound.

May 7, 2015

By Bob Balgemann

Reporter

MACHESNEY PARK - Harlem junior Brock Soter feasted on Rockford East pitching Friday afternoon as the Huskies rallied from deficits of 2-0 and 4-3 to edge the visiting E-Rabs, 6-4, in NIC-10 action.

"I've been working on it," he said of his hitting. And it showed Friday as he went 4-for-4 against two E-Rab hurlers and drove what proved to be the game-winning run with a single in the bottom of the sixth inning.

"I was confident up there," he said of hitting late in the game with one out and the go-ahead run in scoring position. "I told the coaches I wanted to be up there."

Over the last three games, Soter, who bats No. 2 in the lineup, has gone 7-for-10 with  a double, four runs scored and three RBIs.

There was incentive Friday for the Huskies, who lost to East at home last year.

The pivotal three-run sixth inning started after there should have been two out.

Aaron Cusimano struck out but the ball got away from East's catcher. When the catcher's throw to first sailed down the right field line, Cusimano scampered into second base.

Head coach Doug Livingston sent junior Zach Jones in to pinch hit and it paid off. Jones drilled a double over the left fielder's head to score Cusimano and tie the game at 4-4.

"I just cleared my head and tried not to think too much," Jones said afterward.

Cody Paholski followed with a walk to set the stage for Soter's heroics, which produced the 5-4 edge. But the Huskies weren't done.

Once again responding to coach Livingston's recent call for more two-out base hits, Joey Parsons singled to left to score Paholski with an insurance run.

The E-Rabs threatened in the top of the seventh with a lead-off walk and double that put the tying run in scoring position. Livingston went to his bull pen and brought in senior right-hander Sam Libby, who preserved the win for Parsons.

Libby threw smoke in his first appearance this season. He had been battling tendonitis in his right shoulder but didn't snow any ill effects that day. He retired the side with consecutive strike outs and Harlem improved to 5-4 in conference play.

"I felt good tonight," Libby said.

Harlem had singles in each of the first four innings, two by Soter and one each by Nimtz and Parsons. But no one got beyond second base until the fifth, when five singles produced three runs and a temporary 3-2 lead.

Cusimano and Libby began with singles, Libby's coming on a perfectly executive bunt down the first base line. After a strikeout Soter singled sharply to load the bases. That set the stage for Ellinger, who swatted a two-run single into center field.

Sundstrom singled to fill the bases, but the go-ahead run was scored by Soter moments later on a passed ball.

"We needed that," coach Livingston said. "Three games in a row we were up 3-0 and we lost them all. It's nice to be on the other end of it."

Earlier games

The Huskies now are 8-12 overall having gone 3-4 in conference play since opening at 2-0.

They went 0-2 against the Belvidere schools, losing 4-3 to the Bucs and Northwestern University pitching recruit Tyler Lass, and 14-3 to the Blue Thunder. Then there was the 1-0 loss to one of the league's powers, Hononegah, despite a 10-strikeout performance by lefty Nimtz.

Now Harlem has won three in a row by defeating Guilford, 7-3, Freeport, 17-10 and East.

Ellinger went 7-for-9 against Guilford and Freeport with a triple, six RBIs and four runs scored.

Harlem broke open a tight 4-3 game against the Vikings by outscoring them, 3-0, over the last four innings. Cody Paholski went 2-for-3 with two runs scored; Jones was 3-for-4 with two RBIs; and Parsons was 2-for-3 with one run scored and one driven in.

Cusimano was the winning pitcher.

The Huskies rang up a 14-3 lead over Freeport before the Pretzels made it interesting with a six-run fifth inning, which decreased the margain to 14-9.

Lead-off batter Paholski again was solid at the plate, going 2-for-4, scoring twice and driving in one run. T.J. Chance, the starting and winning pitcher, was 1-for-3 with two runs scored; Sundstrom was a perfect 3-for-3 with four runs scored; Nimtz went 3-for-5 with four RBIs and one run scored; Bryce Goodall was 2-for-5 with two RBIs and two runs scored; and Cusimano went 1-for-4 with two RBIs.

April 16, 2015

By Bob Balgemann

Reporter

MACHESNEY PARK - Competition in the NIC-10 has begun for Harlem's baseball and softball teams, with the Lady Huskies celebrating the end of spring break week by crushing Freeport, 15-3.

Olivia Fluehr pitched the victory and helped herself at the plate by slamming three home runs. She hit another round-tripper on Saturday, in a 4-3 loss to perennial small-school powerhouse Marengo.

Meanwhile, the Huskies also were in Freeport, for a weekend tournament, and for the second consecutive year took second place. This time they lost 16-9 to defending champion Lake Forest in the title game.

Harlem didn't play like a 1-7 team to start the tournament, defeating Highland Park, 5-3, in the opener. Then they rallied from a 4-0 deficit to edge Deerfield, 5-4, on a bases-loaded walk to Brock Soter in the bottom of the seventh inning.

Junior Joey Parsons was the winning pitcher against the Giants and helped himself at the plate, going 4-for-4 with one run scored.

Again the Huskies came from behind, this time trailing 2-1 before finally moving ahead, 5-2, on Ripon College recuit Frank Barone's two-run double in the fifth inning. Tyler Ellinger (2-for-4) hit a solo home run over the center field fence in the third to put Harlem ahead, 3-2.

Bryce Goodall was 2-for-4 with one run scored in the leadoff spot in the lineup while Aaron Cusimano drove in one run while going 1-for-3.

A 4-run first inning

Deerfield struck four times in the first inning of the Saturday morning game, capitalizing on a couple of errors. Harlem was held scoreless until it began chipping away at the deficit in the last of the fifth.

Barone hit a sacrifice fly to right, scoring Jake Nimtz who opened the fifth with a one-hop double over the right-field fence.

Cody Paholski and Ellinger hit consecutive doubles starting the the sixth, which made it a 4-2 game. Ellinger scored on a sacrifice fly by Parsons, who was on base three times in this game to with his four hits against Highland Park.

Bryce Goodall singled with one out in the seventh to start the winning rally. Paholski walked, then Ellinger (2-for-4) singled to right to fill the bases.

Drake Sundstrom had a perfect 3-for-3 day going when he came to the plate for that key at bat. "I felt the pressure, but I like to be in that kind of situation," he said afterward. He came through with an infield single that scored the tying run.

More pressure was on the next batter, Soter, facing a relief pitcher with the bases still loaded.

"When I was down 2-0 (in the count) I started looking for something to hit," he said later. "It got one 3-0 but didn't want to swing." His decision paid off as the pitch was off the mark and he got the walk that scored Paholski with the game-winning run.

Cusimano had another solid start on the mound, despite trailing early. "I got nervous, but once the defense stepped up it was better," he said.

For head coach Doug Livingston, it was another case of a team not finishing off its opponent after getting the lead. That happened to his Huskies in five earlier games this season in which they lost early advantages.

"They stayed with it and did some good things at the end," he said. "Aaron did a great job of keeping us in it."

Cusimano shut out Deerfield over the final six innings, allowing just four hits.

In the championship game, the Huskies jumped out front, 4-1, with freshman Logan Burbach pitching his first varsity game. Sundstrom and Parsons continued to spark the offense with RBI singles and were joined by Soter, who also drove in one early run.

Lake Forest rallied to lead, 9-6, saw Harlem tie it with three runs in the fifth, then came back again for the victory.

Sundstrom had another perfect game, going 3-for-3 to wind up the three-game tournament with 9 hits in 10 at bats.

Paholski went 2-for-4 with a double against the Scouts, with Soter going 3-for-4 and scoring three times, and Ellinger 2-for-4.

Lady Huskies split

Harlem's softball team opened its NIC-10 season April 10 by collecting 18 hits in the rout of Freeport.

Fluehr sparked the offense by going 3-for-3 at the plate with the three home runs while collecting eight RBIs. Emily Guske doubled twice while going 3-for-4 with four runs scored and one RBI.

Torah Morgan and Dakota Watson continued their torrid batting, each going 2-for-4 with two runs scored, one double and one RBI.

Fluehr improved to 2-0 for the season while the Lady Huskies went to 3-1 with their third consecutive victory.

Marengo, whcih is used to making deep runs into the postseason each spring, rallied from a 3-1 deficit April 11 to edge Harlem, 4-3.

Fluehr (1-for-3) was Harlem's primary offensive threat in this game, hitting a two-run homer in the top of the third inning. Elle Adsms (1-2) took the loss on the mound.

Both baseball and softball teams will be at home at 5 p.m. Friday against conference opponent, Boylan.

April 16, 2015

By Bob Balgemann

Reporter

CRYSTAL LAKE - A handful of the faithful followed their favorite softball team to Crystal Lake South High School on a chilly, breezy Tuesday afternoon during spring break week. And they were rewarded by seeing Harlem hand the host Lady Gators (6-1) their first loss of the young season.

The 8-6 victory was a team effort with contributions coming from throughout the lineup.

That included a key two-out, two-run single by the No. 9 batter, freshman Elle Adams, in the decisive six-run fourth inning.

Four-year senior starter Olivia Fluehr began the hit parade with an RBI double in the first inning, which scored Briana Barone, one of four freshmen in the starting lineup. Barone had walked to open the game.

Three more walks, one with the bases loaded to senior Torah Morgan, staked starting and winning pitcher Fluehr (1-0) to a 2-0 lead.

South countered with one run in the bottom of the first and two in the second to lead, 3-2. Then the Lady Huskies collected five hits and capitalized on a South error to take command, 8-3.

Adams went 2-for-2 in the inning and led off with a single down the left-field line, as Harlem sent 11 batters to the plate.

Barone singled and three-year regular Emily Guske, now a junior, was hit by a pitch to set the table for freshman clean-up hitter, Megan Johnson. She responded with a two-run single into right-center to regain the lead at 4-3. Morgan followed with an RBI single and Watson, who walked, scored when freshman Kirstin Fudge was safe on an error. Adams' two-run single closed out the comeback.

South made it interesting by scoring once in the last if the fourth and twice in the fifth, but could get no closer than two runs down.

The Lady Gators threatened to have their lead-off hitter on board in the last of the seventh. But Harlem right-fielder, junior Kara Fudge, got to the ball quickly and threw to first base for the out.

Fluehr then retired the next two batters for the win.

Shutout for Adams

Earlier in the week the Lady Huskies recorded their first win of the season, 11-0 over visiting Rochelle. Adams (1-1) pitched a complete game, allowing just one hit, while Harlem rattled Hub pitching for 12 hits.

Barone and Johnson sparked the offense with a pair of home runs while combining for six RBIs. Barone went 2-for-4 with a grand slam and two runs scored; Johnson was 3-for-4 with one homer, two runs scored and two RBIs.

In addition, Watson, last year's RBI leader, drove in four runs while going 2-for-2 at the plate. She doubled and scored once.

The game was called after five innings by the 10-run Mercy Rule.

April 9, 2015

MACHESNEY PARK - Harlem's boys track team was on the road Saturday, finishing fourth in the Moline Shipley ABC Invitational track meet.

United Township High School in East Moline took first with 282 points followed by Galesburg with 217 and Rock Island with 213. Harlem was close behind with 200 points.

The Huskies had a number of first-place efforts in the various levels of competition and with more personal best heights, distances and times in the track and field events.

Junior Anthony McKinney won the C shot put; sophomore Miguel Marquez was first in the B pole vaule; senior Malik Lightfoot took the B long jump while finishing third in both the A triple jump and B 200-meter dash. Junior Josh Black won the C discus and took fourth in the A shot.

In addition, senior Seth Wescom was first in the B flight of the 800-meter run.

Second-place finishes were turned in by junior Josh Kowalski in the B shot - he also was third in the C discus - Jayvious Johnson in the 300-meter intermediate and Tyler Flaningham in the pole vault. .

Junior Kyle Behan placed in three events, taking second in the B triple jump; third in the A long jump; and fifth in the A 200. Paxton Sneath turned a personal best time into third in the 110-meter high hurdles, while sophomore Gabe Haun was third in both the 100 and 300-meter hurdles.

Other third-place efforts came from the 3,200-meter relay team, consisting of Wescom, Jake Elmer, sophomore Sam Kirker and junior Scott Kirker; Lightfoot, Behan, Brendyn Ford and Mike Gray in the 800-meter relay along with Servando Ivante in the 400-meter dash

Mike Gray had a personal best while taking third in the C flight of the 200. 

Fourth place efforts were turned in by 400-meter relay team, consisting of Johnson, Haun, Gray and Ford; along with senior Christian Ross-Smith in the 100.

Places also were earned by Storm Curry, Sebastian Gonzalez and Marco Martinez in the high jump; Jacob Bonebriight and Joab Irwin in the 3,200-meter run; Ford in the 100; Alec Garcia and Anthony McGee in the 400; Alec Giblin and Anthony McGee in the 400; and the sprint medley relay team and the 800-meter relay team.

Chandler Ralston had a personal best time in the 1,600.

April 9, 2015

By Bob Balgemann

Reporter

MACHESNEY PARK - The goals are the same as in past years: win the NIC-10, make a deep run in the postseason, beat Hononegah and Boylan.

But beyond that this season is different for seniors Olivia Fluehr, Torah Morgan and Dakota Waton. It's their last as a Huskie, so their additional goal is to help make it one of the best.

"It hits me every once in a while," said Olivia, Harlem's main pitcher for each of her four seasons. "Only six weeks left. It's difficult to know I won't be playing for Harlem anymore."

In particular, she said Senior Night "will be very emotional. But it's exciting in that we will be in college next year."

She plans to attend Rock Valley College as does Dakota.  Both want to play softball for the defending national champions. Torah is leaning toward Rock Valley, but she also has applied at Northern Illinois University.

But that's down the road a bit and right now the Lady Huskies have a conference championship to win.

Olivia's pitches are up to 64 mph and she said she is continuing to add pitches to her repertoire. "I'm never satisfied," she said of what she throws.

Offensively, she said she and the team need to work on transitioning from one type of pitcher to another. Coaches sometimes will start a hard-throwing pitcher, then bring in one who throws off-speed stuff, then possibly bring in another hard-thrower.

"That was our biggest struggle last year," Dakota said in agreement.

Plenty will contribute

She thinks this is a good team, one that communicates better, one that is stronger offensively and defensively.

"The freshmen coming up will contribute," she said. "It will definitely be a team effort. We play for each other, that's for sure."

Torah is an outfielder and, being on the junior varsity squad last year, is shooting for a spot as a varsity starter. While she had a good fall pitching in the Harlem Community Center league, she doesn't expect to see much action on the hill this spring.

Of it being her senior year, she said, "I don't want to see it end. I'm not ready for that."

These girls love softball for a variety of reasons.

"It's been my favorite (sport), ever since I was little," Olivia said. "We are a family, and the game itself is a fun thing."

She comes from a softball family.

"It's fun to watch, to play," she said. "It's intense, quick. You have to be alert all the time."

"I love the team aspect of it." Dakota said, agreeing that the team was a family."

Torah looks at softball, at least in part, as "a stress reliever. It has been very important to me."

Harlem is still looking for its first game, having Saturday's doubleheader against Jacobs cancelled. Next up will be Rochelle this Saturday, for a doubleheader at the HCC complex, beginning at 10 a.m.

The Lady Huskies will have one game over spring break, at Crystal Lake South on Tuesday (April 7).

April 9, 2015

By Bob Balgemann

Reporter

MACHESNEY PARK - The weather straightened out a bit the end of March and first few days of April, allowing Harlem's baseball and softball teams to get in some non-conference games.

The Huskies played the most, once traveling to Peoria for the eighth consecutive year to vie in the prestigous Bartonville-Limestone tournament. This is a three-day event that brings in some of the state's better teams along with college and professional scouts.

But the weather was a problem there, too, as Harlem's first game, against defending small school state champion Brimfield, was cancelled because of temperatures in the 30s. Saturday wasn't much better, with the temperature at 35 for gametime. Harlem lost to host Moline, 8-1,

which threw its Division I college scholarship winner in that one.

It was the varsity debut for Harlen right-hander Joey Parsons.

Harlem managed to get in a second game on Saturday, this one being won by Limestone, 7-1. Zach Jones' triple was one of a handful of highlights for the Huskies.

Victory No. 1 of the season came a few days later when varsity newcomer Aaron Cusimano pitched a complete game in the 7-0 win over Elgin. He allowed just two hits over seven innings. Offensively, Tyler Ellingson and Drake Sundstrom each had two base hits and three RBIs.

Harlem next ran into a competitive Dundee-Crown team and bowed, 8-5. The game was tied 5-5 after five innings, when the hosts capitalized on a few walks to turn it around.

"I liked the way we played competitively and never gave up," head coach Doug Livingston said afterward. "Even in the seventh inning, when we were down by three, we were threatening with two runners on base. But two hard-hit balls were caught for outs."

Sycamore doubleheader

The Huskies were home last Saturday and while the temperature crept into the 50s, a brisk wind made it feel much cooler. Harlem stayed close but wound up losing both games, 4-2 and 7-5.

Both contests were close, with Harlem leading early, 1-0, on an RBI single by Jake Nimtz in the second inning that scored Ellinger, who led off with a single. Ellinger, who went 3-for-4 with one walk and two RBIs in the twin bill, singled home Cody Paholski for Harlem's second and final run in the bottom of the fifth.

Sycamore put it away by breaking the 2-2 tie with two runs in the top of the sixth. 

Defensively, Harlem center fielder Sam Libby made a shot-string catch of a low line drive in the third game of the opener. In the second game, first baseman Ellinger made a difficult catch of a popup in foul ground, very close to the right-field fence.

Harlem battled back several times in the night cap, after trailing 3-0, 5-1 and 7-2.

A delayed double steal in the second inning allowed Libby, pinch running for Frank Barone, to score from third base.

The Huskies got a couple of hits in each of the third and fourth innings, from Nimtz, Paholski, Brock Soter and Zach Jones, but weren't able to score again until the fifth. Then, Sundstrom walked and came home on a single by Ellinger.

Harlem closed to within 7-4 with two runs in the last of the sixth. Cusimano drove in one of those runs with the other scoring on Bryce Goodall's infield grounder.

It became a 7-5 game in the last of the seventh and the Huskies had the tying run on base, but they weren't able to bring him home. Jones had an RBI single, driving in Anthony Jacoby who walked with one out.

Close softball game

Host Harlem and Sycamore battled back and forth in the Lady Huskies 2015 opener with the Lady Spartans finally prevailing, 7-6, in extra innings.

Harlem held leads of 2-0, 3-2 and 4-3 until Sycamore edged ahead, 6-4, with three runs in the top of the seventh inning. Harlem wasn't through, however, rallying for two runs in the bottom of the seventh to force extra innings.

Sycamore then scored once in the top of the eighth for the win.

Senior Olivia Fluehr went 2-for-2 in the game with a single and a triple, while freshman Bianca Barone was a perfect 3-for-3 at the plate and scored three times.

Another freshman, pitcher Elle Adams, took the loss in her first varsity outing. 

April 2, 2015

By Bob Balgemann

Reporter

MACHESNEY PARK - After a slow start, Harlem's 2014 varsity baseball team finished with a 16-15 record.

Hidden within that mark is the fact that once the season got going, the Huskies reeled off eight consecutive wins while taking 9 of 10 overall.

"We hope to get off to a better start this year, but I believe we will be much improved later in the season," longtime head coach Doug Livingston said.

Harlem once again will be young, but that youth has experience and won accolades from their peers last season.

There are five seniors, three of them returning starters, in catcher Frank Barone, pitcher-outfielder Sam Libby and first baseman-pitcher Tyler Ellinger. Libby shared a no-hitter last year with Brock Soter, then a sophomore.

Soter, who also plays third base, is one of the juniors with experience. Others are are Cody Paholski, who pitches, catches and plays outfield, Bryce Goodall, outfielder-pitcher, Aaron Cusimano, infielder-pitcher, T.J. Chance, all-conference pitcher last year, and Zach Jones, pitcher-outfielder.

Sophomore Jake Nimtz was special mention all-conference last year as a pitcher.

On a team loaded with pitchers, here are two more junior throwers who are expected to contribute this spring. They are Joey Parsons and Drake Sundstrom, who also plays infield.

Harlem managed to get in one game through March 29, against Rockford Christian with a 6-foot-7 senior pitcher who has committed to a Division II college. The Eagles scored five runs in the first inning on their way to an 8-1 victory.

Nimtz started the game and surrendered only two earned runs while pitching three innings. Relief was provided by Libby and Ellinger.

Paholski's triple into right-center field, off the first pitch he saw, was a highlight of the first inning. Barone then singled him in for the Huskies only run of the day.

Defensively, Ellinger, playing first base at the time, gunned down a Rockford runner at home plate as Barone swung around on a blind tag to record the out.

Harlem is home today (Thursday) against Rock Island, starting at 4:30 p.m. On Saturday (April 4) a home doubleheader is scheduled with Rochelle, starting at 10 a.m.

During spring break next week the Huskies will be at Crystal Lake South and Kaneland.

Soccer team wins again

Harlem's Lady Huskies have made the best of their limited opportunities to play soccer. In both instances artificial turf fields at home and at Guilford allowed the games.

The Lady Huskies opened defense of their NIC-10 championship March 26 with an 8-0 road victory over Guilford. It marked the first shutout for new goal keeper Gabi Ruiz, who recorded four saves as her team advanced to 2-0 for the season.

Senior Emily Scott scored her fourth and fifth goals of the season, both in the second half. Freshman Kelly Oswald got her first-ever varsity point when she assisted on Scott's second goal, with 9:39 left in the game.

Sophomore Hannah Scott, sister of Harlem's leading scorer, got the Lady Huskies on the board with her first of two goals at 28:18 of the first half. Senior Kirstin Semenchuk recorded the assist.

Another senior, Suzy Pelayo, made it 2-0 at 12;05 when she scored off a direct kick.

Junior Alexis Johnson made it 3-0 with 9:59 left in the opening half, assisted by Hannah Scott. Then junior McKaela Schmelzer picked up her first goal of the spring goal 4 1/2 minutes later, unassisted, to close out scoring for the half.

Semenchuk notched her first goal of the season, off an assist by Schmelzer, just four minutes into the second half to make it a 5-0 game.

The Scott sisters took care of the rest with Hannah's score at 22:33, sandwiched between Emily's two goals at 24:53 and 9:39. Sophomore Adela Pelayo assisted on Hannah's shot.

Harlem had four corner kicks for the game, compared with one for Guilford.

The Lady Huskies are at the Huntley Invitational today (Thursday) and Saturday. They will have one game during spring break week, a key conference test at Boylan (April 9) at 7 p.m.

April 2, 2015

By Bob Balgemann

Reporter

MACHESNEY PARK - Volleyball isn't just for girls anymore. That became evident last year, when Harlem fielded its first-ever boys volleyball team.

That year was one of learning the game, which is a far cry from what's played in gym class. It was a time of having fun and not worrying - very much - about wins and losses.

Now it's time to get down to business as boys volleyball has become an official sport of the NIC-10. Freeport is the only school without a team, while Belvidere and Belvidere North high schools are fielding a co-op team.

For longtime volleyball coach Lani Mitchell - but just her second year in charge of the boys team - it's almost starting over again. There are no seniors among the varsity performers and only three - juniors Russell Oltmanns and Almin Arapovic and sophomore Drake Merrick - with any exposure to the game other than in PE.

The Huskies are young, with the varsity roster including five freshmen. They are Jesse Malachowski, Love Patel, Cole Buss, Emilio Marquez and Anthony Galindo.

Others new to the varsity this season are juniors Terrance Horton and Jamari Johnson; and sophomores Dragon Rodovarovic and Dylan Driscoll.

Of her varsity and junior varsity, coach Mitchell said, "Twenty-one of 24 are new; 15 are freshmen."

While they're obviously young, she likes their spirit.

"We had open gym in January and February and a couple of the freshmen said they would be the first four-year (boys) volleyball players."

More practices now

Things are different this year.

"We're practicing every night instead of two or three a week," she said. "They know there's something at stake now - a conference title, being all-conference."

Practice has been in steps, starting with skill drills the first week and a half, determining who would be on the varsity and who would be with the JVs. At least to start.

"Then we put in the offense and defense - and the rules, all those things," Mitchell said.

The season opens at home April 7, during spring break week, against Guilford. Jefferson follows three days later, on April 10.

"Two heavies right out of the gate," she said of teams that have been around for a while.

Harlem doesn't have a lot of size but, overall, "they can jump," their coach said. "And freshmen usually grow, so we're hopeful."

The Huskies do boast some setters, who have good hands.

"The big key now is consistency, putting the pieces together and not giving away points," she said.

Mitchell believes boys volleyball will be around for quite a while.

"I think it attracts a different kind of kid, who didn't play a sport before," she said. "More colleges are adding men's volleyball, so there more scholarships will be available."

When all is said and done later in the spring. she would like her team to be somewhere between third and fifth in the conference standings.

But meanwhile, the focus is getting ready for the opener that is just five days away.

Boys volleyball is a fast game and the Harlem Fans Club helped the team adjust to the pace by purchasing a machine that simulates serves and attacks at the net. It even sets balls for hitters.

"That's a very beneficial piece of equipment," coach Mitchell said.

March 26, 2015

By Bob Balgemann

Reporter

MACHESNEY PARK - Harlem's softball team figures to once again be battling for a top spot in the NIC-10 this spring.

It is a seasoned team with a wealth of young, talented freshmen standing ready to contribute at the plate and in the field.

Weather permitting, the Lady Huskies will be at home at the Harlem Community Center complex Saturday for a doubleheader against suburban Jacobs out of Algonquin. The first game will begin at 10 a.m. with the second one slated for noon.

Sycamore is here on April Fool's Day (Wednesday) for another non-conference game. Then Rochelle comes to town on Saturday for a twin bill, also at HCC, starting at 10 a.m.

Right-hander Olivia Fluehr is back for her fourth and final season and has emerged as one of the premier pitchers in the conference.

During the 2014 season she finished with an overall 17-7 record and was 12-3 in NIC-10 games. She compiled a 2.48 earned run average while being named first team, all-conference.

Offensively, she was one of the team leaders with a .322 batting average, two home runs and 24 runs batted in.

Emily Guske, now a junior, has been in the starting lineup at shortstop for most of her two years with the team.  She hit .330 last year and scored 33 runs while driving in 11 teammates. She also was first team, all-conference.

Another first team, all-conference selection, senior Dakota Watson was the team's slugger with 10 home runs. She batted .432 with 35 RBIs and scored 30 runs.

Two more juniors, both of them outfielders, got plenty of playing time as sophomores.

Kayla Kampmeier hit .278 with one home run, seven RBIs and 13 runs scored. Kara Fudge had a .183 batting average with 11 runs scored and six driven in.

Primary losses to graduation were Dionna Anderson, Sylvia Elliott, Sarah Grable, Kelly Hormig, Lauryn McKiski, Ellyn Menke and Jazmyn Sherwood.

Among those expected to be contributing this season are senior Torah Morgan, juniors Hailey Osgood and Lexis Kelley and freshmen Ellie Adams, Bianca Barone, Kirstin Fudge and Megen Johnson.

The Lady Huskies finished second in the conference last year and stood tall against the top echelon teams, including rival Hononegah.

Head coach Jennifer Corwin is back for her eighth season. So far her teams have compiled a 140-81-5 record overall and have gone 99-27 in NIC-10 play.

"We have a bright outlook for 2015," she said. "We have a group of ladies that understand the importance of working hard in the offseason and during the season, so they are able to accomplish team and individual goals."

This team is a blend of veterans and newcomers, with their coach saying, "Our experienced players have done an excellent job embracing the younger players, so they can come together to achieve the goals we have set four ourselves."

Among those goals are winning the conference and making a strong postseason run.

Assistant coaches for Harlem softball are Angela McNames and Miranda Anderson.

Soccer team wins

Harlem's girls soccer team played its first game on the new artificial surface at the football stadium last week and emerged with a 3-1 victory over United Township out of Moline.

The team's leading scorer from last year, senior Emily Scott, had a three-goal hat trick with all of her goals coming in the second half. Two assists were recorded by sophomore Adela Pelayo with one coming from junior McKaela Schmelzer.

Harlem lost their standout goal keeper, Alyssa Sickler, to graduation. Her replacement, sophomore Gabby Ruiz, had a strong opening night in goal, making four saves in the victory.

The second game of the week, against LaSalle-Peru, was cancelled.

The Lady Huskies will be back in action at 7 p.m. tonight, on the road, as they play Guilford in their first conference game of the season. They will be at the Huntley Invitational March 2-4.

March 26, 2015

MACHESNEY PARK - Harlem's girls track team recorded several first-place finishes Saturday while winning the indoor Byron Invitational track meet.

The Lady Huskies amassed 109.5 points to finish well in front of runner-up Hampshire, who had 85,5 points and third-place Burlington Central with 67 points.

First-place efforts were turned in by Emily Kern in the shot put with a personal best toss of 34 feet, 11 1/2 inches; Rachel Harradine in the poie vault, clearing 9 feet even; Megan Jackson in the long jump, going 16 feet, 8 inches, also a personal best; Emma Platzbecker in the 400-meter dash with a time of 1:01; and Paige Gors in the 55-meter hurdles, logging a personal best time of 8.9 seconds.

Harradine also placed third in the triple jump with a distance of 33 feet while Gors was third in the long jump, going 16 feet, 1 inch.

In addition, Julia Piersol finished second in the 55 hurdles with a personal best time of 9.37 seconds and the 4-by-400-meter relay team, consisting of Lammaria French, Taiah Gallisath, Harradine and Platzbecker, was second with a time of 4:23.

Gallisath placed third in the high jump with a personal best height of 5 feet and Gabrielle Forsell turned a personal best time of 7.86 seconds into a third-place finish in the 55-meter dash.

Harlem will be competing on the road Saturday at the Illinois Prep Top Times meet. The first home meet of the season will be Wednesday (April 1) with a quadrangular involving Guilford, Jefferson and Belvidere. Action begins at 4:30 p.m.

March 26, 2015

MACHESNEY PARK - Harlem's boys track team, in its final indoor meet of the season, took third in a field of 15 schools Saturday at the Byron Indoor Invitational.

There were 14 personal or season's best times or distances for Huskie performers in both the track and field events.

Josh Black put the shot 49 feet, 11 inches, good for second place while the 800-meter relay team, consisting of Jayvious Johnson, Gabe Haum, Michael Gray and Brendyn Ford, took second with a time of 8:49.57.

Also coming in second was the 3,200-meter relay team comprised of Scott Kirker, Kade Miller, Seth Wescom and Brady Johnson, in a time of 8:49.57.

Johnson placed third in the 55-meter hurdles with a time of 8.33 seconds; Ford ran fourth in the 55 hurdles, in 7.06 seconds; and Anthony McKinney was fourth in the shot, with a toss of 46 feet, 9 inches.

Other personal or season's best efforts came from Marco Martinez in the high jump; Miguel Martinez in the pole vault; Paxton Sneath in the 55 hurdles; and Christian Ross-Smith in the 55-meter dash.

In another relay event, Harlem received personal bests in each leg by its four runners: Chandlor Ralston and Sam Kirker in the mile; Jake Elmer in the 800 meters and Grant Hume in the 3,200 meters. Kirker, Ralston and Elmer are sophomores, while Hume is a junior.

March 19, 2015

By Bob Balgemann

Reporter

MACHESNEY PARK - Harlem High School student-athletes, coaches and parents gathered March 11 to celebrate the accomplishments of eight winter sports teams.

Athletic Director Kurt Weigt ran down the lengthy list that included 51 NIC-10 scholar athletes; 24 all-conference selections, among them 18 first-team choices; two conference most valuable players; and two coaches of the year.

Team-wise, Harlem defended its conference dance championship with the boys bowling team winning conference, regional and sectional titles, while finishing second in the state.

Individually, sophomore Jake Nimtz was the state bowling champion while setting a new record with a 12-game, 3,011 series. That's an average of 251 per game.

Among the first team, all-conference selections for first-year head coach Nick Whitmire were Nimtz, Austin Bull and Joe Heathscott. Collin Day was honorable mention.

Nimtz was the conference most valuable performer (MVP) as well as his team's MVP. Heatscott was a four-year varsity letter winner in bowling.

Senior Alex Karbarz and junior Brock Soter were co-captains of the boys basketball team; Karbarz was the MVP. There were four scholar athletes, who compiled 3.3 grade point averages or higher for the second semester.

Swimming tri-captains

Christopher Hughes, Jim Schuman and Darren Seerup were tri-captains of this year's boys swimming team, coached by Kellie Eickstead. Seerup was the team's MVP with Nolan Hensley honorable mention all-conference. There were six scholar athletes.

There also were six scholar athletes on the cheer (football) squad, whose coach was Rebecca Doxater. Tri-captains were Madison Burfoot, Mackenzie Calabrese and Bethany Koch. Burfoot was the MVP.

The competitive cheer team had four scholar athletes.

Kaylee Shaw was captain and MVP of both the football and competition dance teams, which were coached by Summer Henderson, one of two coaches of the year this winter. Shaw also was the NIC-10 MVP.

There were eight scholar athletes on the two teams. 

Jade Gough, Madison Moore, Brianna Grable, Taylor Nuelle and Shaw were first team, all-conference, while Sydney LaRue was an honorable mention selection.

McKaela Schmelzer was the girls basketball team's captain as well as first team all-conference and a qualifier for the IHSA 3-point shootout. She also surpassed the 1,000-point mark for her career, with one year left to play.

Schmelzer and Jessica Dahle were co-MVPs.

There were four scholar athletes on the team coached by Luanna Kish, also a coach of the year this season. 

The girls bowling team's MVP was sophomore Mylee McCracken, a first team all-conference choice who finished 18th in the state as an individual this season. She and senior Bree Zimmerman each bowled a 300 game, with McCracken's coming at the state tournament.

Meredith McNally and Zimmerman both were first team, all-conference selections and there were four scholar athletes on the team.

6 first team, all-conference

Harlem's wrestling had six first team all-conference selections: Tanner Anthony, Dylan Elmore, Jacob Hayes, Jenner Hecox, Kailor Hecox and Adam Zacharuk. Dalton Hambrock was honorable mention all-conference.

Elmore, Jenner Hecox and Kailor Hecox all qualified for the state meet with Elmore finishing sixth at 126 pounds and Kailor Hecox third at 220 pounds.

Anthony, Kailor Hecox, Andrew Massetti and Adam Zacharuk served as captains with Kailor Hecox the most valuable.

There were five scholar athletes on the team that was coached by Tom Draheim.

In addition to Heathscott, four-year varsity letter winners were Shaw in dance and Anthony, Adam Zacharuk and Kailor Hecox in wrestling.

Leah Jankowski and Jason Lubben were recognized for their work as trainers this season.

March 12, 2015

By Bob Balgemann

Reporter

MACHESNEY PARK - Four members of the 2014 varsity football team at Harlem High School have signed national letters of attend to continue playing the sport in college.

A signing ceremony was held March 4 in the Commons at their school for Brendyn Ford, Taylor Hart, Mark Nelson and Christian Ross-Smith.

Ford and Smith are going to the same school, the University of Wisconsin at Stevens Point. Hart is heading for Division II Quincy University in downstate Quincy, while Nelson has signed with Robert Morris, a Chicago university that has accepted a number of Huskies in the past.

Ford played offense and defense for the Huskies, who finished 7-3 overall and once agains qualified for the 7A state playoffs.

Defensively, he made 37 tackles, three of them for losses, intercepted one pass and recorded one sack. Offensively, he caught four passes for 24 yards and one touchdown.

Hart also was a presence both offensively and defensively. He was Harlem's short-yardage specialist with eight of his 14 carries resulting in touchdowns.

In all, he accumulated 69 yards rushing for an average of 4.9 yards per carry. His eight touchdowns were tied for tops on the team with tailback Raymond Lee.

On defense, Hart registered 74 tackles, best on the team, with nine of them for losses. He also had 3 1/2 sacks.

Ross-Smith had 50 tackles on defense, three of them for losses. And Nelson recorded 24 tackles, six for losses, with 1 1/2 sacks.

Longtime head coach Jim Morrow referred to the four student-athletes "as great representatives of what Harlem football is all about. Three schools will get a lot better in a few minutes when they sign their letters."

He said he couldn't be prouder of the four, adding, "This is football's form of graduation."

Each of them thanked his family for the support they provided over the years.

Hart said that without their sacrifice, he would not have been able to be where he was that day. He also thanked his coaches and teammates "for what they did for me on this journey. I will also bleed black and orange."

For Ross-Smith, he said he was "anxious to be moving to the next level, but I will never forget where I came from."

Nelson said it seemed like only yesterday that he was a freshman and "saw those big seniors standing up here. I said I wanted to be where they are."

Some of seniors have been playing together for 10 years, Ford said, including the program at the Carlson Boys & Girls Club. The wins and losses, pasts dinners, bus rides and early practices "are memories that will last a lifetime," he said.

March 12, 2015

By Bob Balgemann

Reporter

MACHESNEY PARK - Harlem's boys bowling team won the NIC-10 championship, then won the regional and sectional titles before taking second place in the state tournament.

Harlem's girls bowling team was stunned in its opening match by Freeport, which ultimately won the conference title.

The Lady Huskies, who tied Belvidere North for second place in the league, reached the sectional tournament but failed to advance to the state finals for only the fourth time in the last 16 years.

For much of the 2014-15 season, both teams were ranked No. 1 in the state.

Celebrations and disappointments marked the year that ended on a high note Feb. 27, when two Harlem bowlers won their respective Top 16 tournament championships.

For sophomore Jake Nimtz, that meant completing a year of being an individual champion. He was the conference MVP and finished first among all NIC-10 bowlers, with a 239 average. That put him in the Top 16 tournament, which he won in head-to-head competition with the other 15 entries, four of them teammates.

For senior Bree Zimmerman, that meant overcoming the disappointment of not being able to join her team in the sectional tournament because of illness. She was cleared for the state finals, but her team didn't make it. In conference bowling, she was the fourth best individual with a 210 average per game.

"I went into it with a purpose," she said of the season-ending Top 16 event.

There was plenty of drama in both team competitions for the NIC-10 crown. And that was true of the girls Top 16 tournament, which wasn't decided until the 15th and final match.

That put Bree up against Emily Ashens of Belvidere North, who was third in conference bowling with a 215 average. "I had to beat her to win the tournament," Bree said. It was close but she rolled a 221 and prevailed.

Overall, she won 10 of the 15 games. She split the four games against her teammates, defeating Meredith McNally and Taylor Rush, while losing to Mylee McCracken and Stephanie Richards.

Stephanie is just a freshmen and the year before, when an eighth grader at Harlem Middle School, she was being coached by Bree. Stephanie averaged 199 in her first high school season.

Bree averaged 223 while winning the Top 16. Stephanie wound up 10th, Mylee, 11th, Meredith, 14th and Taylor, 15th.

The Harlem senior came close to another 300 game as she rolled a 299 on the second day of the three-day tournament. That was against Haley Solberg of Belvidere North, one of the friendly competitors from other schools who included two from rival Hononegah.

"I wasn't nervous," she said of going against them individually. "These were girls I grew up with."

As far as her teammates were concerned, she said, "I didn't like knowing I had to beat my teammates to win."

Bree plans to attend the University of Central Missouri, an NCAA Division II school, and continue bowling at that level.

Back to baseball

Jake doesn't have to worry too much about college as he's only concluding his sophomore year at Harlem. Right now he's making the transition from bowling to baseball, with a first hoped-for game on March 20.

"I'm getting back into shape," he said. "I haven't thrown the ball around much during the winter."

Personally, he said he'd like to play more outfield and get a few more starts as one of the team's pitchers. "I just want to play a role in the success of the team," he said.

Jake was honorable mention all-conference as a freshman.

Most of the recently concluded bowling season is a pleasant memory for the Top 16 champion, who averaged 232 over 15 games.

"I just wanted to do my best, to make the best shots I could," he saof of his mindset entering the tournament. "It was fun, goihg against my teammates. It was a matter of who got the better breaks."

Like Bree, he split four games against other Huskies, defeating Joey Heathscott and Dawson Jones, while losing to Collin Day and Austin Bull. All but Heathscott will be back next year.

Overall, he said it was "a pretty good season. I'm pretty happy with the way it went." Looking at 2015-16, he said, "We have some good bowlers coming back. It's all about improving."

Harlem's boys were bunched near the top of the Top 16 with Collin in third place, Austin in fifth, Joey in sixth and Dawson in ninth.

March 5, 2015

By Bob Balgemann
Reporter

ROCKFORD - Harlem High School has added two more championships to its lengthy list of successes in bowling.
Senior Bree Zimmerman and sophomore Jake Nimtz won their respective Top 16 tournaments, which involved the cream of the crop in NIC-10 bowlers in head-to-head competition.
Nimtz finished the regular season in first place in the conference with a 239 average. Zimmerman was fourth, averaging 210 per game.
In the boys Top 16 tournament, which concluded Friday, Harlem had three bowlers finish in the Top 5. Sophomore Collin Day was third, while junior Austin Bull came in fifth.
During the regular season Bull, a transfer from Rockford Lutheran, wound up in a tie for seventh place with a 219 average. Day tied for ninth, averaging 217 per game.
Day and Zimmerman each bowled a 300 game during conference play in the 2014-15 season. Nimtz had a 290.
On the girls side, Zimmerman finished fourth in the conference with a 210 per-game average.
Watch for more details in the March 12 issue of the Post Journal.
Basketball season ends
A large crowd turned out Friday night for the regular season boys basketball finale, pitting host Harlem against NIC-10 rival Belvidere.
There was more than a game going on. It was Senior Night and fans helped recognize basketball players Bryson Bailey, Adam Carpenter, Alex Karbarz and Malik Lightfoot, along with senior cheerleaders.
At halftime of the varsity game the Spirit Team from Machesney Elementary School performed its competition-winning routine. The Machesney Pilots team came in first during a recent event involving squads at five other elementary schools in Harlem District 122.
Kristyn Isom is the coach.
The school's pep band played in its final performance under the direction of Kevin Jensen, who is retiring this year. He was saluted by public address announcer Bill Dredge for a 37-year career in education that included 42 years of pep bend, 26 of them at Harlem.
"You're the best," Dredge said. "We will miss you."
With Karbarz on the bench following ankle surgery the Huskies were at a height disadvantage. Belvidere had  players 6-foot-6, 6-foot-4 and 6-foot-2 in its starting lineup.
And the Bucs, winning their 11th conference game in 16 outings, jumped off to a quick 12-2 lead after the first quarter.
Senior Tyler Lass, who has committed to play baseball at Northwestern University, hit his first three shorts. Harlem's lone basket of the period came from Lightfoot, which created a temporary 2-2 tie.
The Huskies were 1-for-10 in opening quarter shooting while the Bucs hit 6 of their 10 shots during that timeframe.
Belvidere rolled to a 26-4 lead in the second quarter before Harlem scored the final five points. Lightfoot made two free throws while Brandon Phelps added one from the free-throw line and ?? Moore scored from under the hoop.
Bryson Bailey and Lightfoot led Harlem in scoring with seven points apiece.
 

March 5, 2015

By Bob Balgemann

Reporter

MACHESNEY PARK - Harlem High School will be losing some excellent wrestlers to graduation this year.

Among them is Kailor Hecox, who made the most of an injury-shortened season. He finished with a 24-2 record at 220 pounds and claimed third place in the recent state tournament.

Tanner Anthony also came back from injury. He was a state qualifier in 2014 and again this year. He also was a NIC-10 champion at 160 pounds and a regional champion at 152 pounds. Overall, he wound up 13-4 during his final year as a Huskie.

Andrew Massetti posted a 24-12 record at 195 pounds and was a sectional qualifier.

And Adam Zacharuk compiled a 36-13 record, winning a conference title at 132 pounds while qualifying for the sectional at 138.

The Huskies will be led in 2015-16 by a group of incoming seniors with Dylan Elmore being one of them. He posted a 44-13 record at 126 pounds, was a conference champion at that weight and took sixth at the state tournament.

Jenner Hecox is returns, closing with a 36-11 record at 182 pounds and being a state qualifier.

Harlem has another standout competitor, at 106 pounds, in junior Jacob Hayes. He was a conference champion at 113 pounds, finishing with a 32-9 mark.

And Anthony McKinney finished his junior year with a 32-15 record at 285 pounds.

Not all of Harlem's experience lies with incoming seniors. Alex Zacharuk, who will be a sophomore next year, was 26-17 at 120 pounds.

Head coach Tom Draheim has some holes to fill at various weights and he has a handful of competitors who logged differing amounts of time with the varsity this past season.

Incoming junior Dalton Hambrock is the most experienced in that group, posting a 27-19 record at 170 pounds. He was a sectional qualifier. And Josh Carter was 15-9 at 195 pounds, as a sophomore.

There also is Max Brown, an incoming senior who went 5-2 at 126 pounds and Genesis Garay, who was 3-1 at 145 as a freshman. Incoming junior Dakota Corbin won two of three matches at 152 pounds and incoming junior Vincente Jiminez went 2-2 at 195.

Others on this year's roster, who mostly saw action as members of the junior varsity team, were sophomore Hunter Bohnenkamp, freshmen Derek Carrico, sophomore Arik Fox, freshman Dominic Goodall, sophomore Devan Hahne, sophomore Dominic Holmes, junior Jamari Johnson, sophomores Joseph Kanaval, Dathan McClain, Quinn McClenthen and Nathan McKee, and junior Anthony Leon III. 

As a team, the Huskies were 8-1 in the conference and 12-11 overall. Their only NIC-10 loss was to Hononegah, as the Indians used four forfeits to win.

March 5, 2015

MACHESNEY PARK - This time it was the Joliet West Indoor Invitational. Once again it featured some of the best teams in northern Illinois.
And Harlem's varsity and frosh/soph teams were up to the challenge Saturday, placing fifth and fourth respectively. Both teams did a great job, in the view of their head coach, Michael Oliveri, with a number of personal records being set.
The new standards included sophomore Jayvious Johnson in the 55-meter high hurdles, where he took first place in 8.45 seconds, He also won the 200-meter dash with a time of 25.13 seconds. Each of those times would have been good for Top 5 finishes at the varsity level.
Another frosh/soph performer, sophomore Gabe Haun, finished right behind teammate Johnson with a 25.28-second time in the 200, also a personal best.
Other personal bests came from sophomore Justin Braskett throwing 40 feet even to win the shot put; sophomore Jose Marquez clearing 10 feet in the pole vault, also good for first place; and sophomore Marco Martinez taking second in the high jump with a leap of 5 feet, 4 inches as he overcame some recent hip issues.
The frosh/soph's 3,200-meter relay team of Brady Johnson, Sam Kirker, Jacob Elmer and Ian Marx was fifth with a new, best time. In addition, the 800-meter relay team of Johnson, Haun, K.C. Franklin and Sebastian Gonzalez placed third.
Other top fresh/soph performances came from sophomore Howard Nichol, fifth in the shot, and freshman Brady Johnson, sixth in the 800-meter run.
At the varsity level, junior Kyle Behan placed in three events, taking third in the triple jump; fifth in the long jump; and sixth in the 200-meter dash.
Tyler Flanningam cleared 12 feet, 9 inches to take third in the pole vaule; Josh Black was fourth in the shot; Scott Kirker, fourth in the 800; Paxton Sneath, fourth in the 55-meter high hurdles; and Josh Kowalski was fifth in the shot. Flanningam and Sneath are seniors, with the rest being juniors.
The 3,200-meter relay team of Kirker, Kade Miller, Servando Infante and Seth Wescom finished fourth.
Team-wise, powerhouse Orland Park Carl Sandburg won the meet on both sides, followed closely in frosh/soph competition by Yorkville, Schaumburg and the Huskies.

Feb. 12, 2015

By Bob Balgemann
Reporter

MACHESNEY PARK - Harlem and Hononegah each has advanced a large group of wrestlers and both girls' bowling teams to this weekend's state sectional tournaments.
The Huskies finished second to Algonquin Jacobs at the Rockford East wrestling regional, with the Indians placing third. In Bowling, Belvidere North edged the Lady Huskies by 12 pins to win the Hononegah regional, with the host Lady indians taking fourth.
Barrington is playing host to the wrestling sectional; the bowling sectional is at Rockford Guilford.
Harlem is sending 10 wrestlers to the sectional led by champions Dylan Elmore (126 pounds), a junior, and Tanner Anthony (152) and Kailor Hecox (225), both seniors.
Harlem's Jacob Hayes, who brought a 30-7 record into the regional, finished second at 106 pounds. Alex Rader of Hononegah was third at 113.
At 120 pounds, Hononegah's Aaron Leppert finished second, with Alex Zacharuk (22-13) of Harlem coming in fourth.
Harlem's first individual champion, Elmore (33-6), edged David Dudych of Jacobs, 4-2, for the 126-pound title. Freshman Nick Carter of Hononegah was fourth. Senior Adam Zacharuk (33-10) of Harlem was the runner-up at 138 pounds, losing a close 8-6 decision in the finals. Hononegah's Anthony Silva, a sophomore, was third.
The Indians got their first of two championships from junior Fernie Silva at 145 pounds.
Anthony, a state qualifier last year who won 40 matches, bolstered Harlem's lineup by returning late in the season following an injury. He carried an 8-2 record into the regional and dropped a weight class, from 160 to 152. He decisioned Brandon Meyer of Huntley, 7-4, for the title.
Harlem's Dalton Hambrock (24-16), a sophomore, qualified by finishing in second place at 170 pounds.
The only Harlem-Hononegah match in the medal round came at 182 pounds, where the Indians Tyler DeMoss (32-0) defeated junior Jenner Hecox (30-6) of Harlem in the championship match.
At 195 pounds, Hononegah sophomore Jordan Shahrician (29-9) was the champion with Harlem's Andrew Massetti (21-9) finishing third.
Harlem's third title was won by Kailor Hecox (9-0), also a late-season returnee from injury, won scored a major 18-3 decision over Carson Shoemaker of Jacobs in the finals at 220 pounds. Sophomore Blake Zalapi (34-8) came in third.
Junior Anthony McKinney (28-11) of Harlem was fourth at 285 pounds, losing 1-0 in the third-place match.
Girls bowling
Harlem and Belvidere North wound up tied for second in the NIC-10 with 37-8 records. On Feb. 7, the Lady Blue Thunder edged the Lady Huskies by 18 pins for the regional championship. Hononegah took fourth, the last team qualifying spot, as the first four places went to NIC-10 schools.
Sophomore Mylee McCracken led Harlem with a six-game 1,257 series, followed by freshman Stephanie Richards with a 1,196; senior Taylor Rush with a 1,169; senior Bree Zimmerman with a 997; and senior Meredith McNally with a 921. Senior Emily Gustin bowled one game, a 214, while junior Skylar Russo-Perry contributed a 198.
Hononegah used eight girls during the regional, led by senior Kayla Ewing's six-game 1,297. That was one pin shy of the regional's best, a 1,298, recorded by the Dakotah Hazlecrest or Rockford Lutheran.
Senior Meagan Johnston chipped in a 1,258 for the Lady Indians followed by senior Alexandra Perry with a 1,174. Others contributing to the team effort were senior Kelsey Gilla with a 631; senior Sarah Boeke, a 436; freshman Jordan Davenport, a 358; sophomore Cierra Wood, a 286; and sophomore Krista Anderson, a 282.
Regional champion Belvidere North was led by seniors Tiffany Wagner (1,263) and Haley Solberg (1,257).

Feb. 5, 2015

By Bob Balgemann
Reporter

O'FALLON, Ill. – After being defeated in two previous meetings, Hononegah came on strong Saturday to top Harlem for the boys state bowling championship in downstate O'Fallon.
The Indians came back from a 102-pin deficit Saturday morning to prevail despite two 300 games rolled by the Huskies' super sophomore, Jake Nimtz.
Harlem had taken a 66-pin lead after Friday's opening round of six games. It was increased to 102 pins after the first game Saturday morning. But Hononegah outgunned the Huskies, 1,189 to 1,016, in the second game to take a lead it never relinquished.
Nimtz had a phenomenal two days of bowling with a six-game 1,489 series on Friday and a 1,522 series on Saturday. Harlem also received solid contributions from senior Joe Heathscott with a two-day 2,474 series for 12 games. Sophomore Collin Day had a 2,386 while sophomore Dawson Jones recorded a 2,325.
Hononegah sophomore Brandon Mooney opened the tournament with a three-game 707 series and finished with a 2,715 overall. He was followed by junior Clay Coogan with a 2,643; junior Trey Arnold with a 2,505; and sophomore Tanner Schewe with a 2,479.
Recently, Harlem defeated Hononegah in the last dual match of the regular season to capture the NIC-10 championship and followed by edging the Indians to win the sectional tournament.
Harlem, Hononegah
boys advance to
state bowling finals
Harlem and Hononegah staged another classic battle at the bowling alley in the sectional tournament held Saturday (Jan. 24) at Stevenson High School in Lincolnshire.
The Huskies emerged as sectional champion by amassing 6,552 pins, 15 more than the runner-up Indians. Those teams were 1-2 in total pinfall among teams at three other sectionals. Next stop will be the state finals this weekend at downstate O'Fallon.
Harlem sophomore Jake Nimtz was the individual sectional champion with a six-game 1,488 series. That also was the best among other bowlers in sectional competition.
Other Huskies in the scoring were senior Joe Heathscott with a 1,356 series; sophomore Collin Day with a 1,274; junior Austin Bull with a 1,263; sophomore Dawson with a four-game 821; and sophomore Cole Damon with a two-game 364.
Hononegah had three bowlers surpassing the 1,300 mark. They were freshman Nick Sommer with a 1,366; sophomore Brandon Mooney with a 1,350; and sophomore Tanner Schewe with a 1,342.
Freeport, which finished sixth in the sectional, also advanced to state. Other NIC-10 teams, Belvidere North and defending state champion Guilford, were seventh and 10th respectively and did not move on.
Neither of the Belvidere bowlers who reached the sectional made state.

Jan. 29, 2015

By Bob Balgemann
Reporter

MACHESNEY PARK - Harlem improved its NIC-10 record to 8-1 Jan. 20 with a solid 59-35 home win over Freeport.
In doing so the Lady Huskies, 13-6 overall, fully recovered from a 1-3 outing at the Oswego holiday tournament.
And it served as preparation for a tough week that included a road trip to conference-leading Auburn on Jan. 23. Boylan was  next, on Jan. 27, and Friday (Jan. 30) Hononegah will come to town for a rematch.
Tuesday, Harlem will travel to Belvidere to meet the Lady Bucs.
The Lady Huskies featured a balanced scoring attack against Freeport, after another sluggish start. The Lady Pretzels actually led, 5-0, after four minutes of play as Harlem shot 0-for-3 and committed three turnovers during that span of time.
Senior Baylee Paluzzi provided the spark in the eventual lopsided victory over Jefferson on Jan. 13.
This time it was junior Jessica Dahle, whose driving layup provided Harlem's first points after a drought of almost six minutes.
After a free throw by Kaylee Logan, Dahle scored twice in the final 42 seconds to give her team an 8-5 lead.
Paulzzi once again was a force on both offense and defense.
She put back a missed shot to open the second quarter, then went around a Freeport defender for a layup at the 5:22 mark. She closed a 9-0 run with a free throw that made it 17-5, Harlem.
In all, the Lady Pretzels were held scoreless for 9:03 and didn't get back on the board until canning a couple of free throws with 3:26 left in the first half.
McKaela Schmelzer nailed her second 3 of the period, on the heels of a Paluzzi steal, to make it a 20-7 game. Harlem led, 22-11, at intermission.
The Lady Huskies scored more points in the third quarter - 23 - than they did in the entire first half to mount a 45-21 margin with eight minutes left to play.
There wasn't any lengthy string of unanswered points, just relentless running led by Schmelzer and hard, inside work from Logan, who had nine of the 23 points.
Head coach Luanna Kish substituted freely for much of the second half, with junior Taiah Gallisath a major contributor, with six points, in the waning moments.
Dahle led the balanced offense with 15 points while Schmelzer added 14 and Logan, 13.
 

Jan. 29, 2015

By Bob Balgemann
Reporter

ROCKFORD - Harlem's basketball Huskies gave themselves something to build on Jan. 18 by winning their final two games in the Martin Luther King Jr. tournament at Rockford Jefferson.
They received key contributions off the bench and "got better defensively, which was a goal," head coach Chad Barger said afterward.
After going 0-2 on Jan. 16, with losses to New Trier and Batavia, they bounced back at 12:30 p.m. Jan. 18 with a 51-37 win over Johnsburg.
Then they made it two straight with a second consecutive strong fourth quarter, a few hours later, which sparked a 56-47 success against McHenry.
The wins came at a good time, what with games against two tough NIC-10 opponents, Auburn and Jefferson, coming up the following week.
Senior Malik Lightfoot returned to the floor following a brief absence and sparked the first solid fourth-quarter showing with six points as Harlem (7-11, 2-4) outscored Johnsburg, 19-10. He finished with nine in that one and added another 13 against McHenry.
"I'm happy," he said after the second game.
Another senior, Alex Karbarz, had a team-high 16 against Johnsburg, including six of the Huskies 11 first-quarter points. Sophomore Brenton Shaw chipped in 10 while junior Brock Soter added six with a couple of 3s.
The McHenry game involved two evenly matched teams and they battled to a 38-38 tie after three quarters of play. The fourth period was pivotal with Harlem going on an 11-2 run in the first 4:57 to open things up.
A miss, then a 3
A botched alley-oop attempt on the Warriors' first possession was countered by Soter's second 3 of the game to give the Huskies a 41-38 edge. McHenry followed by putting back a missed shot, but Harlem then put up eight unanswered points.
Karbarz started the rally with two short jump shots, following McHenry's put back and then a turnover. Lightfoot stole a pass and raced the length of the floor, laying in a pair with 5:35 left in the period. Another turnover resulted in a picturesque left-handed layup by Karbarz, off a pass from Shaw and following another McHenry turnover.
"That was the perfect moment," Harlem's 6-foot, 6-inch center said. "That (win) defenitely got us rolling. We need to build on that."
The Warriors tried to respond, netting a 3 on their next possession, to make it a 49-43 game. But the Huskies were on the bonus and made 5-of-6 free throws down the stretch, three of them by Shaw and two by Allen White III, to maintain a comfortable lead.
Lightfoot cemented it with another fastbreak basket, off a McHenry turnover, for a 56-44 lead with 10 seconds remaining.
The Warriors were on top in the early going, hitting their first two 3-point attempts while Harlem was 1-for-5 to start. It was 14-11, McHenry, after the opening quarter.
They were down by nine when Travis Gibson and Lightfoot light up the scoreboard on a 9-3 run that made it a more palatable 25-22 Warrior edge. Karbarz made a couple of free throws and White put back a missed to make it 26-25, Harlem, at halftime.
The lead changed hands eight times in the third quarter with McHenry getting the last three points to create the 38-38 standoff with eight minutes to play.
Karbarz again led the Huskies in scoring, this time with 14 points, while Gibson, playing tough under the hoop, added 12.
"We played well this weekend," Coach Barger said. "We played and conducted ourselves as a team."
The four games included giving unbeaten New Trier "their toughest game of the tournament," he said.  

 

Jan. 22, 2015

By Bob Balgemann

Reporter
 
MACHESNEY PARK - Playing with heavy hearts, Harlem's Lady Huskies entered the 2015 portion of their 2014-15 basketball season with a 68-49 home win over Rockford Jefferson.
"One, two, three, Re," they said in unison before the opening tip on Jan. 13. They were honoring the memory of Harlem's sophomore basketball coach, Melissa Re, who had succumbed to cancer. Her funeral was the day before the game.
It took a while for both teams to shake off the rust of a lengthy holiday layoff. And in Harlem's case it was partly the lingering effects of a 1-3 performance at the Oswego holiday tournament. Head coach Luanna Kish looked at the game as "a fresh start," and it was.
McKaela Schmelzer and Baylee Paluzzi combined for 45 points in the victory, with Schmelzer nailing four, 3-point shots. Paluzzi came off the bench to spark an 8-3 run that gave Harlem a 13-8 lead after the first quarter.
Those who like defensive basketball would have loved that first period when, with three minutes left to play, there had been more turnovers than points scored.
Overall, the Lady J-Hawks turned the ball over nine times while the Lady Huskies had five miscues.
Together, they shot 5-for-22 from the field.
Paluzzi had 10 points to lead first-half scoring for Harlem, which improved to 6-1 in the NIC-10 and 11-6 overall. But it was a buzzer-beating 3 by Schmelzer - from just over the mid-court line - which brought Lady Huskie fans to their feet.
Harlem was up, 30-19, at intermission.
Jefferson featured two 6-foot-tall players in its lineup and managed to stay relatively close by frequently going inside for baskets. They had nine scores from in the paint and were still within striking distance, at 43-34, going into the fourth quarter.
The Lady J-Hawks scored the first point of the final period to make it a 43-35 game, but that was as close as they would come.
Schmelzer hit 3-pointer No. 4 to ignite a 13-5 surge that put Harlem up, 56-40, with 4:23 left to play. She and Paluzzi provided all of the points during that run, capitalizing on missed shots and turnovers.
Gabrielle Forsell supplied six points in the waning moments to keep the Lady Huskies comfortably in front.
Schmelzer led Harlem with 27 points while Paluzzi had her season's best, 18 points, and Jessica Dahle netted seven.
Harlem also won the sophomore game, 41-23. Before that one started there was a brief ceremony honoring the memory of coach Re, with a moment of silence. A bouquet of flowers was placed on one of the chairs that make up the Lady Huskies bench, with cards containing the names and numbers of all sophomore and varsity players affixed to each stem. In addition, players also wrote letters of condolences to the family.
There also was a moment of silence before the start of the varsity game.
 

 

Jan. 22, 2015

By Bob Balgemann
Reporter

MACHESNEY PARK - In actual head-to-head competition, Harlem and Hononegah split 10 matches. But the visiting Indians picked up 24 points on forfeits at four weight classes, which was enough to post a 42-26 win among those top-tier wrestling programs.The meet marked the return from injury of Huskie senior Tanner Anthony, who posted a 10-1 major decision at 160 pounds. He used a takedown and near fall to lead, 4-0, after the first period and put the match away by outscoring his opponent, 6-1, in the third and final period.
Anthony, now 1-0, was a state qualifier last year, posting a 40-10 record.The match actually started at 170 pounds with the Indians winning four of the five higher-weight classes. Junior Jenner Hecox (24-4) salvaged Harlem's lone win by taking a 7-2 decision at 182 pounds.
Action then reverted to the lower weight classes, with Harlem prevailing in four of the five where there was competition.Junior Jacob Hayes (20-4) started things off at 106 pounds and a workman-like 8-3 victory.
The most exciting match involved Harlem freshman Alex Zacharuk (16-9). He was trailing, 8-3, at 120 pounds when he rolled his opponent over and pinned him just 15 seconds before the end of the third and final period.Junior Dylan Elmore (24-5) picked up five points with a major decision, 9-1, at 126 pounds. He finished strong, utilizing a takedown and near fall in the third period for the win.Adam Zacharuk (24-8) took a quick 6-2 lead in his 132-pound match before winning with a pin in 1:33. That six points pulled Harlem to within 24-22, but Hononegah picked up 18 points with forfeits at 138, 145 and 152. Boys basketball
Harlem made a game of it Saturday before falling to New Trier, 48-35, in the opening round of the two-day Martin Luther King Jr. basketball tournament at Rockford Jefferson.
Neither team could buy a basket in the early going, despite getting good looks at the hoop. The Huskies were up, 4-2, after the first four minutes of play as the two teams combined to shoot 3-of-12 from the field.
The Trevians warmed up a little as the period continued while Harlem (5-10. 2-4) remained cold, leaving New Trier up,12-6, after one.
That deficit grew to 22-6 with 2:36 left in the second quarter as Harlem went 0-7 with three turnovers during that time frame. Alex Karbarz finally ended the dry spell by scoring inside at the 2:27 mark. His late basket along with a 3 from Brock Soter made the halftime score a more palatable 25-13.A 9-2 Huskie run to open the third period made it a more interesting 27-22 game. Some inside work by Allen White III to go with a couple of bank shots from Travis Gibson and Brenton Shaw's 3-pointer were responsible for that comeback.
Things were looking up even more when another basket in the paint from White and two Karbarz free throws sliced New Trier's lead to 32-28 with 57 seconds left in the period.But the Trevians scored the final five points of the quarter including a demoralizing alley-oop layup just 2 1/2 seconds before time elapsed. New Trier, located in suburban Winnetka with an enrollment of 4,170, than scored seven unanswered points to open the fourth quarter, leaving Harlem down by 16.

Jan. 22, 2015

By Bob Balgemann
Reporter

MACHESNEY PARK - The successes, team-wise and individually, continue to mount for Harlem's boys and girls bowling teams.The Huskies came from 1 1/2 points behind Hononegah, and defeated the Indians in the final match of the regular season, to win conference. The comeback rivaled 2012-13 when they overcame a seven-point deficit in the final two ganes to win the title. In addition, Harlem's junior varsity boys team won conference while the Lady Huskie JVs are assured of at least a tie for first place. The Lady Huskies' varsity was tied with Belvidere North for first place, each with a 37-8 record. But Freeport was 34 1/2-5 1/2 with one game, against Belvidere, left to be played Wednesday (Jan. 21). The Lady Pretzels would be champions by taking three of five points from the Lady Bucs. Results were not available at press time.
More recently, Harlem's entire boys team advanced to this weekend's Stevenson sectional in Lincolnshire by winning the Marengo regional.Individually, accolades go to senior Bree Zimmerman for bowling a 300 game against the Lady Indians, and to sophomore Dawson Jones for stringing seven consecutive strikes to complete a three-game 800 series, also against Hononegah.After Week 1 of the 2014-15 season, Harlem's boys were 2 1/2 points out of first place after dropping their opener to Freeport, 3 1/2 to 1 1/2. They swept all five points from their next seven opponents before meeting Hononegah in what was a must match for both teams.The Indians won the first game, but the Huskies came back to claim games two and three, for an overall 36-pin victory.
Another sophomore, Jake Nimtz, complemented Jones' 800 with a 769 series, his eighth 700-plus effort in nine games.
Jones led the Huskies in the regional with a six-game 1,288 series, one pin better than Nimtz, who recorded a 1,287. Other contributors were junior Austin Bull with a 1,278; senior Joe Heathscott, a 1,249; sophomore Collin Day, a five-game 1,025; and freshman Nick Howard, a single game of 189.
The Top 6 teams and Top 7 individuals not affiliated with an advancing team will move on to downstate O'Fallon next weekend for the state finals. First 300 for Bree
. It was Zimmerman's first 300, which helped her record a three-game 752 series in a key match.
She said she knew "the whole time" that a perfect game was in the works. But the nervousness didn't set in until the ninth frame. To make matters worse everyone stopped bowling when she entered the 10th frame. "I didn't like that," she said. So Collin Day, a member of the boys team, bowled and the noise helped, she said.
The first ball in the 10th was a strike, on the Brooklyn side, while all the others were solid, in the pocket. She had a string of four consecutive strikes in her first game that day, then the 12 straight in the 300 game. The first ball in game No. 3 also was a strike. The next shot was a solid hit in the pocket but left the nine pin."The back row is not my friend," she said in retrospect.
After graduation in May, she said she plans to attend the University of Central Missouri in Warrensburg, where she has received a bowling scholarship. She plans to have a double major with an ultimate goal being a firefighter paramedic.She said she decided that was for her after visiting the Rockford Fire Academy. "I'm an adrenaline junkie," she said.
The 800 series was a first for Jones and to get there, he had to bowl seven consecutive strikes in his third and final game. He had a high single game of 279 that day, which put him in an eight-way tie for fifth place among individuals in the NIC-10. His 800 series is second best.
He said he didn't realize how close he was to achieving that feat."My teammates did, though," he said. "Then they told me. I thanked them for not telling me sooner or it would have been in my head."
Jones has been bowling since he was 3 1/2 years of age and of the 800, he said, "I'm really happy about it. It came at a good time."He said he wasn't surprised by how well the team has done this season. "I saw (it beling) a really good year from the beginning."

Jan. 15, 2015

By Bob Balgemann

Reporter

MACHESNEY PARK - You don't have to look very far to find the top-ranked high school bowling teams in the state of Illinois.

They're at Harlem. Both boys and girls, according to Illinoisbowling.net. That's based on how well they've done this winter in tournaments around northern Illinois and the Chicago suburbs.

The Huskies had won five tournaments going into Saturday's Lake Zurich Invite. The list included the Pre-Season in Rockford, Freeport Sportshot, Guilford Invite and Boylan Invite, also in Rockford, and the Dixon Toughman.

Runner-up finishes came at the Lake Park Invite, Harlem Invite, Survivor and PBA Experience events. Rival Hononegah, currently ranked No. 2 among boys’ teams, was at most of the tournaments won by the Huskies.

Individually, Harlem had had standout performances this year from throughout its lineup.

Sophomore Jake Nimtz took second at Lake Park, third at Freeport, fourth at Survivor, second at PBA Experience, fourth at the Boylan Invite and fifth at Dixon. He was the champion at Freeport.

Senior Joe Heathscott took third at Lake Park, seventh at the Pre-Season, sixth at the Guilford Invite, fifth at the Boylan Invite and second at Dixon.

Sophomore Collin Day, who rolled a 300 earlier this season in a dual match against Rockford East, won the Freeport Sportshot.

Sophomore Dawson Jones had the high three-game series at the Harlem Invite and finished third at Dixon.

And junior Austin Bull was second at Freeport, seventh at Survivor and seventh at PBA Experience.

Defeat Guilford

Harlem kept pace with front-running Hononegah in the battle for NIC-10 supremacy by taking all five points from another conference rival, Guilford, on Jan. 6.

Nimtz had the top single game of the day with a 290 and now has the second and third best games in league play this season with a 290 and a 280. Teammate Day's 300 is at the top of the leaderboard.

Overall, Nimtz had his sixth 700-plus series in conference action, a 729.

Heathscott was next up with a 685 while Bull rolled his season's best 267 single game on the way to a 667 series. Day followed with a 601 and Jones with a 586.

Freshman Kyle Gerl continued his exemplary play with a two-game, 526 series built on single games of 248 and 278, the latter one pin shy of his season's best in NIC-10 competition. Cole Damon bowled one game, a 169.

None of the games was close as the Huskies compiled a 3,963 pinfall to 3,345 for the Vikings.

In junior varsity action Harlem continued to nip at first-place Hononegah's heels by defeating Guilford, 3,310 to 2,843.

Eight Huskies participated in the win, led by Tyler Lewis with a 616 series, Nick Howard with a 567, Kyle O'Reilly with a 565 and Sean Baker with a 533.

Sean Gagliano, Tyler Bry. Darby Windsor and Jared Ohman shared the remaining six games, led by Windsor's two-game 364 series, which included a 203 single game, and Bry's 182.

Jan. 15, 2015

By Bob Balgemann
Reporter

MACHESNEY PARK - Harlem's boys bowling team will be on the road to the Marengo regional tournament on Saturday, for the start of what it hopes will be an eventual trip to O'Fallon in downstate Illinois for the 2014-15 state finals.
The Huskies have been there before, most recently during the 2013-14 season, when they came from eighth place after the first day of competition to finish fourth.In other years they were fifth in 2010-11; sixth in 2004-05; and ninth in 2003-04.This is a seasoned team, with some talented underclassmen sprinkled into the starting lineup, which has ascended to the No. 1 ranking in all of Illinois. Right now Harlem is battling with rival Hononegah for the NIC-10 title with two matches left in the regular season.The Marengo regional also will have perennial powerhouse Guilford, last year's state champion. The field includes Belvidere, Belvidere North, DeKalb, Huntley, Christian Life, Rockford Lutheran, Rockford Christian and Sycamore.All of the other NIC-10 teams will be in the Freeport regional.The top four teams from Marengo will move on to the Stevenson sectional in Lincolnshire on Jan. 24, along with qualifiers from regionals at Westminister Christian in Elgin and Vernon Hills. The top 10 individuals not affiliated with a qualifying team also will advance to the sectional.From Stevenson, the top six teams and top seven individuals not part of a qualifying team will head for O'Fallon, near St. Louis.Four members of Harlem's current team competed at state last year. They are led by senior Joe Heathscott, who averaged 223 over 12 games at state, finishing with a 2,671 pinfall. He had a high single game of 258.Sophomore Jake Nimtz also bowled in every game, averaging 215 with a high single game of 247 and a couple of 246s.
Also returning are two more sophomores. Dawson Jones bowled three games, finishing with a 646 series and averaging 215, Collin Day had one game, a 189.
First-year head coach Nick Whitmire leads this year's team.Harlem's Lady Huskies will be at Hononegah for the regional on Feb. 7. Others in the field are Belvidere, Belvidere North, Marengo, Auburn, Boylan, Christian Life, Guilford, Lutheran, Rockford Christian, South Beloit and Woodstock Co-Op.
The top four teams will move on to the Guilford sectional on Feb. 14, with qualifiers from Westminister.and Sterling. State again will be at The Cherry Bowl in nearby Cherry Valley.Harlem finished seventh last year under longtime head coach Jim Heathscott, who returns this season.
 

Jan. 8, 2015

By Bob Balgemann

Reporter

MACHESNEY PARK - Harlem, Hononegah, Freeport and Guilford. Those are the boys and girls teams still in serious contention for first place in the NIC-10 bowling standings with three matches left in the 2014-15 season.

After the sixth week, Hononegah's boys (28-2) were 1 1/2 points ahead of rival Harlem and 2 1/2 points in front of Freeport.

In girls’ action, Freeport (28-2) had a more comfortable lead of five points ahead of Harlem and Hononegah, both with 23-7 records. Belvidere North (22-8) was in the hunt with Guilford (20-10) more in the role of spoiler.

After tournaments dominated the area over Christmas break, conference action will resume Jan. 6 with the Lady Huskies entertaining Guilford at Forest Hills Lanes.

Two days later, on Jan. 8, both Harlem teams will be at Hononegah for huge, five-point matches. The Huskies will be home against Guilford on Jan. 16.

In action leading up to the holidays both Harlem teams took all five points from Auburn. The Huskies have posted a 25-0 record since losing their season opener, 3 1/2-1 1/2 at Freeport. The Lady Huskies, who were 0-5 against Freeport, are 23-2 over that five-week span.

Yet another of the Huskies' talented underclassmen, freshman Kyler Gerl, shot a 279 to spark the victory over Auburn. Interestingly, that effort now ranks in a tie for third place among the top single games in the conference, with two teammates in front of him. They are Collin Day with his 300 and Jake Nimtz with a 280. He and Joe Heathscott each has a 279. as does Clay Coogan of Hononegah, the only non-Huskie in the quintet.

Also against Auburn, Nimtz had his string of consecutive 700-plus series snapped but he was close, recording a 687.

Heathscott had a personal best 678 series while Dawson Jones notched his season-best series, a 652, which included a 278 single game. Day shot a three-game 650 series and Austin Bull a 612. Gerl and Cole Damon divided the remaining three games.

Nimtz still sits atop all conference individuals, averaging 241 per game. Hononegah's Tanner Schewe is second at 229.

Senior Bree Zimmerman shot a peraonal best 676 series, with a 239 single game, to lead the Lady Huskies past Auburn.

She was followed by Mylee McCracken with a 653. Stephanie Richards with a 597, Meredith McNally with a 587 and Skylar Russo-Perry with a 562. Alexandra Buffington had a two-game 346 series with Emily Gustin rolling her first conference game, a 171.

Buffington and McCracken are tied for fifth place in the conference with their 266 single games. McNally's 724 series ranks third.

Jan. 8, 2015

By Bob Balgemann

Reporter

MACHESNEY PARK - There's a wonderland of sights in the lobby between the Harlem High School Athletic Department and main gymnasium. Various displays give the visitor some insight into the successes enjoyed by various Huskie teams over the years.

Now there's a new addition, just inside the main entrance to that hallway, which shows the extensive community support of the school.

The names of those contributing to the artificial turf campaign are listed there, along with a photograph showing some of the supporters before the start of a varsity football game last fall.

The turf was a community-wide effort, with local support generating much of the $675,000 needed to put the new surface on the football field.

Names of those supporters are listed on a plaque, showing the depth of the financial giving by membership in various clubs. It starts with the Anderson Auto Group, the only member of the Field Club, and goes on from there.

Excellence Club, Harlem Fans Club.

Pride Club, Practice Velocity.

Partnership Club, Accelerated Physical Therapy and Williams Manny Insurance Group.

Huskie Club, Rockford Park District, Backyard Grill and Bar, City of Loves Park, Village of Machesney Park, Parks Chamber of Commerce and DLA Orchards.

Orange Club, Associated Bank, Gallagher Benefit Services, Harlem Administration Team, Harlem Student Council, Helm Group, Ike Trickie, Jersey Mike's Subs, Sraga Hauser LLC, Swedish American Foundation and Bob and Karen Vandiver.

Black Club, Harlem Girls Soccer, Interstate Graphics Inc., Harlem Class of 2014, Scott Family, Patsy Scott McKeever, A.W. Anderson Insurance, Gary Anderson and Margaret Berkheimer Anderson, Field Fastener, Jerry Fisher, Harlem Middle School Football, Harlem Music Boosters, Loves Park Lions Club, Dorice and Jeffrey S. Royce, Bob and Pam Shields, Springfield Electric, Dr. Barb Browning, Dr. Julie Morris, James W. Morrow Family, Kurt F. Weigt Family, John and Penny Combs Family, Josh and Tiffany Aurand Family and the Sholl and Amdur Family.

The plaque was put up the week of Dec. 14.

That recognition was "part of the donor packet," Harlem's third-year athletic director, Kurt Weigt, said. "The plaque and photos are a tribute to all who participated in that campaign."

The rest of the display area has an impressive collection of state championship trophies, led by the girls bowling team that won titles in 2000, 2001, 2002, 2005 and 2011. The Lady Huskies were second in 2004 and third in 2003.

In addition, there is a state championship trophy won by Harlem's softball team in 1999, along with a fourth-place finish at state, earned by Harlem wrestlers in 2011.

There are some blanks in the photo display of Harlem grads now playing football at the college level. Updating that board and the one with photos of grads playing other sports in college, is an ongoing process, Weigt said.

One recent addition to the "other sports" board is a photo of Justin Van Wambeke, Harlem's record-setting basketball player, quarterback of the 2012 varsity football team that reached the 7A playoffs and a member of the varsity tennis team. He and older brother Kyle made up the No. 1 doubles team in 2012.

Now a sophomore in college, Justin Van Wambeke is a starter on the 2014-15 Loras College basketball team in Dubuque, Iowa. He is averaging 13.8 points per game for the 3-6 Duhawks, members of the Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.

They played Rockford College earlier in the season, at home, and claimed a close 88-85 victory. Van Wambeke was his team's leading scorer in that one with 21 points, including 13-of-15 at the free-throw line. So he hasn't lost his touch in that discipline, for which he set a couple of records while at Harlem.

Dec. 18, 2014

By Bob Balgemann

Reporter

MACHESNEY PARK - Harlem's varsity wrestlers improved to 6-0 in NIC-10 action last week by winning triangulars at home and at Belvidere North.

In their only home appearance of the season - other than the Dec. 22-23 Dvorak Memorial tournament - they rolled over Rockford Jefferson, 61-6, and Boylan, 63-9.

There were matches in 10 of the 14 weight classes against Jefferson, with the Huskies winning eight of them.

Alex Zacharuk used a takedown with three seconds left in the first period to edge his J-Hawk opponent, 5-2, at 120 pounds.

Max Brown had an unusual match at 126, in which five penalty points resulted in his opponent being disqualified. Brown was up, 7-2 when that occurred.

At 138 pounds, Adam Zacharuk rolled to a 9-0 lead before winning by a pin in 1:42. Then Joey Kamaval jumped out to a 6-0 lead before winning with a fall in 2:55 at 145. After Jefferson won its first match, at 152, Arik Fox got the Huskies back on track when he pinned his 160-pound opponent in 2:49.

Dalton Hambrock continued Harlem's successes at 170 pounds with another fall, this one in 1:20. He was taken down to start and trailed early, 2-0. Then he escaped, took down the J-Hawk and pinned him.

Jefferson won at 195. But the Huskies' Andrew Massetti got the Huskies going again with an 11-2 decision at 220 pounds. He opened up a close match by outscoring his opponent, 6-0, in the third period.

Anthony McKinney wrapped things up by pinning his 285-pound opponent in 2:20.

Harlem won eight of nine matches against Boylan, some with quick pins. McKinney pinned his 285 opponent in just 23 seconds; Hambrock (170) won in 25 seconds as did Fox (160) in 39 seconds and Jenner Hecox (182) in 58 seconds.

Others willing by fall were Brown at 126; Dylan Elmore at 132; and freshman Genesis Garay at 145. Dakota Corbin won a high-scoring match, 16-10, at 152 pounds.

More one-sided wins

Harlem's lopsided conference wins continued Dec. 11 on the road at Belvidere North when it defeated the host Blue Thunder, 42-28, and Freeport, 60-16.

There were nine forfeits in the Freeport match with the Huskies winning three of the five weight classes in which there was competition.

Elmore had the quickest pin against the Pretzels, in just 26 seconds at 132 pounds. Jacob Hayes won by a fall at 113 as did Alex Zacharuk at 120.

Harlem was tested more by Belvidere North, which won five matches among the 11 that had competition. The Blue Thunder won two close ones, 10-9 at 160, and 3-2 at 285.

Hayes won with a 7-4 decision at 113; Alex Zacharuk pinned his 120 opponent in 3:08. But North used a forfeit and four victories to lead, 25-18, with five matches left.

Hambrock turned it around for the Huskies quickly when he won by a pin in just 25 seconds to bring his team within one point, 25-24. Hecox won by forfeit for a 30-25 lead, then freshman Joshua Carter made a statement at 195 pounds, winning with a pin in 3:25, to make it 36-25. Massetti won by a pin in 3:49 at 220 to sew up the decision.

Dec. 18, 2014

By Bob Balgemann

Reporter

MACHESNEY PARK - There have been 27 Dvorak Memorial wrestling tournaments held over the years, and now it's in its ninth year at Harlem High School.

Action will be held Tuesday and Wednesday (Dec. 22-23) this year, attracting 31 teams from four states including Florida, Iowa, Ohio and Wisconsin.

It is a massive undertaking, coordinated by Harlem Athletic Kurt Weigt and Administrative Assistant Kim Schwegler, along with a volunteer assembly of more than 50 people.

On opening day, at 9:30 a.m., there will be competitions on eight mats, six in the main gymnasium and two in the adjacent auxiliary gym. Eight mats also will be in use in Session II, starting about 3:30 Monday afternoon, with bouts in the consolation and championship brackets.

Wrestling will be confined to the main gym on Tuesday, when Session III opens at 9 a.m. with more consolation and championship bracket competitions.

Session IV will be on four mats starting about 2 p.m. Tuesday and feature championship, third, fifth and seventh-place matches. Awards will be presented after every four bouts.

Wrestlers will be seeded at the discretion of tournament organizers based on the following criteria: Being a defending state champion, a state place winner, state qualifier, defending sectional champion, defending Dvorak champion, national, state and Dvorak performances and match record.

The field of teams includes Lockport, Iowa City West, Bishop McNamara Catholic, Bolingbrook, Crystal Lake Central, Crystal Lake South, Cary-Grove, Edwardsville, defending 1A state champion Dakota, Glenbard North, Arlington Heights Hersey, Yorkville, Hononegah, Milton (Wis.), Lake Highland Prep in Orlando, Fla., and host Harlem.

Also, Niles - Notre Dame, Libertyville, Schaumburg, Marist, Marmion Academy, Woodstock Marian Catholic, Mt. Carmel, Minooka, Mason, Ohio, Lincoln-Way Central, Providence Catholic, St. Charles East, St. Rita, Wheaton North and Villa Park Willowbrook.

"This is arguably the best tournament in the country that day," AD Weigt said.

Last year there were 965 matches involving 32 teams.

Harlem has a muilti-year contract with Flo Wrestling to live stream action over the Internet, allowing those with a computer to watch matches.

Harlem had one Dvorak champion last year - senior Sage Hecox at 220 pounds. He wound up winning the state championship while posting a 40-2 record overall.

The Huskies have seen plenty of success so far this season and are undefeated in NIC-10 matches, winning triangular meets at home and on the road in Belvidere and Belvidere North.

Going into the week of Dec. 8, Harlem wrestlers throughout the 14-weight lineup had posted some outstanding records.

Senior Adam Zacharuk had the most victories, posting a 14-3 record at 132 pounds. Winners of 13 matches were junior Dylan Elmore (13-2) at 126; junior Jenner Hecox (13-2) at 182; and junior Anthony McKinney (13-3) at 285.

Senior Andrew Massetti was 11-3 at 220; junior Jacob Hayes owned a 9-2 mark at 106 pounds; and a sophomore, Dalton Hambrock, was 8-4 at 170.

Dec. 18, 2014

By Bob Balgemann

Reporter

MACHESNEY PARK - Saturday night rang down the curtain on a week of NIC-10 basketball games against Freeport and Guilford, which saw Harlem's boys and girls take three of four games.

The Lady Huskies (8-3, 4-1) were on the road for both games and edged the Lady Pretzels, 41-35, while using a strong second half to stun the Lady Vikings, 48-34.

Meanwhile, the Huskies (4-4, 2-2) were home both nights and first took an overtime thriller from Guilford. But then they lost, 49-34, to a scrappy Pretzel team that won its first conference game.

Head coach Luanna Kish could be heard trying to fire up her team during halftime Friday night, with host Guilford holding a 20-15 lead. Whatever she said paid dividends as Harlem battled back to tie it at 31-31 after three quarters, then went on a 17-3 tear in the fourth period for the win.

"We came out slow," senior Jessica Dahle said of the first half. At halftime "the coach tried to get us excited."

Second-half strategy called for switching from a man-to-man defense to a 1-2-2 zone and that worked well. That plus there being "more communication on defense," Dahle said.

Harlem was 2-for-11 in first-quarter shooting while Guilford went 1-for-12 as they battled to a 5-5 standoff. Two McKaela Schmelzer free throws put the Lady Huskies up, 15 -13, with 1:48 left until halftime. But Guilford went on a 7-0 run to close it out and lead, 20-15.

A 3 by Schmelzer and basket from Kahlee Logan, off a missed Guilford shot and a turnover, tied it at 20-20 to start the third period.

Neither team could go up by more than four points the rest of the way with two free throws, one by Harlem's Audi Jenkins, leaving a 31-31 tie after three.

Schmelzer and Aubrey Noto led a 14-3 charge in the fourth quarter that produced a 45-34 Harlem lead with 1:43 to play. Schmelzer scored off a fast break after stealing a psss, twice drove the length of the floor for baskets and closed out by driving the basline for yet another score. Noto also had a drive to the hoop and made one free throw.

Guilford was held to one basket, a 3, at the 3:00 mark.

The Lady Vikings never got to the bonus at the free-throw line as Harlem committed just six fouls in the final two quarters. The Lady Huskies went to the line nine times, converting seven.

Schmelzer sparked the win with 25 points.

Earlier in the week Harlem also was held to 15 points in the first half, while host Freeport had 19 for a slight lead. But the Lady Huskies once again recovered in the second half to outscore the Lady Pretzels, 26-16, to record the win.

Free-throw points were difficult to come by for Harlem as it went 8-for-22 in the fourth quarter and finished with 21-of-40 for the night. Freeport only went to the line 11 times and converted seven.

Dahle had just one basket but went 9-for-11 at the line to lead Harlem with 11 points. Schmelzer and Baylee Paluzzi notched 10 apiece while Logan had eight.

Rally past Guilford

Harlem's boys rallied from 27-22 halftime deficit Friday night to force overtime and then outscore Guilford, 16-9, in the extra period to win. Allen White III had 14 points while Malik Lightfoot hit three 3-pointers on the way to a 13-point night overall.

The Huskies held two leads against Freeport, 2-0 on a layup from White and 17-16 on a shot from in close by Alex Karbarz. That was about it as they never could mount a charge against the energetic Pretzels, who were always pressuring the ball and clossing both the passing and driving lanes.

There were precious 3-point opportunities for Lightfoot on Saturday. He netted one of them, early in the second quarter, which brought Harlem to within a point, 13-12.

The Huskies remained close until midway through the fourth quarter when Freeport went on a 13-3 run to end the game.

Karbarz had 13 to lead Harlem while White chipped in 11. 

Dec. 18, 2014

By Bob Balgemann

Reporter

MACHESNEY PARK - Harlem's boys and girls bowling teams are moving back into contention for top rung finishes in the NIC-10, with their recent string of victories showing some outstanding individual performances.

Sophomore Collin Day bowled a perfect 300 last week as the Huskies took all five points from Rockford East.

And two freshmen made their presence known. Stephanie Richards cranked out a 645 series, with a high game of 258, as the Lady Huskies blanked East, 5-0. Kyler Gerl rolled a 703 series with a 254 single game to help Harlem dismantle Boylan, 5-0.

Day comes from a family of bowlers and first started throwing a ball when he was 3 years old. The 300, accomplished at Forest Hills Lanes, was his second. The first came a couple of years ago at Don Carter Lanes.

He said he first became aware of the possibility that he would be perfect again in the seventh or eighth frame. Naturally he was the center of attention once he reached the 10th frame, but said he tried to ignore it.

"The last ball, I was shaking a little bit," he said. "People got real quiet."

Then there was the customary chaos and offers of congratulations.

The 300 came in his first game against East and if there were any thoughts of doing it again that day, they were quickly dashed. "The next couple of balls weren't that

good," he recalled.

Sophomore Jake Nimtz had his season's best series against East, a 758, while flirting with a 300 and settling for a 280. The 758 is second best in the conference so far this year, as is the 280.

There were other personal bests as well. Sophomore Cole Damon fired a 639 with a high single game of 255, while junior Austin Bull shot a 649, including a high game of 239. Senior Joe Heathscott also cracked 600, with a 640, which included a 235. Sophomore Dawson Jones rounded out the scoring with a 549.

Against Boylan, Nimtz made it three 700s in a row with a 702, while Bull had a personal best 715 and Gerl a 703. Heathscott was close behind with a 690; Jones checked in with a 614; his best to far this season; Day had a 593.

Team-wise, the Huskies overwhelmed Boylan, 4,017 to 2,992, and now have the best single game (1,408) and series (4,017) of the season.

He rolled a season-high 686 series that day as Harlem easily defeated East, 3,919 to 3,420.

After three games Harlem has shut out its last two opponents and now is tied with Freeport for second place in the conference with an 11 1/2-3 1/2 record. Hononegah (13-2) is in first.

Lady Huskies on a roll

Harlem's girls (10-5) also have taken 10 points in a row to climb into sole possession of fourth place. They trail Freeport (14-1), Belvidere North (12 1/2-2 1/2) and Guilford (11-4).

Richards and Mylee McCracken (663) sparked the 3,486 to 2,983 win over East. Sophomore Alexandria Buffington followed with a 546 while Taylor Rush chipped in a 541. Meredith McNally (350) and Bree Zimmerman (346) bowled two games apiece.

Three Lady Huskies had personal best series in the 3,632 to 2,924 victory over Boylan. McNally, a senior, rolled a 628 with a high game of 215 while Rush, also a senior, had a 624 along with a 213 high game. Russo-Perry, a junior, chipped in a personal best 593.

McCracken had the high series for her team, a 657. Richards contributed a 580; Zimmerman (373) bowled two games with Buffington (177) having one.

As a team, Harlem's 3,632 against Boylan is the new conference high series to date, with its 1,248 single game, also against the Lady Titans, ranking second.

McCracken's 207 average is eighth best individually.

Nov. 20, 2014

By Bob Balgemann

Reporter

MACHESNEY PARK - Austin Young has been around the golf course since he was 5 years old. Now the game he came to love as a child has led him to being a forever part of sports history at Harlem High School.

He's a "first-ever," as in the first member of the boys' golf team to reach the state tournament. That's quite an achievement by itself. But doing it as a freshman puts a punctuation mark at the end of the sentence.

His dad, Mark Young, is superintendent of the Krueger Haskell Golf Course in Beloit, Wis., and introduced him to the game.

"It was a cool thing," Austin said in retrospect. "We'd play when he had a day off. The interest increased as I grew older."

Play was informal in the early days. Then at 10 he participated in a Rockford Park District tournament. "I don't remember how I did but I do remember I liked it," he said of the competitiveness."

Having taken some lessons prior to the tournament, he said putting and chipping emerged as the strong points of his game.

A wide range of emotions are part of golf and Austin said he found it to be "a mental game. You can't let one bad hole ruin the rest of the game. I learned to overcome that - it just happened. You nave to concentrate."

Around here, golf is for spring, summer and fall. But Austin has kept actuve during the winter by participating in a golf course operated by Lloyd McWilliams in Rockford. "That helped deal with the mental side," he said. "And with the physical side. He was and still is my swing coach."

Team golf started for Austin at Harlem Middle School, as an eighth grader. Then high school arrived earlier this year, with tryouts and his goal of making the varsity team.

"I was a little bit nervour during tryouts," he recalled. "I knew some of the guys and they were helpful."

He started with a nine-hold round of 43, but rebounded with a 37 and a 37. And he made the varsity.

Harlem plays its home matches at Atwood Golf Club, which was familiar to him because he plays a lot there during the summer season.

Before long it was tournament time and Austin said he was confident that he would advance to the sectional. He did so, shooting 78, and his entire team did well enough to also take that step, which made him happy.

Competition was more intense in the sectional and the Huskies didn't reach state. Austin did, however, improving on his regional effort by shooting 74. "I was surprised I did that well," he said. Especially rallying the way he did, from a first nine 40 to carding a 34 on the back nine.

State was played at a place called "The Den," in Bloomington, and it was just that. Plus the weather - windy and cold - not condusive to the game of golf.

"It was an open course with a lot of water and out-of-bounds hazards," he said. "And bunkers, too. They were just big."

Water proved to be his Waterloo on opening day - he remembered putting three consecutive tee shots into the drink - and he finished with an 89. But once again he came back, this time shooting 79, to head home feeling much better about everything.

"The weather was still bad," he said of the second day. "Coach (Jared) Day said it's not state without wind and cold. But I was a lot more relaxed."

Now another winter is back, more indoor golf, lots of rounds over the spring and summer and then the 2015 season. For Austin, it's the hope of a repeat - and this time being at state with his entire team.

Meanwhile, he has the memories of the start of his freshman year in high school and the support shown to him during tournament time and afterward as well.

He thanked family, friends and coaches for being there for him during those weeks. 

Nov. 20, 2014

By Bob Balgemann

Reporter

ROCKFORD - After several years of traveling to Richmond and Johnsburg to play basketball over the Thanksgiving holiday, Harlem's boys varsity basketball team will be closer to home this year.

All the Huskies have to do is cross the Rock River, where they'll be part of the eight-team Boylan Thanksgiving Tournament.

Action will begin Tuesday, (Nov. 24) when Rockford Lutheran takes on Freeport at 5:45 p.m. Collins and Rockford Guilford will follow at 7:30 p.m.

Harlem will see a couple of Chicago teams in the tournament, starting with John Hope College Prepatory School at 5:45 Wednesday (Nov. 25). DeKalb and the host Titans will meet at 7:30 p.m. that day.

The Huskies will get to play in four games at this event, with action continuing the day after Thanksgiving, Friday, Nov. 28. Harlem and Lutheran will tangle at 5:45 p.m.

The tournament wraps up Saturday, Nov. 29, with Harlem playing in the opener that day - at 9 a.m. - against DeKalb. It will wrap things up against the other Chicago team - Collins - at 3:30 p.m.

Hope and Collins have 381 and 379 students respectively. The Collins Warriors, 6-12 in the 2013-14 season, played in the Boylan tournament last year and won one of three games. They defeated Rockford East, 69-66, then lost to the host Titans, 82-70, and Rockford Auburn, 75-62.

Harlem started slowly last season, then had a strong finish thanks in part to the improved play of junior starters Alex Karbarz, Malik Lightfoot, Robert Smith Jr. and sophomore Brock Soter. Smith returns as a two-year regular.

In addition, then junior Bryson Bailey got a lot of playing down the stretch.

The summer league went 6-2 during regular season play but finished 0-2 in the tournament. Among the newcomers who showed promise were incoming juniors Jason Foy and Brennen Phelps along with sophomore Allen White.

Meanwhile, Harlem's girls basketball team will wrap up pool play in the Burlington Central Thanksgiving Tournament this weekend.

The Lady Huskies will take on Elgin Larkin at 6 p.m. Friday, Nov. 21, then have a doubleheader on Saturday, meeting Crystal Lake Prairie Ridge at 1:30 and Marengo at 4:30 p.m.

There are two five-team pools at the tournament, with Harlem joined by Richmond-Burton, Larkin, Prairie Ridge and Marengo in one of them. The other pool has host Burlington Central, Crystal Lake Central, Oak Forest and Woodstock.

The top four seeds from each pool will play each other Monday and Tuesday, Nov. 24-25, for trophies.

Oct. 30, 2014

By Bob Balgemann

ROSCOE - The Carlson Boys & Girls Club heavyweight football team has made a statement in just its second year in the Northern Illinois Football Conference.

The junior Huskies, as they're called, edged Rockford Lutheran 12-8 Saturday evening to win the postseason tournament at Riverside Park and finish with a 10-0 record overall.

"Great game," head coach Courtney Ford said afterward. "The boys really put it together. Defensively, they played an awesome game."

That was particularly true of Keegan Beck, whose name was called numerous time by the field announcer for sacks or making tackles for losses. A sixth-grader of few words, he said after the game that he played hard as did the rest of his teammates.

The two teams met earlier this fall, at Lutheran, and were involved in another defensive struggle. After a 6-6 halftime tie, the junior Huskies broke the game open in the third quarter on their way to a 26-6 win.

Not so this time around.

Carlson did take the early lead, 6-0, with a big play. Quarterback James Cooper Jr. completed a screen pass to Johnny Peterson, whose speed turned a short gain into a 78-yard touchdown. The two-point conversion attempt failed, leaving the junior Huskies up, 6-0, with 3:36 left in the opening quarter.

After seeing a scoring threat denied by a lost fumble, Carlson scored for the second time. It was Cooper to Peterson again, with this scoring pass covering 46 yards down the left sideline just 38 seconds before halftime. The PAT again was unsuccessful, leaving the margin at 12-0.

The junior Crusaders made it interesting early in the fourth quarter with an 83-yard touchdown run at the 8:36 mark. The extra point kick was good - two points are awarded for a successful kick - and Carlson's lead had been reduced to 12-8.

But the junior Huskie defense held through two final Lutheran possessions. The first drive ended at the Carlson 49. The second one was more of a threat, with the junior Crusaders advancing to the junior Huskie 17 as time expired.

After the game many of the fans of both teams stayed around while individual medalions and a team trophy were awarded to this year's heavyweight champion and runner-up.

Most of the junior Huskies will be in seventh grade next year and be eligible to participate in the football program at Harlem Middle School.

Oct. 23, 2014

By Bob Balgemann

Reporter

MACHESNEY PARK - Harlem's varsity football team (6-2) has been guaranteed another berth in the 7A state playoffs by virtue of its 52-7 win over Jefferson last Friday.

Now it will attempt to finish the regular season with a 7-2 record this Friday, by defeating Guilford in a second consecutive home game.

The Huskies finished at 6-3 last season and with that record were the 16th seed in their bracket. That put them against top-seeded Glenbard West in the opening round and the result wasn't pretty.

A 7-2 finish would place them more in the middle of the bracket and avoid facing one of the top teams in their first game. That also would offer some hope for a home game, as happened in 2012 when they entertained Libertyville, which also concluded at 7-2.

Bottom line is Harlem wants to avoid being upset by Guilford, as happened on the road in its final regular season game of the 2013 season.

The Vikings won their first three games, but since then have lost five in a row.

Last Friday was homecoming for the Huskies and in addition, their defense helped senior linebacker Christian Ross-Smith celebrate his 18th birthday.

The party started immediately as another senior, Brendyn Ford, intercepted a pass at the J-Hawk 40. Quarterback Trent Willey initially threw a 20-yard pass to senior  Dakota Knutsen. A second pass, this one to senior Raymond Lee, was good for the touchdown just 1:14 into the game. Still another senior, Sam Libby, kicked the extra point for a 7-0 lead.

A junior got into the act on Jefferson's next possession when Bryce Goodall intercepted a pass at midfield. With Lee's running eating up most of the yardage, Harlem needed seven plays to make it 14-0 on an eight-yard run, by Lee, at the 7:32 mark.

Up by 28 at halftime

This game essentially was over at halftime as the Huskies added two more touchdowns to lead, 28-0, while still in the opening quarter.

The first score came after a four play, 88-yard drive that included a 26-yard pass from Willey to junior Cody Paholski. Willey capped it with a 31-yard TD toss to senior Malik Lightfoot in the right corner of the end zone with 3:53 left in the period.

Touchdown No. 4 came with 59 seconds remaining, after a J-Hawk punter dropped the snap from center at his 40-yard line. This drive took just three plays, with senior Nathan Woolsey striking paydirt on an eight-yard run.

On another chilly, windy, fall Midwestern evening, some of the faithful who turned out were hoping for a running clock in the second half. To accomplish that end, Harlem would have to be leading by 40 points or more at intermission.

Senior short-yardage specialist Taylor Hart started things in that direction when he scored on a two-yard run with 10:07 left in the second quarter. That made it 34-0 after a rare Libby miss on the PAT kick.

For the season, seven of Hart's 12 carries have resulted in touchdowns.

Meanwhile, Jefferson tried to catch the Huskies napping on its next possession with a fake punt. That didn't work and Harlem was in business at the J-Hawk 14. Junior Ryan Kelley put the sixth touchdown on the board with a 14-yard run, the extra point kick failed and it was 40-0 at the 7:07 mark.

Interestingly, Harlem got the two points back six seconds later after a Jefferson return man fumbled the ensuing kickoff at his team's one-yard line. A running play then was stuffed in the end zone for a safety, increasing the difference to 42-0.

So a running clock was in place for the second half. But it didn't happen.

Less than one minute before the break Jefferson recovered a Harlem fumble in mid-air and returned it 69 yards to the two-yard line. A quarterback sneak on the next play, with 12.4 seconds remaining. and corresponding PAT kick made it a 45-7 game.

The Huskies added another touchdown in the second half for the 52-7 finale.

Oct. 23, 2014

By Bob Balgemann

Reporter

MACHESNEY PARK - Harlem High School has had its first-ever golfer reach the state tournament and that was freshman Austin Young.

After shooting 78 to advance from the regional to sectional, he followed with a 74 to qualify for last weekend's state finals in Bloomington.

Young carded an 89 on opening day with three birdies and five pars among the 18 holes. He finished with an 80, moving him up six spots in the final standing of individuals. That day he had two birdies and 10 pars.

Hinsdale Central won the 3A team competition with New Trier in second place.

Homecoming results

The Class of 2015 defended the Homecoming tradition of seniors finishing with the most Spirit Points after four days of various competitions at Harlem High School.

But the sophomores had the best float. In fact, seven of the 10 judges gave them a perfect score. The juniors were second followed by the seniors in third and freshmen in fourth.

On Orange & Black Dress-Up day the sophomores ran away with the competition, having 95.7 percent participation. The juniors and seniors were a distant second and third, respectively, each in the 64 percent range. The freshmen had 60 percent with the high school staff at 59 percent.

Overall, the seniors amassed 3,274 Spirit Points, well ahead of the juniors with their total of 2,795. The sophomores had 2,648 with the freshmen at 1,738 and staff with 865.

Brendyn Ford and Bryanna Morris reigned as Homecoming King and Queen.

Sophomores rebound

It was a happy Homecoming on the football field as all three Harlem teams won.

For the sophomores, it meant ending a three-game losing streak with an exciting 24-18 win over Jefferson.

Gabe Haun hauled in a 14-yard touchdown pass, on a fourth-down play, to give the Huskies the six-point lead with 7:32 left in the game.

It was a see-saw battle throughout the evening, with the J-Hawks leading early, 6-0. A bad punt snap set up the Huskies (3-5) at the Jefferson seven midway through the second period. They took advantage of the opportunity with Devyn Austin scoring from the two to create the 6-6 tie.

Jefferson was driving late in the period when Jake Anderson recovered a fumble and returned it 57 yards for the TD, just 22.6 seconds before halftime.

The J-Hawks came back to tie it with 8:53 left in the third quarter. Then Harlem went up again, 13 seconds later, when Devin Bondurant returned the kickoff 78 yards for a touchdown.

Jefferson marched 61 yards with its next possession to forge an 18-18 tie, on a fourth-down, 24-yard touchdown pass with 3:08 left in the period.

But Harlem followed by launching the game-winning drive that needed 13 plays, covered 53 yards and spilled over into the fourth quarter. 

Oct. 16, 2014

By Bob Balgemann

Reporter

MACHESNEY PARK - Regional competition in boys and girls golf has been held, with sectionals earlier this week. And similar IHSA-sanctioned events will be coming up soon in the other fall sports.

Harlem advanced two boys and one girl to sectional golf tournaments held earlier this week.

Since the Huskies finished fourth and did not qualify for the sectional as a team, four individuals fared well enough to take the next step.

Freshman Austin Young, who carded an 18-hole round of 78 at the Crystal Lake Central regional, finished second among 10 individual qualifiers. Also advancing were senior Joe Watts with a 79; sophomore Martin Schwebke with an 84; and senior Tyler Born with an 86.

Boylan won the regional with Hononegah finishing third. The Indians, who advanced to the sectional, were led by juniors Reid Anderson (75) and Adam Norwood (79).

In girls golf, sophomore Carson Racich led the 10 individual qualifiers with an 18-hole score of 83. Crystal Lake Central won the regional while Harlem came in 10th.

First up among remaining fall sports competitions will be girls' tennis, to be held Saturday (Oct. 18). There is one class in this event, with 314 participating schools.

Harlem is hosting a sectional this year with the field including Freeport, Auburn, Boylan, Rockford East, Rockford Guilford, Rockford Jefferson, Keith Country Day School, Rockford Lutheran and Hononegah.

The state finals will be Oct. 23-25 at suburban Buffalo Grove High School.

Harlem's boys cross country team will compete Oct. 25 in the Guilford regional along with Elgin Larkin, Rockford East, Rockford Guilford, Rockford Jefferson, Hononegah and South Elgin. The sectional will be Nov. 1.

The girls team will be at the same regional with the same field of competitors.

Regional action in girls volleyball is the week of Oct. 27. Harlem will be at the Guilford regional and open Oct. 27, a Monday, against Rockford East at 5:30 p.m. The winner will meet top-seeded Hononegah at 5:30 p.m. Oct. 28.

The championship match will be held Oct. 30, with the winner advancing to the Crystal Lake South sectional.

Girls swimming and diving competition is a ways off, with sectionals being held Nov. 15. Harlem is entered at the Rockford Jeffersion event along with Freeport Aquin, Freeport, Auburn, Boyan, Guilford, Keith Country Day School, Rockford Christian, Hononegah, Belvidere Co-op, Byron Co-op, Sterling Co-op and Newman Central Catholic in Sterling.

State will be Nov. 21-22 at Evanston Township High School.

Volleyball team wins

Harlem's girls volleyball team broke won for the third time this season on the road in Freeport. The Lady Huskies prevailed, 25-20, 25-16, led by Abby Sundberg's nine kills. Maddy West handed out 17 assists while Kahley Logan had three blocks.

Freeport won the sophomore match, 25-13, 25-13. But Harlem's freshmen came on strong in the third game to defeat the Lady Pretzels, 25-9. The teams split the first two games with Harlem taking the opener, 25-11, and Freeport the second game, 25-17.

Oct. 16, 2014

By Chris Johnson

Reporter

ROCKTON—The situation is set for the Hononegah Indians, they will be heading to the playoffs, based on enrollment numbers, it would appear the Class 7A tournament is beckoning, following a 49-14 win over the Harlem Huskies on Friday night, Oct. 10.

For the Harlem Huskies, the situation also already appears to be set, even falling to 5-2 on the season; they appear to be in good shape, as they will try to get their sixth win this Friday night. The Huskies host winless Jefferson.

In week nine, Harlem faces Guilford. The Vikings would have to beat Hononegah in week eight to avoid picking up their fifth loss, making the week nine contest less important, in discussions about week ten.

Huskies Head Coach Jim Morrow said his team was ready. He knew what was on the line as his team met up with the Indians to the north.

“It was a difficult game," he said. "We struggled getting out of certain quarters. It was a lot like the Belvidere North game earlier in the season. For us it will be just a matter of turning the page now; hitting the reset button. We will carry on, pick ourselves up and dust ourselves off and get ready for the next opportunity.”

That opportunity will be this Friday night, in what will be a game that will not be overlooked, even with some of the other distractions that may be facing the team, according to Morrow.

“Hopefully that will be the case. We know what’s in front of us. I can guarantee we will not be looking past anyone. Friday night will be our Homecoming, so there could be a lot of distractions.

"We have to focus on improving. We are doing a pretty good job of eliminating turnovers and a pretty good job of keeping the penalties low, that comes from self-discipline.”

Huskies quarterback Trent Willey did his best to avoid those mistakes, having a very productive night through the air, throwing for over 150 yards on 15-of-22 attempts, giving him a quarterback rating of 87.9. That’s fairly special play from a solid leader, according Harlem’s Coach.

“It all starts with our offensive line; they did a pretty good job giving him time to throw. I really hadn’t had a chance to look at it more until seeing the film. I’m sure we didn’t do quite as well as I had hoped. We did show some improvement. We did a pretty good job of eliminating turnovers and a pretty good job of keeping penalties low.”

For Hononegah, the passing game was supportive, with Daytona Chandler completing two-of-three attempts for 30 yards. Marcos Reyes carried the load, into the end zone, as he scored three times and totaled 136 yards on 13 carries.

His break away play was a 48-yarder for score, with the game in hand. Alec Dodd rushed 12 times for 174 yards and scored a touchdown in the winning effort. Kienen Nordlie picked up 44 yards on ten carries.

It’s time to move on and look forward to this Friday night’s game for Hononegah.

The final two games for Hononegah will determine how they enter the playoffs. The next issue the team will have to face will be a win-to-host mentality; they will now be required to carry.

A win against Guilford this Friday night will send a couple messages. Guilford will have been knocked out of post-season discussions, even after spending the early part of the 2014 season tied with Hononegah for first place in the Conference.

The second, that the Indians will be looking to roll over Freeport on Senior night on Oct. 24, to guarantee they will be hosting in the first round of the Class 7A Tournament.

Some shifting takes place on the leader board in the NIC-10 this week as the Hononegah Indians find themselves tied with only Belvidere North for first place with identical 6-1 records.

The inside edge goes to Hononegah as the season prepares to enter its positioning rounds courtesy of a somewhat easier closing stretch.

Hononegah will play at Guilford Stadium this Friday night and will be home to close the regular season against 2-5 Freeport, who carries the second worst defensive record in the Conference.

The Blue Thunder fell to Hononegah in week three, 35-28 and will be at Boylan, on Friday, Oct. 17, before traveling to Auburn Stadium to face Jefferson on Friday, Oct. 24.

The playoffs will begin on Halloween night, Oct. 31, 2014.

At this point, representing the NIC-10 Conference, Hononegah and Belvidere North have guaranteed their places in the 2014 Football State Playoffs.

Harlem and Boylan, both 5-2, would seem to be in a very good position to make it in to the playoffs as well. Based on playoff points, (the win total of all your combined seasonal opponents), if the season were to end today, both Boylan and Harlem would already be in.

Auburn, currently at 4-3 on the season, is also looking to get their chance to enter the post-season. The Knights host Freeport this Friday night and close on the road at Guilford Stadium against Rockford East on Oct. 24. The next two opponents carry a combined 3-11 record.

If Auburn wins only one of their next two games, they could still make it into the playoffs with a 5-4 record. They would however have to be on the road, possibly up to as much as an hour-and-a-half away and face one of the best 9-0, top teams, in the State of Illinois, in the opening round.

Oct. 16, 2014

By Bob Balgemann

Reporter

MACHESNEY PARK - The 12U Lopez softball team showed it belonged in the 14U division Sunday afternoon by defeating Lombardi, 13-4, in the semi-finals of the Harlem Community Center fall softball league tournament.

They scored in each of the five innings while pitchers Emily Heitcamp, Emma Hammer and Halee Bergstrom held their opponent to just one base hit. Lopez only collected four hits but took advantage of its scoring opportunities.

In other semi-final action defending 18U champion Fleming defeated the Belvidere Buzz; Lombardi edged Fraser, 4-2, in a battle of two 14U rivals; Insko toppled Heitter while unbeaten Osgood has to scramble to get past winless Stein, 16-12, in two 16U outings.

Lombardi took a 2-0 first inning lead over Lopez without benefit of a hit.

Sidnee Schaller led off with a walk and moved up a base when Grace Heimer was hit by a pitch. After Natalee Weingartner was safe on a fielder's choice, she and Heimer scored on a couple of wild pitches.

That advantage didn't last long, however, as Lopez, named for head coach Jose Lopez, put five runs in the board in its half of the first.

Walks helped that rally, being issued to Ashley Morgan and Heitcamp to start things off. Their first run came home when Erin Bishop was safe on the first of three consecutive Lombardi errors. There only was one hit in the inning, a single by Haley Reichensperger, but it drove in two runs.

The same was true of the second inning, when Lopez scored three times, after two were out, for an 8-2 lead. This time the key hit was a bases-loaded triple by Bergstrom, which scored Morgan, Heitcamp and BIshop.

Stephanie Betts singled in a run in the third, to make it 9-3.

Bishop had an RBI single in a three-run fourth and she later scored on a throwing error. Hammer accoutned for the third run with a sacrifice fly to right.

Lopez's final run came in the fifth inning, when Reichensperger singled and eventually scored on a delayed steal of home plate. She was 3-for-3 in the game with two RBI and two runs scored.

The top four batters in the Lopez lineup were especially productive in the win, getting on base 12 times, scoring 10 runs and collecting four RBIs. Two other runs came in when Bishop and Bergstrom were safe on errors.

Lopez didn't fare as well in the championship game late Sunday afternoon, losing 13-3 to Spradlin, a team of girls who will be attending Dakota High School.

In another championship contest, Fleming concluded an undefeated fall season by edging Tallard, 6-3, in the 18U division. Both are part of the Rockford Big Dogs travel organization, with Fleming made up of girls 14 years of age and younger.

Oct. 9, 2014

Harlem's Brandon Sherbon (3) scrambles to get control of the ball during the Huskies’ 3-2 win over Auburn in NIC-10 action on Oct. 2.

Chris Anderson photo – www.chrisanderson-photography.com

Oct. 9, 2014

By Bob Balgemann

Reporter

MACHESNEY PARK - Harlem's boys soccer team continued its late-season resurgence Oct. 2 with an inspired 3-2 Senior Night victory over Auburn.

The Huskies were up 2-0 when the Knights scored twice in the final 14:17 to force overtime. After the first 10-minute extra period, which was scoreless, Harlem took a 3-2 lead on a goal by senior Brandon Sherbon with 4:46 left in the second 10 minutes of play. Had that one ended without a goal a series of penalty kicks would have decided the winner.

Sherbon scored from within a large assembly of players in front of the Auburn net, putting in a rebound of a shot from junior Gilbert Fregozo.

"Seniors, you'll remember that one forever," head coach Kyle Truax told his team afterward.

This year's seniors include Marco Martinez, Brandon Sherbon, Logan Close, Servando Infante, Adem Dzananovic and Christopher Lopez.

In  a post-game interview, coach Truax said his team "really stepped up in the last five or six games. Auburn has really improved over the years and we had a tough time tonight. But we got our first conference win; they (Huskies) fought back to win."

Harlem took second in the recent McHenry Invitational, tying twice and winning once, 2-0 over Northridge.

Against Auburn, the Knights spent much of the first half in Harlem's end of the field but it was the hosts who scored first. Sophomore Jacob Lee made it 1-0 by lofting a high kick over the head of Auburn's goal keeper with 17:37 left in the first half.

Harlem keeper Dzananovic was tested several times in the first 40 minutes of play. He was up to all of it and made an acrobatic save 9:58 before halftime.

The Huskies scored an insurance goal at 21:37 of the second half on another high, long shot, this one by Infante.

Earlier in the week Harlem blanked Crystal Lake Central, 2-0, behind goals from Serbon and junior Dan Mitrovic.

Volleyball team wins

Harlem's volleyball team broke into the NIC-10 win column for the first time last week, coming from behind to defeat Auburn, 18-25, 25-14, 25-16.

Junior Abby Sundberg led the way with 12 kills and four blocks, while sophomore Kahley Logan recorded eight kills and four service aces. Freshman Maddy West handed out a whopping 27 assists.

The Lady Huskies also won the sophomore match in consecutive games, 25-7, 25-12. Auburn needed three games to win the freshman contest, 16-25, 25-19, 25-23.

Sophomores lose

Auburn started slowly, then turned up the offensive pressure and remained undefeated with a 30-0 win over Harlem's sophomore football team Friday night. Auburn's freshmen also are perfect after defeating Harlem earlier in the week.

It started positively for the Huskies, when Devin Bondurant recovered a fumble at the Auburn 41. But that early possession ran out of downs at the Knight 13.

Then a 96-yard drive, a fumbled punt snap and a blocked punt all led to the opportunistic Knights scoring three touchdowns and taking an 18-0 lead shortly before halftime.

Harlem opened the third quarter by driving to the Auburn 16, where a holding penalty and big loss on a running play turned the ball over to the hosts on downs.

The Knights put the game away when they returned a recovered fumble 73 yards for a touchdown with 1:48 left in the third period.

With the loss Harlem slipped to 2-4 for the season.

Oct. 9, 2014

By Bob Balgemann

Reporter

ROCKFORD - Important football games just keep coming at Harlem High School.

A big one was just played last Friday at Auburn, where the Huskies took an early 14-0 lead, then held on to edge the host Knights, 14-13.

That was Harlem's fifth win in six games and it now is eliglble for the playoffs. A sixth win means a lock on the postseason and that could come this Friday night. But to do that the Huskies will have to knock off Hononegah, also 5-1, which is tied with them and Belvidere North for first place in the NIC-10.

That could be a tall order considering Hononegah has won in recent years. In addition, the Indians' sophomore teams in 2012 and 2013 handed Harlem's sophs their only losses of those seasons.

With that challenge at hand, the Huskies didn't have much time to savor the win over Auburn (3-3).

Christian Ross-Smith and Josh Black set the tone for Harlem's defense right off the bat, with tackles for losses on two of Auburn's first three running plays of the game.

The Knights helped out at the end of that possession by mishandling the punt snap and giving Harlem the ball at their three-yard line. Cody Paholski ran untouched into the end zone on the first play, Sam Libby kicked the extra point and the Huskies were up, 7-0, just 2:12 into the game.

Make that 14-0 some 2 1/2 minutes later.

After a three and out, Auburn's punt traveled just 16 yards, setting up Harlem at the Knight 28.

Four plays later quarterback Trent Willey hit Malik Lightfoot with a four-yard scoring pass to make it a two-touchdown lead with 7:23 showing on the clock. 

Recovery by Chance

Another bad punt snap, which was recovered by Harlem's T.J. Chance, gave the visitors yet another opportunity late in the opening perioid. They did march into Auburn territory but lost a fumble at the 34-yard line.

Late in the first half the Huskies drove from their 28 to the Auburn eight, where they gave up another fumble, this one just 32.5 seconds before intermission.

Harlem wouldn't score any more points while Auburn came within an eyelash of making a complete comeback on its homecoming.

The Knights got on the board with 2:21 left in the third quarter after an 86-yard drive. The tying touchdown came late in the game and Auburn went for the win. But the snap from center was botched and Harlem escaped with the one-point victory, the same as it did last hear, during its homecoming, in a 21-20 victory.

Cumulative statistics for the Huskies through six games show Willey completing 54-of-92 passes for 737 yards and six touchdowns. Cody Paholski is 16-of-29 for 240 yards and three scores.

Raymond Lee has run the ball 83 times for 504 yards and six touchdowns; Willey is next up with 63 carries for 240 yards. Short-yard specialist Taylor Hart has five touchdowns on 10 carries, in which he has totaled 60 yards.

Lightfoot leads the receiving corps with 25 catches for 490 yards and six touchdowns. Lee has caught 14 balls for 152 yards and one score.

Sophomore Brenton Shaw, recently elevated to the varsity, has run 11 times for 26 yards and caught six passes for 77 yards.

Libby is 17-of-20 on extra point kicks so far and has made 5-of-7 field goal attempts, with the longest being 34 yards.

Sept. 25, 2014

BELVIDERE – Rolling along and over several pre-season picks for the conference title that is now theirs to lose after Belvidere North pounded previously unbeaten and always unpredictable Harlem on the same night (48-22), Hononegah hung on for a highly contested victory over the Bucs in a game much closer than the final score (42-28).

Despite superior speed and execution led by a senior class determined to match the enthusiasm of their stadium announcer and fan base, the Bucs battled throughout the night and the game was still in question deep into the fourth quarter.

Senior quarterback Colton Bahling continued to establish himself among the top quarterbacks in the NIC-10 with his leadership, passing, running, kicking, and punting. College recruiters will be taking a long look at this extraordinarily versatile athlete who can do it all and gets better every week.

With conference-leading receivers Dayquan Coleman and Bryar Gunn supported by the emergence of Ron Paris and Justin Robles in what could be the premier passing attack in the NIC-10 in the season's second half commencing next week while visiting Harlem, the offensive line provided adequate protection for the nimble Bahling to keep the game's outcome in doubt until the final three minutes.

Led by senior linebacker Jake Konaszewski's sure tackling and consistent play of junior linebacker Tyler Bruneau, going deep into the roster for timely rotations, and special teams play of Tremaine Gooden, Justin Robles, and Brett White, the Indians were outplayed in the second half by a team still suffering from the unavailability of two all-conference starters who will make their first appearance during the second half of next week's game against the Huskies.

The wistfulness of the first half of the season is dissipating as the exciting and innovative play-calling against the Indians and return to a full-strength line-up for the second half of the season means the smallest school in the NIC-10 will be causing some mighty big problems for its opponents.

Sept. 18, 2014

Chris Anderson photo

Harlem's Grace Zimmer (9) fires a spike between the outstretched arms of Guilford blockers during the Huskies’ NIC-10 game against the Vikings at home on Sept. 9.

Sept. 18, 2014

By Bob Balgemann

Reporter

MACHESNEY PARK - One year ago Cody Paholski quarterbacked Harlem's sophomore football team to a 53-0 victory over Boylan.

Fast forward to Sept. 12, 2014, and Paholski, now a junior and with the varsity, is still a quarterback but he's seeing far more action as a running back. And in that new capacity he helped set the tone Friday night for a stunning 54-13 win over the Titans.

Senior running back Raymond Lee fired the first shot when he ran 19 yards for a touchdown less than two minutes into the game.

After the Huskie defense held Boylan on two offensive possessions, the fleet Paholski raced 79 yards down the right sideline for a TD at the 3:57 mark. That put the Titans in a 14-0 hole and they never recovered.

Now Harlem (3-0) faces its second road game of the year, at Belvidere North at 7:15 p.m. this Friday. The high-powered Blue Thunder (2-1) are smarting after suffering their first loss of the season, 35-28 to unbeaten Hononegah.

Harlem's win over Boylan was the first in a while at the varsity level. But remember that Huskie sophomore teams handled the Titans 18-6 in 2012 and 53-0 last year. Those players now are juniors and seniors and they showed that the wins as sophomores were not flukes.

Boylan fans had little to cheer about on a chilly, windy fall night when the Harlem faithful also dedicated their new artificial turf field at Clyde F. Peterson Stadium.

The Titans did manage one mini-comeback, following Paholski's long scoring run, when they pulled to within 14-6 with 34.8 seconds still left in the opening quarter. But they never did mount a meaningful rally, as they had in games past after the Huskies mounted big leads.

Harlem was in control this time, jumping ahead, 30-6, with two second-period touchdowns and a 34-yard field goal by Sam Libby.

First of 3 scores

First in the Huskie onslaught came a 40-yard kickoff return by senior Dakota Knutsen that set up Lee's second TD of the night. During the 49-yard sweep around right end Lee actually ran away from two Boylan defenders, who appeared to be closing in for the tackle. A bad snap negated Libby's try for a third extra point kick, leaving it a 20-6 game with 11:44 left in the first half.

Second came a 91-yard drive highlighted by senior wideout Malik Lightfoot taking a Trent Willey pass away from a Boylan defender and then completing the 64-yard scoring play.

Third came Lilly's third field goal of the season just 5.2 seconds before halftime. That was an improbable score as the Huskies were at their 20-yard line with just 48 seconds remaining. Here's how they made it happen:

Paholski ran 22 yards to the 42. Lightfoot caught a pass in the middle of two Titan defenders at the Boylan 26. Senior Nathan Woolsey caught a nine-yard pass, to the 17. After an imcompletion, Lilly's 34-yard field goal attempt was true.

Boylan opened the third quarter with its second and final touchdown of the evening. After failing to capitalize on a pass interception and return to the Huskie 28, the Titans surrendered a 31-yard field goal to Libby with 25.4 seconds left in the period.

While those were the only points the Huskies put on the board in that quarter, they closed with a flourish by scoring three times in the final period.

Junior Kyle Behan's fumble recovery early in the fourth set up Lee's third of four tochdowns and a 40-13 lead. Lightfoot had a 30-yard interception for a TD to wrap up scoring.

Quarterback Willey, just a sophomore, now has completed 24-of-45 passes for 498 yards, four touchdowns and one interception. Lee leads the ground attack with 39 carries for 326 yards, an average of 8.4 yards per rush. He has scored five touchdowns.

Paholski is the leading receiver with eight catches for 147 yards. Lightfoot is close behind, catching seven balls for 266 yards.

Lilly is 4-of-4 in kicking field goals.

Sept. 18, 2014

By Bob Balgemann

Reporter

MACHESNEY PARK - Harlem's No. 1 and No. 2 doubles teams turned in victories last week to help the Lady Huskies edge Freeport, 3-2, in a NIC-10 tennis match.

Junior Elizabeth Koritz and sophomore Emerald Kounthapanya had the decisive match at No. 2. They dropped the first game, 3-6, then recovered to win, 6-4, 6-4 to take their match.

In No. 1 doubles, seniors Alyssa Santa-Olaila and Hanna Fewell won by default. Freeport won the No. 3 doubles bout, 6-4, 6-3, over seniors Bre Martinadale and Tatym Arns.

In No. 1 singles action Harlem senior Augusta Crane won an exciting match, 2 games to 1. She dropped the opener, 2-6, then came back to win two close encounters, 7-6 (7-6) and 6-4.

Another senior, Nadia Phouphommakhith, lost, 1-6, 2-6, at No. 2 singles.

Cross Country Classic

The annual Harlem Cross Country Classic was held Sept. 6 with Boylan (girls) and Niles West (boys) going home with first-place trophies at the varsity level.

Boylan received a stern test from the host Lady Huskies as, combined, four of their runners finished at or near the top of the large field of competitors. Boylan girls were 1-2, with Harlem's Rachel Huwe and Payton Hartman coming in third and fourth, respectively.

They are juniors as is Emma Platzbecker, who finished 16th.

Elizajayne Ellis, a senior, and Lamria French, a junior, rounded out scoring for Harlem by placing 22nd and 23rd respectively.

Senior Julia Morrow (25th) and junior Blake Ashford (32nd) were close behind their teammates.

Team-wise Hampshire finished second while Harlem was in third.

Niles West had four runners in the Top 10 as it scored a mere 29 points to win the boys' side.

Harlem took third with 61 points and was led by junior Kade Miller with a fifth-place finish. He was followed by junior Scott Kirker in 11th place; senior Grant Hume in 12th; junior Michael Biggers in 15th; and junior Jacob Bonebright in 18th.

Close behind were senioir Kyle Marx in 27th place and junior Alex Giblin in 29th.

In freshman-sophomore competition, both Harlem's girls and boys came in third place.

Leading the Huskies was sophomore Jake Elmer, in first place overall, with freshman Brady Johnson in 10th. Others finishing in the scoring for the Huskies were sophomore Sam Kirker in 16th place; sophomore Chandler Ralston in 19th; and freshman Shane Paladino in 20th.

Sophomore Kevin Bottorff (24th) and freshman Joab Irwin (26th) were next in line.

Sophomores Julia Fewell (10th), Haleigh Gilligan (15th) and Tori Bedows (20th) finished in the Top 20 for the Lady Huskies. They were followed closely by freshman Amber Fegerstrom in 21st place and sophomore Marielle Ortega in 22nd.

Freshmen Courtney Reicher (24th) and Alison Miller (27th) rounded out the Harlem lineup.

Volleyball action

Harlem came close to breaking into the win column Sept. 11 but dropped a three-game match, 2 to 1, on the road in Freeport.

The Lady Huskies won the opener, then fell in games two and three. They were led by freshman setter Maddy West who handed out 20 assists while recording three kills and two aces and going 17-for-17 while serving. Brittany Helland had four aces and three kills, hitting .600 for the night.

Earlier, Abby Sundberg had six kills and nine digs in a 25-14, 28-26 loss to Guilford. West had 16th assists and two kills.

Head coach Lani Mitchell said the team is continuing to strive toward consistency.

Guilford was pushed to three games by Harlem's sophomores before winning, 25-17, 22-25, 25-16. The Lady Vikings won the freshman match in two games, 25-16, 25-20.

Sophomore football

Bouyed by the successes of sophomore football teams in 2012 and again last year, Harlem was looking to make it three in a row over Boylan Catholic High School. But the visiting Titans had other ideas and won, 32-14, on an unusually chilly Friday night (Sept. 12).

The Huskies led early, 8-7, on a five-yard touchdown run by Brenton Shaw and a successful two-point conversion with 7:04 left in the first quarter. But the Titans came right back with a score of their own to lead, 15-8, at halftime.

A 29-yard field goal late in the third period extended Boylan's advantage to 18-8. This time, though, Harlem countered following a fumble recovey. Quarterback Troy King teamed with Jake Anderson on a 17-yard scoring play that narrowed the deficit to 18-14 with 7:03 left in the game.

That was Harlem's last score as Boylan added two touchdowns in the closing moments.

Vicente Jiminez had a standout defensive game for the Huskies with several tackles for losses.

Harlem (1-2) will be at Belvidere North this Friday, with the game beginning at 5 p.m.

Sept. 11, 2014

By Bob Balgemann

Reporter

MACHESNEY PARK - Continued stellar goal keeping from senior Adem Adananovic and their first score of the 2014 season enabled Harlem's varsity soccer team to edge Sycamore, 1-0, Sept. 3 in its home opener.

It was a pleasant victory for more than one reason for Huskies' head coach, Kyle Truax.

Sycamore is led by his club coach "from back in the day,"

he said, and it was "kind of cool to have him come back here." Not to mention to win the game as well.

Defensively, Harlem and its keeper survived a number of solid shots from the Spartans. "I expect Adem to be a rock back there," coach Truax said of his veteran. Beyond that, he added, "I expect a lot of close games this season."

Harlem's offense continued to sputter though it also had sufficient scoring opportunities to have given their coach - and their keeper - a more comfortable lead.

But one goal was sufficient that night and it came just two minutes into the game when junior Gilberto Fregozo scored off a pass from sophomore David Hernandez.

The Huskies came close on a number of attempts during the second half, among them shots by Fregozo, junior Dan Mitrovic and junior Randal Wagner. Wagner's rocket caromed off the crossbar of the football goal post with 20:27 left in the game.

Dzananovic was up to a direct kick, indirect kick and two free kicks, all within close proximity to the goal, as time went by  Amiong those helping Sycamore at bay were defenders Jacob Lee, a sophomore, and junior Lucas Frey.

A few Sycamore players appreciated the job Adem did when they gave him an extra slap on the shoulder afterward, while  congratulating on another on a "good game" meeting of the teams as two lines trotted past one another.

Earlier in the week the Huskies traveled to nearby Guilford where they dropped a 3-0 decision. The Vikings scored two goals in the final eight minutes of play to cement the win.

Sophomores rebound

In a game with 18 fumbles that led to six changes in possession, Harlem's sophomore football team rebounded Friday night to blank Rockford East, 27-0.

It rained shortly before the 5 p.m. game, leaving a slippery ball for the two teams to deal with.

Harlem's Brenton Shaw, who ran for 206 yards the week before in a 32-26 loss at Freeport, this time carried 11 times for 143 yards and two touchdowns.

The Huskies spent much of the game on the ground, with eight different players running with the ball. Quarterback
Troy King was highly efficient with his carries, turning two of three into touchdowns.

Also picking up yardage were Devin Bondurant, Anthony Byrne, Gabe Haun, Tre' Blakley and Devyn Austin.

Defensively, Dalton Hambrock had a fumble recovery.

Volleyball team opens

Hononegah always is tough in volleyball and this year is on exception.

The Lady Indians defeated Harlem at all three levels Sept. 2 in the 2012 openers for those teams.

Junior Emily Guske had 14 digs for the Lady Huskies' varsity, who fell, 25-11, 25-22. Another junior, Abby Sundberg, nad seven digs and three kills; freshman Madison West contributed 10 assists and seven digs.

Hononegah won the sophomore contest, 25-5, 25-16, and the freshman game, 25-21, 25-12.

Sept. 11, 2014

By Bob Balgemann

Reporter

MACHESNEY PARK - After a week off because of the Labor Day holiday, parking lots in the Wentland Sports Complex were full again Sunday as Harlem Community Center entered its second week of fall sofrball.

A full slate of games is on tap for this weekend, starting at noon, in the 12U, 14U, 16U and 18U divisions.

The Stein team in 16U action didn't get its first win of the season but battled back from an early 7-1 deficit to make it close in an 11-8 loss to Pecatonica-Winnebago.

P-W scored in five of the six innings and was up 7-0 when Stein, named for longtime head coach Ed Stein, scored its first run of the afternoon.

The tream, now coached by his daughter, Kim White, only had eight players so Hannah Insko was borrowed from the 16U team by the same name.

She played right field and had her team's first hit, a single to center, with one out in the bottom of the third. She eventually scored on Darien Sturtevant's 's single down the left-field line. Renee Laird also singled but was left on board.

Kaley Murray was on base three times for White and drove in two runs. She started White's two-run fourth inning with a single and moved to third on a stolen base and walk to Maddie Guth. Laird and Sturtevant followed with singles to make it a 9-3 game.

White could have had another run in the fourth had not Insko, who reached on an error, been thrown out at the plate trying to score on Sturtevant's base hit.

Two more White runs came home, in the fifth, without benefit of a hit.

Rachel White was hit by a pitch to start things off. She reached third on walks to Brittanny Jewell and Ahna VanderHeyden and scored on an infield grounder by Murray. Run No. 2 came in when Guth was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded.

White scored its last three runs in the sixth, which ended the game because of the 1:30 time limit.

Another bases-loaded hit batter - this time it was Murray - brought in the first run, then Guth drilled a two-run single to complete White's scoring. She wound up with three RBIs for the day.

After the game coach White asked her players to point to what positive things each of their teammates did that afternoon.

One of the examples was the stellar play of Jewell at third base, where she played errorless ball and converted several hard-hit grounders into outs. Pitcher Sturtevant made a diving catch of a popup in the fifth inning, while Guth had the aforementioned two-run single in the sixth.

Left-fielder Keyanna Burke alertly fired a throw into second base in the third inning, which caught a P-W hitter trying to stretch a single into a double. 

Sept. 11, 2014

By Bob Balgemann

Reporter

MACHESNEY PARK - All went well on the football field at Harlem High School last Friday as the Huskies routed Rockford East, 34-0, in their 2014 home opener.

They were careful not to look past the E-Rabs for this Friday's NIC-10 battle with Boylan (1-1).

The Titans will be out to rebound after last week's one-pint loss to Hononegah, which ended their lengthy conference winning streak.

It will be a stern test for Harlem, whose sophomore teams defeated Boylan, 18-6, in 2012 and 53-0 last year. Those players now are juniors and seniors make up the current varsity squad.

About the only thing that went wrong Sept. 5 was some soggy conditions, because of the ran that feill shortly before the 5 p.m. sophomore game.

That was enough to postpone dedication of Harlem's multi-use, artificial turf field until this Friday.

The plan is the same, to have the ceremony between the sophomore and varsity games. Those wearing white T-shirts will be invited to be part of the commemorative photograph.

Harlem got plenty of contributions from throughout the offensive lineup against East, and had the game in hand by halftime.

Defensively, they faced just one major challenge while keeping the E-Rabs off the scoreboard.

That came midway through the third period, after the Huskies had taken a 27-0 lead. East returned the ensuing kickoff 70 yards to the Harlem nine, where it had first and goal.

That's where junior linebacker Ben Reese stepped up.

He made one tackle for a loss and one for no gain among the three plays that followed. Then he punctuated the defensive stand with a sack to the 10-yard line on fourth and goal.

Overall, Harlem's starting defense consisted of backs and linebackers Taylor Hart, Cornelius Douglas, Christian Ross-Smith, Brendyn Ford, Sage Castro, Noah Jensen and Reese, along with linemen John DiFede, Jeremy Perencevic, T.J. Chance and Jordan Jacobsen.

The Huskie offense got cranked up on its third possession of the night, putting together a 67-yard drive that Cody Paholski capped with a three-yard run at the 4:15 mark. Sam Libby kicked the extra point for a 7-0 lead.

Long touchdown pass

In a deja vu kind of moment, quarterback Trent Willey hit wideout Malik Lightfoot in stide on a 58-yard scoring pass down the right sideline three minutes later. Against Freeport on opening night, the two combined for a TD on a 70-yard pass and run play.

East was penalized for off-side on the PAT attempt, moving the ball to the 1 1/2-yard line. So Harlem went for the two-point conversion instead and Paholski ran the ball in, making it 15-0.

Another long touchdown drive, this one covering 77 yards, gave the Huskies a 21-0 lead just 47 seconds before halftime. Short-yardage expert Taylor Hart scored from the one, but Libby's extra point attempt was blocked.

The lead became 27-0 with 7:55 left in the third quarter. Lee returned an East punt 37 yards to the E-Rab 38 and after an incomplete pass, Paholski took off 31 yards down the left sideline to set up the next score, his own three-yard run. The extra point kick hit the right upright, leaving the difference at 27-0.

Harlem's final touchdown came on a 15-yard pass from Paholski to Lightfoot on the first play of the fourth quarter. Gilberto Fregozo, who divides his time between the football and soccer teams, kicked the extra point for a 34-0 lead with 11:53 left in the game.

Willey (5-of-10) and Paholski (1-for-4) combined for 96 yards passing while Lee sparked the ground attack with 10 carries for 66 yards. Paholski added 68 yards rushing while Willey rang up 23 yards.

Sept. 4, 2014

By Bob Balgemann

Reporter

MACHESNEY PARK - Harlem High School's football game Friday night (Sept, 5)  at Clyde F. Peterson Stadium will be a big one for a number of reasons.

It's the Huskies' 2014 home opener, against Rockford East, coming on the heels of a successful road trip to Freeport last Friday.

And it's a historic night with dedication of the new artificial turf multi-use field.

"We're excited to be playing in front of our home fans," head coach Jim Morrow said Saturday. "It will be a great night for the community with the dedication of the field."

This project truly was a community effort with fund-raising from January to May bringing in $624,000.

Dedication will be between the sophomore and varsity games. Anyone wearing a white shirt will be invited down to the field to be part of the ceremonial photograph.

Friday's storyline also includes the Huskies going up against a former teammate, Traidyn Thomas, who recently transferred to East and is expected to be in the starting lineup. Thomas was one of three quarterbacks on the 2012 sophomore team that went 8-1, and was in the mix at that position earlier this season.

East lost its opener to Hononegah, 39-14.

The sophomores, who were upset by Freeport, 32-26, will play at 5 p.m. Friday with the varsity game at 7:15 p.m.

Play 2 quarterbacks

Sophomore Trent Willey got the nod at quarterback for Freeport and he set the tone for the game, with help from speedy wideout Malik Lightfoot, a senior. The two teamed on a 70-yard touchdown pass on the second play of the game that produced an early 7-0 lead.

Willey played most of the game, with relief from junior Cody Paholski, who quarterbacked last year's 8-1 sophomore team. Combined, they were 8-of-18 passing for 180 yards and the one touchdown.

Harlem ran the ball effectively, averaging 4.3 yards per carry. Senior Raymond Lee led the way, running nine times for 67 yards, a 7.4-yard average, and one of his team's four touchdowns.

Willey was next in that department, carrying 10 times for 47 yards. Paholski ran for 23 yards; senior Nathan Woolsey for 20 yards. Senior Taylor Hart ran for a score while junior Bryce Goodall and Kyle Wilson also had careies.

Lightfoot and Lee each had three pass receptions, with Lightfoot amassing 98 yards and Lee 54 yards. Woolsey caught one ball for 15 yards; junior Ryan Kelley had one reception for 13 yards.

Senior Sam Libby won the kicking competition and he was effective against the Pretzels. He converted 2-of-3 field goal attempts, one of them from 34 yards out, and was true on all four extra point tries.

In kicking for the first time since his sophomore year, he said he wasn't nervous on any of the attempts, adding, "It was fun."

Harlem led 15-7 at halftime and pulled away in the third quarter.

Offensive efficiency was something the team was working on earlier this week, in preparation for East. "The defense played well," coach Morrow said. "We missed opportunities (on offense) in the first half. We need to be more efficient in the red zone."

In addition, the Huskies were slated to focus on picking up blitzes from the East defense.

Shaw gains 206 yards

In the sophomore game at Freeport, Brenton Shaw carried the ball 17 times for 206 yards, including a 61-yard touchdown run. Quarterback Troy King ran for one score and threw a 35-yard TD pass to Logan Meyers.

Defensively, Keaunt'a Purifoy capped the first half by returning an interception 61 yards for a touchdown.

First-year head coach Ryan Spears said he thought the team responded well to the challenges of the game, but in the end succumbed penalties, three turnovers and four big-play touchdowns of 30 yards or more. 

July 17, 2014

By Bob Balgemann

Reporter

MACHESNEY PARK - Last year Harlem's boys basketball team got off to a slow start in summer league play before enjoying success in concluding tournament.

It was just the opposite this year as the Huskies went 6-2 through seeding play before dropping their final two games in the tournament.

But through it all was the learning process and building connections with new teammates, which is what the five-week summer campaign is all about.

Auburn went 10-0 to defend its league championship, defeating Belvidere in the finals.

Harlem rolled over Clinton, Wis., 66-37, when the two met in the third week of play. But in the tournament, with the right to play for fifth place on the line, the Cougars prevailed, 55-51.

The difference? Clinton was missing three starters the first time.

From the perspective of Harlem head coach Chad Barger, "We were a little flat tonight. And we were playing short-handed."

He once again made sure Harlem games were late at night, at 8 and 9 p.m., so those playing other sports such as baseball and football could participate with those teams. But vacations and other commitments still can get in the way.

The Huskies were down by eight, 39-31, when they started their comeback against Clinton with a 14-2 run. James Smith's two free throws got it going. Austin Navickis hit from the left corner, then Brock Soter had consecutive baskets to produce the tie and two-point lead. It was 45-41 after an Alex Karbarz hoop - he had six points in the run - with 7:03 left to play.

Harlem cooled off and Clinton picked it up after that, however, outscoring the Huskies 14-6 the rest of the way to take the win.

Jefferson defeated Boylan in another part of the gym at the same time to get the fifth-place game against Clinton, while Harlem and Titans played for seventh. And Boylan was Boylan, jumping out to an early lead before coasting home, 56-34.

And so as far as basketball is concerned, the Huskies are done for the summer. "They're kids and they still need to enjoy some of their summer," their coach said. School resumes Aug. 13 and before you know it, November will be here and the start of the 2014-15 season.

"Summer is to learn, to get better at playing basketball," coach Barger said. "It's about spreading the ball and defending with discipline. I think we made a lot of progress this summer."

When fall returns it will be time to get back in the gym. There will a different look to the team as "we didn't run all of what we do in the winter," he said.

July 17, 2014

By Bob Balgemann

Reporter

MACHESNEY PARK - It's been a pretty good summer so far for Harlem's varsity baseball team.

The Huskies posted a 9-1 record during the regular season and played their first state tournament game Monday in St. Charles. It's a single-elimination, win or go home kind of event.

Good pitching, timely hitting and decent defense from a mixture of newcomers and players with varsity experience were responsible for the success to date.

Head coach Doug Livingston just wished Mother Nature and other factors had allowed his team to play more games.

Suburban teams Harlem is scheduled to face as long as it remains in the tournament will have played many more games because of that, he said.

But the Huskies are a scrappy bunch as they showed in the July 10 finale when they defeated Belvidere North, 8-2, in a five-inning game.

A seven-inning contest was on tap but a scheduling glitch resulted in both North and cross-town rival Belvidere showing up at Harlem High School.

Rather than send the Bucs home without playing at all, it was agreed that they would take on the Blue Thunder in a five-inning game. Then Harlem and North would play.

Summer rules allow everyone on the bench to bat, whether he's in the field or not. For Harlem that meant a 13-player batting order and it received contributions from throughout the lineup.

Things started slowly enough, though, with Thunder right-hander J.D. Kirane retiring the Huskies in order in the first inning.

Zach Jones got Harlem on track when he opened the second with a single into right-center. A following double by another varsity newcomer, Joey Parsons, tied the game at 1-1.

Aaron Cusimano then reached with an infield single and eventually scored on a passed ball. Adam Carpenter's RBI single down the left-field line produced a 3-1 lead.

Belvidere pulled to within one run in the third, then Harlem broke it open with five runs in its half of the inning.

The No. 12 batter in the lineup, Anthony Jacoby, opened with a single to left, stole second and scored when leadoff man Cody Paholski doubled down the right-field line. Bryce Goodall's single scored Paholski, then Brock Soter walked to load the bases.

North helped with an infield error on Jones' grounder that plated a run; Parsons was hit by a pitch to force in the fifth run of the inning.

Soter and Sam Libby pitched five solid innings with Libby coming on in relief and striking out the side in both the fourth and fifth.

Coach Livingston said he was pleased by his team's overall play and by the commitment of his players at both the varsity and frosh-soph levels. "We've had 15 kids at every game at both levels," he said. "That's what summer is all about."

July 3, 2014

By Bob Balgemann

Reporter

MACHESNEY PARK - A two-run first inning helped Boylan edge Harlem, 4-3, in a summer league baseball game played on the Huskies' field.

Every time Harlem tried to stage a comeback, the Titans would counter.

The baseball loss actually was the first in six games for Harlem.

The Huskies opened the season back on June 10 with a 5-0 win over Guilford. That outing was incorrectly reported as a loss after the Vikings scored seven runs in the top of the fifth inning to lead, 7-5, when nearby lightning strikes brought the game to an end.

Since the hosts didn't get a chance to bat in the bottom of the fifth, the game reverted back to the fourth inning when the they were ahead, 5-0. Junior Joey Parsons picked up the victory in his first varsity pitching start.

The weather was ideal for the Boylan game. Harlem outhit the Titans, 10-5, but Boylan's hits came in the right place at the right time.

Take that two-run first inning as an example. There were two scratch singles go go with a walk, a sacrifice fly and a throwing error. Suddenly it was 2-0, Boylan.

Huskies come back

Harlem showed its resilience, as it did so often last spring. but it took until the fourth inning for that to happen. Meanwhile, the Titans had tacked on another run, in the top of the third, to lead, 3-0.

Cody Paholski (2-for-3) started the fourth with a single to right. He stole second, continued to third when the catcher's throw sailed into the outfield and scored Harlem's first run on a single by another varsity newcomer, Bryce Goodall. Tyler Born doubled to right-center, bringing in Goodall with to make it a 3-2 game.

Boylan went up 4-2 in the fifth, on a walk, two stolen bases and an infield out.

Goodall (2-for-3) opened Harlem's sixth with a single, stole second and scored on Brock Soter's solid single to left.

The Titans turned two double plays to help keey the Huskies at a distance. Harlem, meanwhile, had two defensive gems to hold Boylan to just one run in the third.

Right-fielder Goodall combined with second baseman Born to throw out a Boylan runner at third base, following a run-scoring double. Then center fielder Sam Libby made a diving catch of a line drive while running to his left.

"We learn something from the kids every game," head coach Doug Livingston said afterward. "And they learn from us, too. That's what summer is all about."

Earlier in the summer the Huskies swept a couple of five-inning doubleheaders from Rockford East and rival Hononegah.

Soter pitched a complete game against the E-Rabs, while notching a 5-1 victory. Tyler Ellinger got the win, 7-1, in the second game, with T,J. Chance sparking the offense.

Ellinger also went the distance in one of the wins over the Indians, 8-4; Chance came on in relief to get the opening victory, 1-0. Varsity newcomer Drake Sundstrom pitched the first three scoreless innings against Hononegah.

Harlem was represented on one of eight teams at the suburban Plainfield Showcase last weekend. The top juniors in the state were expected to be there, under the watchful eye of 70-80 scouts.

The varsity Huskies next will play at home Monday (July 7) at 6 p.m., with one seven-inning game against Jefferson. East will be here Tuesday and Rockford Lutheran on Wednesday, both for seven-inning games starting at 6 p.m.

June 26, 2014

By Bob Balgemann

Reporter

MACHESNEY PARK - Joey Miller, captain of this year's Harlem High School varsity bowling team and a May graduate, is one of five boys named to the Dexter/United States Bowling Congress All-American Team.

The team is made up of five boys and five girls who have excelled on the lanes, in the classroom and in their communities, said Bud Clapsaddle, vice president of Dexter Bowling.

These student-athletes were nominated by their coaches or athletic directors and had a minimum 3.0 grade point average on a 4.0 system. They also had to provide a letter of recommendation and write a 500-word essay.

Each student-athlete will receive a $1,000 scholarship for being named to the team. Joey, the son of Darren and Tina Miller, will be joined by his dad in Buffalo, N.Y. in July for a recognition banquet.

He said he received a telephone call informing him that he had been selected for the team. While he was aware of the application, he said actually being accorded the honor was a surprise.

His brother, Ryan, also a Harlem grad, was named to the Dexter/USBC team three years ago.

Being a graduate himself is not the surreal experience he was told it would be. Yet Joey said he's going to miss being on the Harlem bowling team, especially next year's because of all the talented individuals who will be returning.

He plans to continue bowling at Indiana institute of Technology in Fort Wayne, where he will pursue a major in computer security and investigations. He said he's wanted to pursue that career path, which is related to criminal justice, since he was 8 or 9 years old.

Wins 2 scholarships

As for bowling, he said he initially didn't plan to try out for the 2014-15 team at his new school. But he was encouraged by the coach and Indiana Tech administrators agreed to offer him both an academic and athletic scholarship - the first time that's ever happened.

He finished with a 4.107 grade point at Harlem and was 23rd in his class of more than 500 seniors.

Thanks to being able to take colleges courses while at Harlem, he said he'll already have 15 credits when he begins this fall.

Joey was captain of this year's boys bowling team that took fourth in the state, best finish in school history. He finished 14th among individuals in the NIC-10 with a 220 average per game.

But during the Top 16 competition at the end of the season, he improved to ninth place.

During the 2013-14 bowling season he led the team with a 299 single game and his three-game, 715 series tied for second best. Both accomplishments came in a dual match against Belvidere.

In addition to this honor, he was named a 2013 Illinois USBC Star of Tomorrow. He also received the 2014 President's  Volunteer Service Award and was one of five nationally to win the Earl Anthony Award.

Two of the five boys on the Dexter/USBC team were from the NIC-10. The other selection was Alex Sommer from Guilford, the 3A state champion in 2010 and 2014.

Friendly competitors while in high school, the two texted each other after being told they were named to a national team. Then they went bowling later that night, in a summer league, in which they're on the same team.

June 26, 2014

By Bob Balgemann

Reporter

MACHESNEY PARK - Summer basketball mostly is about learning, improving, building chemistry and seeing who best fills voids in the lineup created by graduation.

While coaches downplay wins and losses during this time, their players don't like to lose. That's especially true when the loss comes in the final seconds of play.

Harlem's varsity experienced the agony of such defeat June 16 in a 39-37 defensive struggle with Freeport. They had a chance to tie it in the final seconds but missed a layup.

A shorft time later, however, in their fourth game of the summer league being played on their home floor, they bounced back nicely to rout Clinton, Wis., 66-37. The Cougars are one of the newcomers to this year's 24-team league.

In the opener the Pretzels took a 30-22 lead midway through the second 20-minute half. Alex Karbarz rallied Harlem by putting back a missed shot while Allen White scored off a fastbreak, on a pass from Karbarz, to trim the deficit to 30-27.

Two more White baskets, with a Freeport hoop sandwiched in between, and Harlem was down by just 32-31.

The Huskies went up 35-32, on a Karbarz basket and one of those 2-for-1 free throws with 1:25 left in the game.

Freeport countered at the 1:11 mark, then stole an in-bounds pass with 22.9 seconds left to regain the lead, 37-35, when a free throw was tacked on to the basket.

Harlem then missed a rebound at the buzzer.

Karbarz netted 17 points in a losing cause while White added nine.

Clinton has fielded some good basketball teams in recent years but was no match for Harlem in the 9 p.m. June 16 game.

Karbarz once again was active around the hoop and so was Austin Novickis as the Huskies jumped off to a 6-0 lead. The Cougars couldn't match Harlem's size so they took pot-shots from long range, hitting two of them early to stay in the game.

Harlem was up by a scant 10-9 when it went on a 19-3 run to lead, 29-12, with 8:21 left in the first half. Points during that five-minute surge came from Karbarz, two other returnees, Robert Smith Jr. and Malik Lightfoot, along with newcomeers Jason Foy, Josh Eterno and Travis Gibson.

It was 40-19, Harlem, at halftime.

This summer's mantra is "Make Progress, Not Excuses," and there were no excuses in the final 20 minutes of play as the Huskies would not let Clinton back into the game.

Head coach Chad Barger said afterward that his team played better that night than one week earlier, when it played well to start with.

He pointed out another goal and it had to do with shot selection. He said the San Antonio Spurs recently won an NBA championship by giving up good shots and working for great shots. He'll be reminding his team of that as the summer, and 2014-15 season, continue.

In the win over Clinton he cited his senior center, Karbarz, for his leadership and playing hard at all times.

The regular summer season will wrap up Monday night (June 30) with Harlem taking on the other Wisconsin team, Beloit Memorial, at 8 p.m. and Winnebago at 9 p.m. Both games will be in the main gym. Playoffs will be held July 7.

June 19, 2014

By Bob Balgemann

Reporter

MACHESNEY PARK - Three incoming junior pitchers got an introduction to varsity baseball June 10, when Harlem met Guilford in the first summer game for both teams.

Joey Parsons had a memorable experience, taking a no-hitter with six strikeouts into the fourth inning. Offensively, the Huskies had staked him to a 5-0 lead.

Coaches brought in a relief pitcher in the fifth and he didn't meet with as much success. Four walks later, which produced Guilford's first run of the evening, led to a second relief pitcher being summoned. He got through the inning but the overall result was seven Viking runs and a 7-5 lead.

Rain came at that point and it was getting dark so the game, which started at 6 p.m., came to an end.

A number of regulars from Harlem's 2014 varsity team were in the lineup and figured in the early lead.

Tyler Born opened the game with a single to left, stole second and moved on to third when Tavien Coogan beat out an infield hit. Brock Soter, Andrew Massetti and Drake Sunthrom were safe on errors, which resulted in three runs crossing the plate.

After the Huskies were retired in order in the bottom of the second inning, the top of the order went back to work in the third.

Born opened with his second hit of the game and scored when the right fielder misplayed Coogan's singtle for a two-base error. Soter's infield grounder produced Harlem's fifth and final run on the game.

A walk and Zach Jones' bad-hop single to left put two runners on base in the bottom of the fourth, but the next three batters were retired without any insurance runs scoring.

Harlem has two teams playing baseball this summer.

The varsity has games Tuesdays and Thursdays while a team of younger players is on the field Mondays and Wednesdays.

Belvidere will be next up for the varsity at 6 p.m. today, at home.

The Junior/Senior All-Star games will be at 5 and 7 p.m. Monday (June 23) at Aviators Stadium off Riverside Road.

Harlem's varsity will be back in action at 6 p.m. Tuesday, for one seven-inning game, at Boylan. The younger team will play Wednesday, also at 6 p.m., at Rockford Christian.

June 12, 2014

By Bob Balgemann

Reporter

MACHESNEY PARK - Another school year has come and gone, but the activity at Harlem High School is continuing into the summer.

The gymnasium and adjacent fieldhouse were busy Thursday night (June 5) as this year's eight-team girls summer basketball league got underway with varsity and frosh/soph games.

The Lady Huskies will be back on the floor at 7 p.m. today against Rockford East in the main gym.

Opening night was a study in contrasts as Harlem took on Rockford Lutheran. While the Lady Huskies were a team in transition it was evident that the Lady Crusaders had been playing together for a while.

Lutheran fielded a taller team that moved the ball well on offense and ran effectively on defense after missed shots or turnovers.

For Harlem it was a getting to know you time, with some returning varsity players mixed with incoming juniors. One of the newcomers was Taiah Gallisath. who said playing in her first-ever varsity game was "scary at first."

But she settled in as the game continued, helped by the seniors who had been there before. "They were supportive," she said of her new teammates.

She did manage a handful of baskets, including Harlem's second field goal of the night, a long bank that was good for three points in an eventual 57-33 loss. She nailed another 3 at the 9:22 and added a third from long range near the end of the game.

It was a busy night for junioir McKaela Schmelzer, last year's leading scorer, along with Jessica Dahle, also a junion, and senior reteurnee Adrianna Jenkins. They hurried to the gym from their soccer banquet, which ended that team's highly successful season.

Senior Torah Morgan, who also got playing time last year, saw action in this game.

Lutheran jumped off to a quick 8-0 lead before varsity returnee Gabby Forsell, a senioir, scored with 14:44 left in the opening half.

Harlem's players became better acquainted with one another as the half continue and more regularly put points on the board as time went by. Schmelzer got her first basket of the night when she put back a missed shot at the 10:39 mark. Aaliyah Forsell scored as the half neared an end.

Summer basketball rules are different than during the regular season. Among them is playing with a running 20 minute clock in each of two halves. Players don't all have jerseys with numbers and if someone makes a basket and is fouled on the play, she gets credit for a free throw without having to go to the line.

Jenkins got one of those baskets with the add-on charity toss late in the second half. She also was a bright spot in the game with her rebounding work at both ends of the floor.

All-City volleyball

Harlem sophomore Russell Oltmanns received special mention all-city as those honors were passed out last week for the 2014 boys volleyball season.

This was Harlem's first season in that competition and the Huskies managed one victory over their nine-game schedula, mostly playing teams that had been around for a while.

Harlem's program was considered to be intramural. Yet the Huskies were sanctioned by the IHSA but only so the other teams, mainly from the NIC-10, could play enough games to qualify for the postseason.

Head coach Lani Mitchell said she hoped the team would be able to compete in the playoffs in the next couple of years.

May 29, 2014

By Bob Balgemann

Reporter

ROCKFORD - A 20-1 overall record, 17 shutouts and a new school-record 91 goals.

Those numbers are a tribute to the offensive and defensive efforts so far of this year's girls varsity soccer team at Harlem High School.

The Lady Huskies on Friday (May 23) won their first regional championship in eight years by shutting down rival Hononegah for the second time this season, by the same score of 2-0.

They mustered enough offense for the win with their leading scorer, junior Emily Scott, sealing the victory. She pierced the heart of the Lady Indians defense by driving up the field and scoring just 1:46 into the second half.

Harlem was scheduled to take on South Elgin Tuesday night (May 27) in the semi-finals of the Rockford Auburn Sectional Tournament. If they won they will play for the championship at 5 p.m. Friday (May 30). This year's super-sectional, one step away from the state finals, is at 6 p.m. June 3 at Lake Park High School in Roselle.

But first things first.

Senior Monica Armendariz put Harlem up 1-0 with an unassisted goal at 26:29 of the first half.

After a relatively easy 6-0 win over Auburn in the regional semi-finals, Harlem senior goal keeper Alyssa Sickler had to make a few standup saves against Hononegah. But, as usual, the defense did an exemplary job of protecting their all-state netminder.

"Communication is a big thing," senior Theresa Heitz said afterward. "We're constantly talking to one another. We just give it our all."

"Being best friends since first grade helps," fellow senior Karley Draheim chipped in. "We're shooting for the stars."

Shares the credit

While Sickler once again was superb in goal, she wasn't one to take all the credit. "They're responsible for most of my shutouts," she said of the defense. "They were awesome tonight."

Head coach Brad Heidenreich had a lot to talk about after the game, about his "Dream Team."

"It's been a long time," he said of the years since the last regional championship. "It's sweet, especially for the seniors. This is a special team." Then he repeated it: "The Dream Team."

The Lady Huskies easily dispatched host Auburn in the semi-finals, with Sickler a solitary figure in front of her goal for much of the night. She said afterward that her job can be a lonely one, because of the defense and because the offense keeps the ball in the other end of the field. But she stays in tune with the flow of the game by constantly talking to her teammates.

It appeared that senior Cora Wessman would have one of those memorable nights when she scored Harlem's first goal and assisted on the third score, by Draheim. But while there were some close calls there were no more goals for her.

"Just wide, hit the post," she said afterward. And don't forget Auburn's keeper diving to make saves on her shots at 21:08 of the first half and 25:11 of the second. "But that's all right," she said. "We won."

Her first goal, off a pass from sophomore McKaela Schmelzer, came at 33:40. Emily Scott was true from the middle of the field, unassisted, at 28:23. And Draheim made it 3-0, with the assist to Wessman, just 4:27 before halftime.

The Lady Huskies put three more goals into the net in the first 24 minutes of the second half. Then nearby lightning put an end to the game.

One of the goals was an example of a designed play working as it should.

"Twenty-one," coach Heidenreich called out as junior Suzy Pelayo prepared for her corner kick early in the period. It was a perfectly executed, lofty lob that No. 21 - Schmelzer - headed into the goal wt 36:43.

Schmelzer got another goal, with 29:10 left, after receiving a pass from Emily Scott. Armendariz put in the final goal, at 18:59, with the assist going to Schmelzer.

May 22, 2014

By Bob Balgemann

Reporter

MACHESNEY PARK - Ashford University Head Soccer Coach Richard Markham invited Casey Culver to the Clinton, Iowa campus last fall, where the Harlem High School senior worked out with members of the varsity team.

It didn't take long for the coach to like what he saw.

"It only took 10-15 minutes for me to see he could play at this level," Markham said.

Subsequently, Casey signed a national letter of intent to attend Ashford and continue playing soccer. His high school coach, Kyle Truax, his new college coach, Richard Markham, and lots of family and friends were in the high school Commons the afternoon of May 12 to witness the ceremonial signing.

"They have an excellent program," Coach Truax said of Ashford, an NAIA school. "They have an international roster so it will be an interesting dynamic (for Casey) but a fun dynamic."

Markham said before the signing that he learned of Casey from several former Harlem players, wno now coach in the Clinton area. In addition, "some (former) Rockford players came our way and an assistant (soccer coach) is from Rockford."

The bottom line is "we're excited to have him," the coach said.

Casey was a four-year letter winner at Harlem and a co-captain of the 2013 varsity soccer team. He scored 37 goals during that season and finished with 109 for his career, breaking the existing school record with ease.

In addition, he was named first team all-conference, all-sectional and all-state. He also became the first Harlem player to be named all-Midwest.

Before the signing coach Truas thanked Casey for his commitment and dedication to the Harlem soccer program. "He's a perfect example of what it takes to be a student-athlete," the coach said. Of going to Ashford, he said, "This is a unique opportunity few get. I couldn't picture a better fit. It's Ashford's gain for sure. We're going to keep tabs on him."

Casey thanked family, teammates, friends and coaches for the roles they played in his life over the past four years. "I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for them," he said. In addition, he said, "I'm excited about going on this journey and seeing what the future holds."

In response to questions, he said he thought Ashford presented better opportunities for him soccer-wise and school-wise than other colleges he was considering. He also liked the campus and its proximity to his home.

He plans to major in business administration and hopes to be a starter on the soccer team during his upcoming freshman year.

May 22, 2014

By Bob Balgemann

Reporter

MACHESNEY PARK - Junior Sam Libby and sophomore Brock Soter are among a handful of young players making their mark on Harlem's varsity baseball team.

Their goal is to do the best they can to help make the team successful. And along the way they happened to ensure themselves a place in school history, by combining May 5 to pitch a no-hitter.

No-hitters have been thrown before, the last one in 2012. But never, not until May 5, did two Huskie pitchers combine to accomplish that feat.

Libby was the starting pitcher in the 7-0 victory over Auburn. He left the game after five innings because he was scheduled to pitch against Boylan four days later.

"I had too many walks," he remembered of the game. "Otherwise it was pretty good."

While he realized later in the game that a no-hitter was in the works, he said he tried not to think about it.

There weren't any close calls, he said, no near hits, during his five innings of work. "The grass was long and they (balls) all stopped" short, after being hit, he said. 

Superstition, some call it tradition, forbids any dugout chatter about the possibility of a no-hitter when it's in progress. And both Harlem pitchers did their best to push it to the back of their minds.

Soter joined the varsity early on and didn't think he would play that much. But now he's a spot starter at third base, a key infield position, and he also pitches in relief.

He came into the Auburn game in the sixth inning, with the no-hitter still in tact. His arm felt good and while he was well aware of the circumstances, he said he focused on throwing strikes and getting ground balls.

Of course, he felt a degree of pressure. "I was a little bit nervous in the seventh inning, but not a lot," he recalled.

Both have been playing baseball since fourth grade, with Libby learning the game at Harlem Community Center and Soter at the Carlson Boys & Girls Club.

Now they're in high school and belong to a varsity team that's improving with every game whose presence is known in the NIC-10.

Quite often individual accomplishments come to the front while players do their very best to help the team. That was the case with Sam Libby and Brock Soter, who said they thought their first-time achievement on a Harlem baseball field was "pretty cool."

May 15, 2014

By Bob Balgemann

Reporter

MACHESNEY PARK - Another full week of softball is on tap for Harlem's girls, culminating Saturday with the 35th Harlem Invitational starting at 9 a.m.

The eight-team field includes Alleman Catholic, Deerfield, Grant, Hononegah, McHenry, Stillman Valley, United Township and the host Lady Huskies.

Earlier in the week Harlem was slated to play NIC-10 rivals Belvidere North and Guilford. On Friday, they will be at home against Rockford East.

All of this is happening after Contenders Week, when Harlem tried to navigate around its three primary roadblocks to a conference championship.

The result was losses to Hononegah and Boylan, with a victory over Belvidere sandwiched in between.

While Hononegah now sits alone at the top the Lady Huskies are still in it, owning a 9-3 league mark with six games left to play. But they will need help as none of the remaining teams is in the hunt for the title.

Things were going well in the week's opener at home against Hononegah until the top of the fourth inning, when the Lady Indians scored six times.

Earlier, Jazmyne Sherwood hit a sacrifice fly for Harken to score Emily Brandon with the game's first run.

Down 6-1, the Lady Huskies made it a 6-3 game in the last of the fourth on Brandon's two-run single. The ball caromed off Hononegah's pitcher and continued into right field.

One more run was trimmed off the deficit in the fifth when Kelly Hormig singled in Dakota Watson, who was safe on an error.

The Lady Indians scored two insurance runs in the top of the sixth, but Harlem came right back with two of its own on RBI singles by Olivia Fluehr and Watson. Hononegah scored one more time, in the top of the seventh, for the 9-6 final.

Harlem bounced back two days later and routed Belvidere on the road. An account of that victory appears elsewhere in today's issue of the Post Journal.

Friday, the Lady Huskies traveled to Sportscore I, hoping to avenge an earlier 7-6 loss to Boylan. But the Lady Titans sent 14 battters to the plate while scoring 11 runs in the bottom of the third inning.

Harlem got on the board in the top of the fifth to avoid having the 10-run Mercy Rule imposed to end the game.

Ellyn Menke singled and Hormig walked with nobody out. Kayla Kampmeier grounded hard to the pitcher, who tried to trap Menke off third base. But her speed allowed her to score before the third baseman could get the ball home for the out.

Emily Buske then stroked a run-scoring single to make it a nine-run deficit.

But Boylan came back with a double and two singles, scoring once in the bottom of the fifth to restore a 10-run lead and end the game, 12-2.

May 15, 2014

By Bob Balgemann

Reporter

MACHESNEY PARK - Harlem High School pitchers have thrown no-hitters in the past. But it wasn't until this year that two of them combined to no-hit the opposition.

That happened May 5 when junior Sam Libby and sophomore Brock Soter combined to blank Auburn, 7-0, without surrendering a base hit. Libby pitched five innings while Soter relieved in the sixth and seventh.

The last no-hitter thrown by a one pitcher came in 2012.

Meanwhile, Harlem's girls soccer team brought a 16-1 overall record into this week and will conclude the regular season at home today (Thursday) for Senior Night. Jefferson is the opponent.

Regional tournament action will begin Friday with Harlem the No. 1 seed at Guilford. The Lady Huskies will play at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday (May 20) against the winner of the Guilford-Auburn game. Second-seeded Hononegah and the third seed, Guilford, will meet at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday.

The championship contest is at 5 p.m. Friday.

Auburn has the sectional tournament with winners from the Guilford, South Elgin, Huntley and Cary-Grove regionals.

The Guilford champion will meet the South Elgin winner at 6 p.m. May 27; Huntley and Cary-Grove will meet May 28, also at 6 p.m. The sectional championship game will be played at 5 p.m. May 30.

Baseball action

Through the week-ending game at Boylan, the Huskies had improved to 12-9, having won nine of their last 10 games. Their eight consecutive NIC-10 victories put them at 8-3.

Highlight of the week was the combined Libby-Soter no-hitter against Auburn. Libby pitched five innings with Soter closing in the sixth and seventh. It was Libby's team-leading third conference win, in which he had 10 strikeouts. In his last two outings he has allowed one hit and struck out 17 over 11 innings of work.

Harlem's defense has continued to be strong with only one error in the last three conference games.

Rockford Lutheran was in town May 6 for a makeup game and fell behind, 7-1, before ultimately losing, 7-5.

This time relief honors went to Concordia University recruit Dan Raniere, who entered in the fifth inning with the tying runs on base and two out. He retired the next batter and pitched a scoreless sixth and seventh to record his first save.

Sophomore Aaron Cusimano got his first start of the season and threw 5.2 innings to get the win. Between them, he and Raniere only walked one batter.

Offensively, Chance Elmer had two hits, reaching base four times and scoring twice.

Harlem's eighth straight league win came May 7, at the expense of Rockford Jefferson, 7-4. Another sophomore, T.J. Chance, pitched a complete game for the win.

An RBI single by Dwayne Douglas and run-scoring double from Tyler Born gave the Huskies a 2-0 lead in the first inning. Jefferson came back to tie it in the third but Harlem scored five times over the fourth and fifth innings to lead, 7-2.

Consecutive singles by Ranieri and Frank Barone and a walk to Alex Massetti loaded the bases with no-one out in the fourth. Cusimano's infield grounder scored Ranieri while Elmer singled in pinch runner Taevien Coogan for the 4-2 advantage.

Born (2-for-4, three RBIs) lined a two-run homer over the left-field fence in the fifth. Barone (2-for-3) singled to drive in Ranieri (2-for-3) with Harlem's seventh and final run.

Douglas had a strong day at the plate, going 3-for-4 with an RBI and two runs scored. Elmer went 2-for-3 in the leadoff spot with one RBI and one run scored. And Ranieri continued his stellar hitting with a 2-for-3 day and two runs scored.

Win over Hononegah

Harlem's girls soccer continued its record-setting season last week by improving to 16-1 overall and 7-0 in the NIC-10 with a 2-0 shutout of Hononegah on Senior Night in Rockton.

Emily Scott put Harlem on the board with an unassisted goal with 18:44 left in the first half. McKaela Schmelzer added an insurance goal at the 8:17 mark with a header off a crossing pass from Adela Pelayo.

The shutout was the ninth in the last 10 games for senior goal keeper Alyssa Sickler. who's bound for Heartland Community College after graduation. She made six saves against Hononegah; Harlem had seven shots on goal overall.

Over the weekend of May 2-3 the Lady Huskies went a perfect 3-0 in the Petzel Invite but finished second to host Freeport, because they didn't score as many goals as the Lady Pretzels.

After opening with a 2-0 win over Tinley Park, Harlem came back on May 3 with a 3-0 victory over Sycamore. Goals were provided by Emily Scott, Monica Armendariz, off a corner kick from Suzy Pelayo, and Adela Pelayo. Suzy Pelayo assisted on two of the third scores.

In their second game on May 3 the Lady Huskies edged Burlington Central, 1-0, on an unassisted goal by Emily Scott with 3:08 left in the game.

While Harlem outscored its three opponents, 6-0, Freeport won its three games by idential scores of 3-0 for a total of nine goals.

The Lady Huskies will end the regular season tonight (Thursday) at home, with Senior Night against Jefferson.

May 15, 2014

Harlem's Nic Smallwood dives back into first base during a pick-off attempt during the Huskies junior varsity game against Auburn on May 5.

Chris Anderson photo – www.chrisanderson-photography.com

May 8, 2014

By Bob Balgemann

Reporter

MACHESNEY PARK - Two standouts in cross country and track at Harlem High School have decided to continue in their sports while attending college.MaKenzie Barlow has committed to the University of Tampa (Fla.) while Allison Hartman is bound for North Central College in Naperville. Both signed national letters of intent May 1 in front of a large crowd of supporters in the Commons at the high school.Head cross country coach Danny Savage remembered the potential MaKenzie showed from the beginning, while a freshman. A four-year member of the cross country team, she said while a sophomore that she would be running one day for a college in Florida.Allison started out in cross country and then moved to track, he said. North Central is his alma mater, so he said he was glad she chose to go there. Her new coach, he said, is one of his college teammates.Allison was a state qualifier last year as a member of the 4-by-800-relay team and her times in various distance and sprint events rank among the best in Harlem history.Head girls track coach Scott Scholl said he enjoyed seeing the girls mature and grow over the past four years. "I didn't have to coach them very hard; they did most of it themselves," he said.He said he remembered them for four traits including:* Resiliency. "Both have bounced back frolm bad times," he said. "They never gave up."* Extremely hard working. "You can goof off on the sideline but when it's work time, it's work time," he said.* Leadershipi and how they showed that quality to younger girls on the team.* Colmpetitive spirit. "They always go after first place," he said. "I will always remember them for those qualities."Both girls thanked many people - parents, family, coaches, friends and teammates - for making a difference in their lives over the years.MaKenzie said she chose the University of Tampa because she has wanted to live in Florida since she was 10 years old. The plans to major in pediatric nursing.Allison said she selected North Central College because it was a good fit for her. "It seemed like home," she said, "and it's not too far away." She plans to major in secondary education.During the ceremonial signing Harlem Athletic Director Kurt Weigt encouraged student-athletes in the room to recognize their goals and work hard to achieve them. Do that and "one day you will be sitting where they are."

May 8, 2014

Chris Anderson photo - www.chrisanderson-photography.comCatcher Frank Barone (29) tags out a Auburn runner at home plate during the Huskies' NIC-10 game against the Knights on May 3.

May 1, 2014

By Bob Balgemann

MACHESNEY PARK - Harlem's junior varsity track team won while the varsity was edged out by champion Hampshire Saturday during the annual six-school Harlem Invitational.The JVs outpointed runner-up Hampshire, 93-71; the Lady Whip-Purs nipped the varsity Lady Huskies, 117.5 to 115, with Sycamore a close third.The varsity was led by its relay teams that won two events while finishing second once and third once.Winning efforts were turned in by the 4-by-100-meter relay team consisting of Jordynn Warren, Haylin Bade, Melina Chiodini and Breanne Henderson, along with the 4-by-200 team made up of Anisa Talic, Bade, Warren and Henderson.State qualifiers Emma Platzbecker and Allison Hartman joined Bade and Gabby Forsell on the second place 4-by-400 team; Julia Fewell, Makenzie Barlow, Allison Hartman and Payton Hartman made up the third place 4-by-800 team.Allison Hartman, Paige Gors and Audi Nichol were the only other winners for the varsity, taking the 400-meter dash, 100-meter high hurdles and discus, respectively.Other place winners in track events were Talic, second in the 200-meter dash and fifth in the 100-meter dash; Rachel Huwe, fifth in the 3200-meter run; Platzbecker, eighth in the 800-meter run; Huwe and Payton Hartman, 9-10 in the 1600-meter run; and Gors and Chiodini, 6-7 in the 300-meter intermediate hurdles.In field events Rachel Harridine took second in the pole vault; Henderson and Gors, 4-5 in the long jump; Brittany Bodnar and Nichol, seventh and 10th, respectively, in the shot put; and Harridine and Brittani Larsen, third and fifth, respectively, in the triple jump. JV place winners Turning in first-place efforts for Harlem's junior varsity team were Amelia Davis, 100-meter dash; Lamarria French, 400-meter dash; Desiree Schumaker, 3200-meter run; Stephanie Lang, pole vault; and Forsell, long jump.The 4-by-100-meter relay team (Cali Haun, Brooklin Bade, Forsell and Noto) came in first as did the 4-by-200-meter relay team (Forsell, Bade, Aubrey Noto and Davis). The 4-by-400-meter relay team (Warren, Fewell, Barlow and Kelsey Brown) finished second as did the 4-by-800-meter relay team (Brown, Mariana Delgado, Brittany Chelinsky and Karlie Vincent).Other JV place winners in track events were Noto, second in the 200-meter dash; Bailey Paluzzi, third in the 800-meter run; Christi Trommels, second in the 1600-meter run; Larsen, second in the 300-meter intermediate hurdles; and Blake Ashford, third in the 100-meter high hurdles.In the field events Jackson was second in the triple jump; Emily Kern, second in the shot put; Bodnar, second in the discus; and Megan Kempthorne, third in the high jump.

April 24, 2014

 By Bob Balgemann

Reporter

MACHESNEY PARK - Harlem catcher Jazmyne Sherwood has had a rough spring so far.She and her first baseman, Lauryn McKiski, collided and were injured while pursuing a foul pop fly in the April 8 home game with Crystal Lake South. Against Belvidere, Sherwood was jarred when the Lady Bucs' Hayley Anderson slid into her on a fifth-inning play at home plate.But she was all smiles after delivering a clutch walkoff double Wednesday afternoon (April 16), to give the Lady Huskies a stunning 11-10 comeback victory on yet another chilly, blustery spring day."It's just playing hard," she said of battling through the injuries and delivering the game-winning hit after going 0-for-4 in her previous trips to the plate. "You never give up."It would have been easy for Harlem to cash it in, after shutting out rival Hononegah, 4-0, the night before. Key hits by Mackenzie Hauser and Anderson had helped give Belvidere a 9-4 lead after five innings of play.But the Lady Huskies (4-1, 2-0) had some key hits of their own, aside from that double in the bottom of the eighth inning.Dakota Watson drilled two inside-the-park home runs, in the third and seventh innings, which produced three runs. She was 3-for-3 for the day and drove in a first-inning run with a sacrifice fly as Harlem took an early 2-0 lead."I just try to hit the ball hard," she said afterward. She now has three homers for the spring, each of them inside-the-park.Kendra Moore, No. 8 hitter in head coach Jennifer Corwin's lineup, singled in two runs in the sixth to bring Harlem to within three at 9-6.Leadoff batter Emily Guske went 3-for-5 at the plate and was on base four times. She contributed a clutch two-out RBI single in the four-run seventh inning to create a 10-10 tie and force extra innings. Moments earlier the No. 9 hitter, Emily Brandon, drove in Kelly Hormig with an infield grounder.Belvidere hit the ball hard all night, collecting 15 against Harlem ace Olivia Fluehr,Hauser went 4-for-5 with two RBIs, both in the fifth inning when her team took its 9-4 lead. Anderson was 3-for-4, also with two RBIs, hers coming in a four-run third inning.Alyssa Ziegler was 0-for-4 going into the seventh inning when she drive in what appeared to be an insurance run that gave the Lady Bucs (4-3) a 10-6 lead.Belvidere also received contributions from the bottom of its batting order, with No. 9 Alayna Weber singling home a run in the third and plating another one on a fielder's choice in the fifth.Leadoff batter Logan Delmore had an RBI single in the fifth.And Cheyanne Stowars, while officially going 0-for-3, reached base twice on errors with one of them bringing in a run.But it was the bottom of the eighth that decided the game.Fluehr was safe on an error to lead things off and scored when her batterymate slugged a double over the left-fielder's head.

January 30, 2014

By Bob Balgemann

Reporter

MACHESNEY PARK - It was the longest road trip of the 2013-14 girls basketball season and with it included a tour of the Loras College campus in Dubuque, Iowa.

In all, the Lady Huskies enjoyed the experience that included a 59-56 win over the Dubuque Senior High School Lady Rams. Teams from Iowa, Illinois and Wisconsin competed in the event.

Senior Danielle Schneider scored a varsity career-high 25 points, including five 3-point baskets, to pace the win.

It was a close game throughout. The Lady Huskies trailed, 32-31, at halftime, then rallied for a 37-34 lead in the third period with Schneider scoring half of their 16 points. Each team scored 12 points in the fourth quarter.

Harlem's six 3-point baskets made the difference as the Lady Rams had more two-pointers (15 to 13) and more free throws (17-15). Harlem was 15-of-19 at the free-throw line; Schmelzer was a perfect 7-for-7 while Schneider went 4-for-4.

Lose to Auburn

MACHESNEY PARK - The Jan. 21 home game against Auburn, second-place team in the NIC-10, wasn't any fun as the Lady Knights rolled to a 70-53 win.

It was close in the first half with Auburn leading by just one point, 25-24, at halftime.

Three-pointers by Justina Galindo and Mckaela Schmelzer helped the Lady Huskies stay close in the first quarter, which closed with Auburn on top, 18-16.

Schmelzer's three-point play and Galindo's rebound basket to open the second period gave the Lady Huskies their final lead of the game, 21-18. Auburn held Harlem to three points over the next 6:40 while scoring seven of its own to lead by one at intermission.

The Lady Knights went on an 11-0 run in the final 2:09 of the third quarter to take command, 50-33.

But Harlem wasn't done, climbing back into the game with a 9-0 run that closed the gap to 62-53 with 2:03 left to play. Schmelzer had two baskets during that span, one of them a 3; Baylee Paluzzi put back a missed shot and Theresa Heitz scored off a steal. Auburn scored the next eight points, however, to secure the win.

Schmelzer led Harlem with 21 points while Heitz and Paulzzi added seven each.

LOVES PARK - Harlem and Hononegah will be represented by their entire teams this weekend at the state bowling tournament in downstate O'Fallon.

The Huskies had a 6,545 pinfall in the Boylan sectional on Saturday, finishing a close second to champion Sycamore, which amassed 6,578 pins. Hononegah totaled 6,416 pins to finish fourth.

Brandon Biondo of Algonquin Jacobs was the sectional champion, rolling a six-game 1,462 series, seven pins more than Harlem freshman, Jacob Nimtz.

Other Huskies figuring in the pin count were senior Austin Purkeypile, 1,324; senior Anthony Eterno, 1,292; junior Joe Heathscott, 1,260; and senior Joey Miller, 1,214.

Harlem's only representative at state last year was Purkeypile, who qualified as an individual and finished 30th overall.

Hononegah was led by senior Collin Estes with a  1,340 series, followed by senior David Cliffe with a 1,332; sophomore Clay Coogan, 1,272; and sophomore Trey Arnold, 1,210. Freshman Brandon Mooney (873) and senior Cody Coogan (389) split the remaining six games.

Harlem won the regional tournament last week with 6,666 pins, best in the state among 17 sites. Sycamore's 6,545 pinfall was tops in the state at the four sectional locations.

The top six teams from each sectional qualified for state.

Schneider sparks win

January 30, 2014

By Bob Balgemann

Reporter

MACHESNEY PARK - Harlem's boys basketball team went 3-2 and finished third in an eight-team field at the recent Martin Luther King Jr. tournament hosted by Lake Zurich High School.

The Huskies could have been 4-1 had they not lost by two points to Lincoln Way Central on a desperation 3-point basket from near half court in the final second of play.

They won for the seventh time Friday night, 73-63 over NIC-10 rival Belvidere North, as they stepped up the defensive pressure against the Blue Thunder's premiere outside shooters.

Harlem coaches did a lot of applauding as the 3s refused to fall for North. Numerous low-percentage shots were taken with a Huskie defender being in the shooters' faces.

Head coach Chad Barger said afterward coaches and the team talked about refocusing in the new year and coming together as a unit. The Huskies are 5-5 since Christmas, but he said they have played like an 8-2 team.

Their inside-out offensive scheme revolves around their big men, 6-1 senior De Woods, who plays much taller, and 6-6 junior Alex Karbarz, who is emerging as the man in the middle.

"Their play (inside) opens the floor for other things," the coach said.

Karbarz and Woods combined for 46 points in the win over North. with both showing they're able to hit from outside as well being a presence under the hoop.

Harlem put the Blue Thunder in an immediate 11-2 hole and the visitors were never able to climb out of it. 

Malik Lightfoot started the early run by scoring inside off an inbounds play just 16 seconds into a fast paced, high-scoring first half.

Go on a 9-0 run

North put back a missed shot to tie it, then Harlem went on a 9-0 run for the 11-2 advantage. Lightfoot and Woods each had two baskets in that two-minute span, with Woods nailing a 3 at the 6:38 mark.

The Blue Thunder were limited to a pair of 3s in the first half, with Hunter Blake netting the first one at 4:51 to 2 1/2-minute scoring drought and reduce the deficit to 11-5. Kyle Harftfiel got the other one with 2:48 left in the first quarter.

Despite many attempts North wouldn't get another 3 until Howe cashed in two of them in the fourth quarter.

Harlem was up 22-14 after the first period and increased that difference to 28-16 on two basketes from Karbarz and one by Chris Scoville, who grabbed his own missed free throw and scored.

Karbarz's picturesque left-handed layup 51 seconds before intermission produced the biggest lead of the game, 41-26. It was 41-28 after Jake Howe's two free throws a few seconds later.

The Huskies led by as many as 17 points in the second half but North battled back to pull within 70-63 on Todd Berkenpas' basket following a Harlem turnover with 50 seconds left to play.

Missed free throws - Harlem was 4-for-8 in the closing moments - precluded the Huskies from salting away the win until late in the game. The Thunder comeback was stymied by four missed 3s in the final minute and losing one possession to an offensive foul.

Coach Barger was pleased with the way his team has been playing in recent weeks. "They could have folded but they trusted us and are putting it together," he said.

Karbarz led all scoring with 27 points followed by Woods with 19 and Lightfoot with 14. Howe had 14 for North with Hartfiel and Blake adding 13 apiece.

Harlem has two tough road games coming up this week, playing at Jefferson Friday night and at Auburn on Saturday. 

Jaunary 16, 2014

By Bob Balgemann

Reporter

MACHESNEY PARK - Harlem's varsity boys and girls bowling teams and the varsity wrestling team showed early-on that they were bound for successful seasons.

With one-third of the season completed both the boys and girls bowling teams were at or near the top of their respective divisions.

The Lady Huskies improved to 14-1 by taking all five points from Boylan, while the Huskies did likewise against the Titans for their first sweep of the season and a 13-2 record.

Harlem, Guilford and Hononegah once again are the teams to beat but this year Belvidere has moved into the Top 5. The Lady Bucs are 15-0 while the Bucs are 14-1 so far this winter.

Taylor Rush had a career-high 671 series, built on single games of 223, 242 and 208, to lead the girls' victory over Boylan.

She was followed closely by Bree Zimmerman with a 658 that included single games of 239 and 235; Jessica Mandujano with a 657 and Mylee McCracken with a 626.

Lindsey Mason (418), Sarah Grable (399) and Skylar Russo-Perry (336) each bowled two games, with Mason's 246 her team's best for the day.

Team-wise, Harlem had the high three-game series for the day with a 3,755 and high single game with a 1,275. They have the high single game average of 1,223 so far this season.

On Dec. 5, the Lady Huskies employed eight girls while sweeping Rockford East, 5-0, behind Mandujano's 624 series. McCracken was the only other one to bowl three games and she turned in a 575.

Mason, Grable, Rush, Russo-Perry, Zimmerman and Meredity McNally also contributed in that one. Mason's two-game 388 series was tops among her teammates. Zimmerman was close behind at 384.

In junior varsity action Harlem's girls conrtinue unbeatren with a 10-0 record.

Boys in 4th place 

Freshman Jacob Nimtz had a team-high 708 series to lead the win over Boylan. Joe Heathscott was close behind with a 685 while Anthony Eterno contributed a 678 and Collin Day a 674. Austin Purkeypile bowled two games, finishing with a 442 series.

Nimtz's series was third best for the day.

Team-wise, the Huskies had the top single game with a 1,473 and that now stands as the best so far this season. Their 4,022 series ranked second for the day and is No. 3 this winter.

Against East on Dec. 3, Harlem picked up a 4-1 victory led by Heathscott with a 685 series. He was followed by Nimtz with a 655, Purkeypile with a 641, Eterno a 633, Miller with a 613 and Day with a 585.

Harlem's JV boys are 10-5 so far this season and tied with Belvidere North for fifth place.

Wrestlers win again

Harlem's wrestling team continued to be undefeated in the NIC-10 following victories over Freeport, 57-12, and Belvidere North, 53-16 in their second triangular meet of the season.

There were nine forfeits in the Pretzel match, leaving five actual matches and the Huskies won four of them.

Jacob Hayes started the win parade by decisioning his opponent, 8-2, at 106 pounds. The next match was at 120 pounds, which was won by Freeport. Next up was Adam Zacharuk for Harlem at 126 pounds and he won by a fall in just 54 seconds.

Jacob Hawkins kept the win string going with a pin in 1:33 at 138 pounds. And, finally, Sage Hecox pinned his 220-pound opponent in a quick 29 seconds.

There also were five actual matches in the Belvidere North bout with the Huskies winning three of them.

Hayes again got things going by pinning his opponent in 3:09. Zacharuk won by a technical fall, 17-1, while Maxwell Kuhrt won his 145-pound match with a fall in 3:33.

Since then the Huskies won another triangular, over Jefferson and Boylan.

December 12, 2013

By Bob Balgemann

Reporter

MACHESNEY PARK - The dream is continuing for 24-year race car driver Alex Papini.

As the Late Model champion this year at Rockford Speedway and the Whelen All-American champion, he will represent the state of Illinois during a NASCAR banquet Friday (Dec. 13) in Charlotte, N.C.

He won 10-of-18 starts at Rockford this past season and was in the Top 5 in the eight other races. In Whelen's standings for Illinois, he logged 368 points to 284 for the second-place driver.

Now he'll be spending four days in Charlotte, attending a whirlwind of activities and rubbing elbows with some of the greats in NASCAR racing.

"The whole crew is excited," he said. "None of us has ever done anything like this. It's a pretty big accomplishment for us. We thought winning the Late Model championship was a dream. Now we're going to Charlotte."

While he started racing in 2006, Papini just finished his third full year of racing at the Speedway. "We were complete underdogs when the season started," he said. But when he won the Spring Class 100, a longer race that kicked off the new season, people began to take notice.

He landed a major sponsor (Stateline Staffing Services) a short time after that and, as they say, the rest is history.

"Technically, that's how it's supposed to happen," he said. "You start with nothing, prove yourself and you're rewarded for your hard work."

He plans to defend his championship and run a complete Big 8 Series over the summer. That means touring 8-to-10 tracks in Illinois, central and northern Wisconsin and Minnesota, competing against the best cars from those venues.

The first race in that Series will be at Rockford Speedway early in April and the second to last race also will be there.

Racing in family

A third generation racer, he is following in the footsteps of both grandfathers, his mom and dad and an uncle. His dad died at the Speedway April 1, 2001, after suffering a heart attack near the end of his race and crashing into the wall.

Now, son Alex dedicates every win to him by driving up to that same wall, pausing and then doing a burn.

"I grew up watching him," he said, adding that racing "is all I ever wanted to do."

Mom Lisa continues to go to the track to watch her son, but he said she spends much of the time with her hands over her eyes. 

December 05, 2013

By Bob Balgemann

Reporter

JOHNSBURG - Harlem went 1-2 in pool play at the Thanksgiving tournament co-hosted by Johnsburg and Richmond-Burton high schools.

But the Huskies, despite all the inexperience and with De Woods sidelined briefly by injury, could have gone 3-0.

They showed speed and resilience in the tournament with varsity newcomer Eric Henson, a junior, stepping in and immediately becoming an impact player.

Harlem opened the tournament against north suburban Grant out of Fox Lake and held a 60-55 lead going into the fourth quarter. But the Bulldogs claimed the final eight minutes, outscoring the Huskies, 21-8, for the 76-68 win.

They showed their ability to score in that first game of the season, running up 27 points in the second quarter and 21 in the third.

Henson scored 22 in his first varsity game followed by returning regular Robert Smith Jr. with 17 and Malik Luster with 14.

In an even higher scoring battle Harlem edged host Johnsburg, 92-90 in double overtime, in the second game. In that one they were behind after three quarters, 59-49, then rallied for a 25-15 advantage in the final period to force overtime.

Smith broke loose for a career-high 28 points against the Skyhawks; Hensen added 25, Alex Karbarz chipped in 13, Austyn Summers,10, and Luster, nine.

The Huskies were constantly in motion Friday night (Nov. 29) against Zion-Benton's junior varsity.

Run when they can

The game was a study in offensive contrasts with Zion mostly content to shoot from outside. Harlem made up for its overall lack of size by running in transition whenever possible, after missed shots and turnovers forced by a 3-2 zone defense.

Harlem broke on top, 4-0, only to go scoreness for the rest of the first quarter while Zion put 10 points on the board. The deficit was 13-6 when the Huskies staged their first of many rallies with three unanswered, sometimes acrobatic fastbreak baskets by Henson and Smith to make it a 13-12 game.

But the Zee-Bees scored the final five points of the quarter to lead, 27-18, at halftime.

Zion scored the first five points of the third quarter to open up a 32-18 lead. Harlem came back agaiin, however, going on a 12-0 run to pull within two, 32-30. Five baskets and a free throw came from Summers (a 3), Smith and Karbarz, on the heels of two missed shots and three turnovers.

Harlem stayed within two points for much of the fourth quarter, then tied it on two Henson free throws with 3:39 left to play. Karbarz put back a missed shot for another tie at the 3:15 mark and a fast break, also by the 6-foot-5 junior center, gave the Huskies their first lead since early in the game, 53-51, with 2:19 remaining.

A missed shot and Karbarz rebound gave Harlem the ball back with less than one minute in the game. But Zion stole a pass and scored with 40.6 seconds left to create another tie.

The Huskies put in a free throw with 33 seconds remaining for a 54-53 lead. Zion played for the last shot, finding an open man under the basket and scored with 1.1 seconds on the clock for the 55-54 win.

November 21, 2013

By Bob Balgemann

Reporter

MACHESNEY PARK - From an individual standpoint, the 2012-13 bowling season couldn't have been much better for Harlem High School junior Austin Purkeypile.

He helped the Huskies make an improbable comeback at the end of the regular season to win the NIC-10 championship.

He bowled a perfect 300 game in a key 4-1 win over Guilford the second to last week of the season. Then he finished with a three-game, 753 series in the 5-0 sweep of Freeport on the road.

In that two-week period Harlem rallied from a seven-point deficit to finish with a 37-8 record, two wins more than runner-up Guilford.

A repeat of that would be just fine. But Austin would prefer a better finish for the team when it comes to the postseason.

His hope, and that of his teammates, is to get out of the sectional and advance to the state tournament, being held again in downstate O'Fallon at the end of the 2013-14 season.

He qualified for the trip, but alone, as the Huskies came close but finished third by a scant 52 pins in the Hononegah sectional. Only the top two teams advance.

Individually, Austin was second in the sectional, averaging 237 over six games,and wound up 30th at state.

Winning the state championship as a team is a realistic goal, he said, as some of the top bowling teams in Illinois come from this part of the state. Harlem is among them and he thinks this year's team is better than last year.

While the Huskies lost Lucas Korntved and Peyton Bielefeldt to graduation, they return Joey Miller, Joey Heathscott and Anthony Eterno. And Austin Pur keypile.

Each of them averaged better than 200 per game in conference play, with Austin finishing fifth individually, averaging 218 per game. Miller averaged 212; Heathscott, 204; and Eterno, 202.

Add to that a successful junior varsity team that posted a 32-13 record, good for fourth place, and there's plenty of hope for the future.

Austin has been bowling for 14 years, being introduced to the sport by his dad. It's now part of his life year-round, and he said he's been working on some things to get ready for his final year of high school bowling.

He'd like to continue bowling at the college level, but has not yet begun looking at schools. Robert Morris University in Chicago has expressed interest in him, he said.

As for a a major, he said he's thinking about something in the construction field.

November 14, 2013

By Bob Balgemann

Reporter

MACHESNEY PARK - Work has been started on an addition to Harlem Township's Schoonmaker Park off Ventura Road, on the northwest side of the village.

A new gate has been installed near the children's playground. Through the links one can see the start of the semi-circular walking path that will join an existing walkway, which circulates through the park.

Once completed, the 2 1/2-acre addition will have the path through a heavily-wooded area along with two benches and a gazebo in the middle. It is an Eagle Scout project.

Township Supervisor Terri Knight said work would resume early in the spring.

Officials are waiting to hear from the state whether it will receive a $50,000 grant to help develop the property, a gift of the Schoonmaker family for whom the entire park was named.

Knight said she already was told the township would not receive the entire amount for the Eagle Scout project, because of the number of applicants.

The new addition is across from the playground and adjacent to one of two dog parks that are located on the property.

In addition, the village of Machesney Park has offered to provide a new pavilion for the park, which will be located across the path from the playground and dog parks. It iwll be similar to the existing shelter and have picnic tables.

The Rover Run dog parks, separate fenced play areas with plenty of trees for large and small dogs, were enhanced last year by the addition of a variety of toys. That was a $5,000 project with leftover money from the 2011-12 budget.

Toys included a jump to clear, tunnel to crawl through and hoops to jump through. In addition, the toys sometimes are used for agility training.

November 07, 2013

By Bob Balgemann

Reporter

ROCKFORD - Hononegah pretty much had the game in hand. With the score tied 1-1, the Indians came out strong in the second half of their opening-round regional soccer game against Harlem. Ten minutes later they had scored three times to take a 4-1 lead.

It was still 4-1 with 7:07 left to play, when coaches cleared their bench and switched goal keepers to give everyone some playing time.

Then Harlem made it interesting.

Six seconds later Casey Culver scored the 110th goal of his high school career to make it a 4-2 game.

Then another senior, Heythem Sahori, dented the net with 6:16 remaining to pull the Huskies within one, 4-3.

Hononegah tightened its defense after that, however, and held on to reach the championship game of the Auburn Regional Tournament.

Head coach Vee Jevremovic credited Harlem with never giving up. And he credited his team with adjusting to start the second half and getting back into its game, one of possession.

"Our boys really started clicking," he said of the first 10 mintues.

The Indians pressed on offense to start the game and, as a result, took a 1-0 lead on a goal by Capt. Zach Moore at the 28:32 mark.

As time went on the score could have been 4-0 had not Harlem's goal keeper, Adem Dzananovic, made a number of outstanding saves.

Defensively, the Indians anticipated what Harlem was going to do and, as a result, either intercepted passes or otherwide interrupted offensive schemes.

But Hononegah coaches were not pleased with their team's play in the waning moments. With 3:20 left until halftime one of them shouted out, "Focus, please. We're so out of sync right now."

It was the Huskies who scored, however, when Culver pierced the heart of the Indian defense and put the ball into the right corner of the Hononegah net to tie it at 1-1 just 1:35 before the half.

But it was the Indians who were fired up to start the second half. Andrew Eggers scored on a long shot, Moore notched his second goal of the night, off Harlem's keeper, and Nick Stella made it 4-1 at the 30-minute mark.

"It took some great shots to beat a great goal keeper," coach Jevremovic said afterward.

October 31, 2013

By Bob Balgemann

Reporter

MACHESNEY PARK - Harlem's Huskies will be on the road either Friday or Saturday, traveling to suburban Glen Ellyn to take on Glenbard West High School in the opening round of the 7A state football playoffs.

The day and time will be announced Monday afternoon. For details, visit www.ihsa.org.

Harlem (6-3) is a No. 14 seed among 32 larger schools while West the No. 3 seed. A member of the West Suburban (Silver) Conference and its undefeated champion, Glenbard West finished 8-1 overall and has won eight games in a row.

It handed Oak Park-River Forest its only loss of the season and outscored its last three opponents, 114-13.

Overall, the overall average of West's games was 36-7.

The winner will meet either Hoffman Estates Conant (6-3) and Algonquin Jacobs (7-2) in the second round.

Neighbor Hononegah (7-2) also is in the 7A playoffs and will be home against another 7-2 team, Highland Park from the north shore. The Indians have won six in a row after starting 1-2 with losses to Boylan and Belvidere North.

Harlem is limping into the postseason with a forfeit win over Jefferson sandwiched between losses to Hononegah, 41-27, and, most recently, Guilford, 20-7.

Last Friday's regular season final on a cold, windy night at Guilford started well enough. The Huskies took the opening kickoff and needed just 1:59 to march 71 yards for a touchdown.

Tim Martin contributed an early 11-yard run, quarterback Tanner DiGiovanni completed an 18-yard pass to De Woods and Woods bulled his way for a 31-yard run to the Viking seven. DiGiovanni capped the march with scoring run, Edvin Ibrahimovic kicked tne extra point and it was 7-0 with 10:01 left in the first quarter.

Tanner Anthony recovered a fumble on the first play of Guilford's first possession near midfield. Two Woods runs moved the ball to the Viking 33 and DiGiovanni ran to the 20. But a personal foul call, holding and a delay of game walkoff pushed the ball back to the 39, where the Huskies were forced to punt.

Nothing much went right after that, with Guilford dealing Harlem a crushing blow late in the second quarter.

The Vikings recovered a fumble at the Huskie 31 with 22.3 seconds remaining. On the second play, Guilford quarterback Nino Musso threw a 25-yard touchdown pass with just 8.2 seconds left. The extra point failed, but the Vikings took a 20-7 lead into the halftime.

After an uneventful third quarter, the Huskies threatened to get back in the game early in the fourth period. They moved from their 45 to the Viking seven, where they ran out of downs.

Taylor Hart recovered a Guilford fumble moments later, but that possession didn't produce any points.

October 24, 2013

By Bob Balgemann

Reporter

MACHESNEY PARK - The nine Harlem Community Center softball teams in its fall league provided their players with a full schedule of games at a better-than-average level of competition.

Three of the nine finished with winning records. Mohr 12U was 3-2 as was Brassfield 14U. Stanton, for girls 16 and under, had the best mark at 4-2 while Osgood broke even at 3-3.

Fleming, a 14U team associated with the Rockford Big Dogs organization, competed in the 18U division and posted a 4-1 record, good enough to tie Jefferson for first place.

Lopez, named for head coach Jose Lopez, received a bye in the first round of the 14U tournament, even though they lost their final game of the regular season.

That game against O'Donnell actually was an exhibition, though it wound up being a rematch against the squad they defeated one week before.

This time around O'Donnell jumped off to a 5-0 lead, saw Lopez bounce back to lead, 7-5, then scored seven runs of their own on the way to a 15-9 victory.

Singles by Grace Carr and Haley Reichensberger started Lopez on the comeback trail in the last of the second inning. Consecutive walks Ashley Morgan, Olivia Dye and Mikaya Lopez, two of them with the bases loaded, produced their first two runs. Walks to Brooke Eshleman and Julia Spangler, one of them with the bases filled, a hit batter, also with the bases loaded, and a wild pitch made it a 7-5 game.

Carr and Reichensberber each batted twice during the inning with both getting on base twice, each scoring once and Reichensberger being credited with an RBI.

O'Donnell followed with their seven-run inning in the top of the third and added three in the fourth to lead, 15-7.

Lopez threatened in the bottom of the third, filling the bases on walks with one out. But O'Donnell's relief pitcher, Bailey Kroos, struck out the next two batters to end the rally.

A walk to Julia Spangler got Lopez started in the bottom of the fourth inning, which was the last of the game because of the hour and 30-minute time limit.

Spangler stole second and third and scored when Carr singled to center field. Two more walks, to Reichensberger and Morgan, loaded the bases for Dye, who also walked and forced in the ninth and final run.

Lopez and O'Donnell would have met for the third time in the tournament, if O'Donnell won its opener against HCC's Brassfield Sunday morning.

October 17, 2013

By Bob Balgemann

Reporter

MACHESNEY PARK - Hononegah had a little more firepower Friday night and defeated Harlem in a high-scoring battle of premiere NIC-10 football programs, 41-27.

Now the Huskies (5-2) will look to secure a berth in the postseason when they travel to Auburn High School this Friday to meet winless Rockford Jefferson.

The J-Hawks (0-7) forfeited last week's game with Boylan and there was talk along the Harlem sideline that the same thing could happen to their contest with the Huskies.

Anyone who's interested may find out if the game is going to be played by calling Harlem High School, 815-654-4511.

The Huskies already are playoff eligible with their five victories. But a sixth win would guarantee their season continues into the first weekend in November.

Harlem will wrap up the regular season at Guilford (6-1) on Oct. 25.

Rival Hononegah broke open a 13-13 tie when a defensive stand sandwiched between two third-quarter touchdowns gave it the lead for good.

The Indians first touchdown came on a 62-yard run by Jake Wilson with 8:35 left in the first quarter. The extra point kick had plenty of distance but was wide left, leaving the score at 6-0.

Fake punt helps

Harlem came right back, though it needed a fake punt to keep alive what wound up being an 18 play, 80-yard scoring drive.

The Huskies were at the Hononegah 39 when the ball was snapped to Taylor Hart, rather than to Andrew Selgren, the punter, and Hart ran five yards for the first down.

Nine plays later quarterback Tanner DiGiovanni found a wide open Raymond Lee in the end zone for the touchdown. Harlem's PAT kick was popped up and fell just short of the crossbar, leaving the 6-6 tie in effect at the 1:18 mark.

Defenses took over, though ever so briefly, as the deadlock remained until late in the second quarter when Alex Martin scored on a 10-yard run. Devin Haller tacked on the PAT for a 13-6 lead with 4:19 left until halftime.

As they had done earlier, the Huskies countered. This time it was a 79-yard drive that featured a 40-yard pass from DiGiovanni to Malik Lightfoot, who snatched the ball away from two defenders and reached the Indians' three-yard line. De Woods scored two plays later and Edvin Ibrahimovic kicked the point after to tie it, 13-13, with 1:18 to go until intermission.

Hononegah threatened moments later, thanks to a 42-yard pass from quarterback Alec Smith to Wilson. But Trey Andrews and Woods combined to sack Smith back to the 29 and push the Indians out of field goal range.

The tie was broken just 47 seconds into the third quarter with another big play, a 64-yard touchdown run by Wilson down the right sideline. After an ensuing defensive stop, Hononegah made it a 27-13 game with a 62-yard march that Martin capped from 24 yards out.

Harlem wasn't done, however.

After Woods' 20-yard scoring run was negated by holding, the Huskies moved to the Indian one, where reserve quarterback Traidyn Thomas snuck into the end zone. With the PAT that narrowed the deficit to 27-20 with 2:21 left in the period.

Hononegah made it a two-score game again, midway through the fourth quarter, with another big play. The 90-yard drive saw Martin score on a 39-yard run that, with Haller's extra point, increased the difference to 34-20, with 6:08 left to play.

Each team added a touchdown late in the game.

October 10, 2013

By Bob Balgemann

Reporter

MACHESNEY PARK - Fullback De Woods ran like a man possessed.

Edvin Ibrahimovic was on crutches all week, after spraining an ankle on the soccer field. Yet he was there to kick the game-winning extra point.

Anthony Tuggle made some key defensive plays in the second half, when the Huskies rallied from a 20-0 deficit. And he had one huge tackle on special teams that pinned Auburn back on its six-yard line.

Tanner Anthony recorded several tackles for losses, among them a big sack, also in the second half, which kept the Knights deep in their end of the field.

Malik Lightfoot intercepted a pass in the final minute to end any Auburn hope of a miracle finish.

And Tanner DiGiovanni, this year's homecoming king, ran and passed the Huskies to three second-half touchdowns that produced an improbable 21-20 conference victory. In addition, Harlem (5-1) became playoff eligible by winning that all important fifth game of the season. 

After the game the large Dog Pound student cheering block rushed onto the field to congratulate the team. Together, they went back to the grandstand where they joined hands while singing the school song.

"It doesn't get much better than that," one of the coaches said midst the jubilation.

Afterward head coach Jim Morrow congratulated his players for the way they bounced back. "You started playing with energy," he said of the third quarter. "This shows how capable you are."

Tuggle said the first half didn't go the way the team wanted it to go. "We just woke up," he said. "We played sound football, our football. They're a tough team but we knew we were better."

Carries defenders

Woods had a number of determined runs during the game, in particular late in the third quarter. The ball was at the Auburn 13-yard line when he bulled his way to the eight, then carried a big pile of defenders all the way to the goal line. There, Taylor Hart scored with 3:18 left in the period to make it a 20-14 game.

"We were really flat," he said of the first half, adding that they were burned by the speed of the Auburn quarterback. "We talked about that and taking advantage of the (scoring)opportunities."

DiGiovanni agreed, saying, "We beat ourselves in the first half with those penalties. But we never lost faith. We just came out firing."

Harlem's first two possessions of the game took them into Auburn territory, once to the eight-yard line. Neither produced any points, however.

Meanwhile, the Knights' first two possessions resulted in touchdowns and a 14-0 lead with 57.9 seconds left in the opening quarter.

That lead remained until Auburn got the ball to open the third period and scored again to lead, 20-0, at the 10:10 mark.

The Huskies responded this time with their first touchdown of the game, a 21-yard pass from DiGiovanni to a wide-open Brendyn Ford in the end zone at the 7:34 mark. But the PAT kick was wide left, leaving it at 20-6.

Woods' 12-yard run to the goal line came on the next series. He also caught a key two-point conversion pass from DiGiovanni, following Hart's short TD burst, which sliced the deficit to 20-14 with 3:18 remaining in the third quarter.

Woods scored the decisive touchdown, on a two-yard run, with 11:26 left in the game. That's when Ibrahimovic kicked that all-important extra point for the 21-20 lead.

Tuggle tackled the Knight kickoff return specialist at their six-yard line moments later, with Anthony's seven-yard quarteback sack puncuating that defensive stand.

Lightfoot's game-ending pass interception came with 25.2 seconds remaining to play.

Coaches told their players to savor the win, and their homecoming, but be ready to work this week in preparation for Hononegah, which will be here Friday night.

The rival Indians improved to 4-2 with a 70-14 rout of Jefferson. 

October 03, 2013

By Bob Balgemann

Reporter

MACHESNEY PARK - One of the primary goals of the Class of 2013 last year was to have the winning float in the Homecoming competition.

That's also true of the Class of 2014 as members hope to continue the tradition of being the best among the four created by freshmen, sophomores, juniors and seniors.

"Knock Out the Knights" is this year's homecoming theme as the football teams prepare to take on the Knights of Auburn High School. The primary show will be Friday, when the sophomore teams clash at 5 p.m., followed by the varsity game at 7:15 p.m.

The floats will roll past the grandstand between the sophomore and varsity games, with the various place winners announced at that time.

A big crowd of seniors flocked to Jake Hancock's home Saturday to work on their creation. They only had two days, with finishing touches needing to be applied by Sunday afternoon.

Student Council President Ty Tanker said the theme of the senior float was rock 'em, sock 'em robots.

In the Hancock driveway his dad, Steve Tanker, was helping assemble the Knight, which would be expected to take on one very big Huskie, which was stationed inside the garage.

Also inside the garage various groups of seniors were working on the base of the float and the class banner.

"We have some skilled people working here," Ty said.

The theme, he said, rose as a thought from among that group.

Floats are important

Floats generate the most Spirit points in the weeklong competition among the four classes, he said. The senior class emerging victorious "normally happens that way and we hope to keep up that tradition. We're looking good so far."

Of the large turnout, he said, "People love to be creative. It's a great way to spend our time."

Judging will take place Friday, after school, with a panel of Harlem staff members determining the first-through-fourth-place finishes.

From Ty's standpoint, he said, "I love to be involved. Taking this from concept to completion. Nobody wants to look back on what you've done and not like it. So we do the best we can."

The Huskie that will be a focal point of this year's float was made by these seniors, when they were sophomores. It has been kept in the Tankers' home in anticipation of appearing on another float.

Harlem parent Lori Hinueber remembers the huge dog because of the pain it caused her as she helped make it. "I was pushing the fur thorugh the (sewing) machine and didn't realize I was doing it so hard," she recalled.

Pointing to her finger, she said, "The needle wound up in there." While at a chiropractor's appoint a short time later an x-ray was taken and, sure enough, the needle was in there. So a surgeon removed it.

Homecoming week is filled with activities, some of them longstanding traditions. But one familiar event - the parade - won't be held because of a state law, which created a scheduling conflict.

Some of the seniors aren't happy about it, but realize there's nothing they can do about it.

"I'm upset about it," said Jake Hancock, who with his parents hosted the float-building adventure. "Maybe we can drive it around town."

"We can't show it off," Karley Draheim said.

Michelle Foss didn't think it was fair. "Everyone else had one and now that it's our turn, we don't have one," she said

Doug Livingston, longtime head varsity baseball coach, was among the adults watching the project progress. His thoughts were: "This is the best senior float - this year."

September 26, 2103

By Bob Balgemann

Reporter

MACHESNEY PARK - Belvidere North quarterback Jace Bankord threw 48 passes Friday night and completed 18 of them for 306 yards and one touchdown.

But host Harlem's defensive scheme controlled the Blue Thunder's vaunted aerial attack and held them to one touchdown in a convincing 31-10 conference victory.

Now the Huskies (3-1) will be on the road again this Friday, at Belvidere to take on the angry Bucs (2-2), who have dropped two in a row including the 46 to 12 loss to Hononegah on Sept. 20.

Harlem players viewed the North game as making a statement in coming back from a disappointing loss to Boylan one week earlier.

Senior De Woods said the team practiced hard on defending against the long pass, a strong suit of Bankord in previous upsets of Auburn and Hononegah.

Against North, Woods also was part of an early gamble that gave his team a 7-0 lead and set the tone for the game.

On fourth down from the Harlem 25-yard line, coaches called for a fake punt. The ball was snapped to senior Brendyn Ford, who completed a pass to Woods, another senior. The play resulted in a 75-yard touchdown. with 5:59 left in the opening quarter. 

"When I saw the ball in the air I held my breath," Woods said. "That play was going to dictate a lot."

Ford joked that quarterbacking might be "a hidden talent" of his.

More seriously, he said he wasn't nervous about completing the pass. "I knew Woods would be out there," he said. "I just had to get it to him.'' After the completion he said, "It was pretty much all him. He made about five people miss" tackles on the way to the touchdown.

Harlem practiced the play and head coach Jim Morrow said he told his players it would be called "if we got the (defensive) look we liked."

Authors of defensive plan

He credited defensive coordinator Scott Sholl, defensive backs coach Courtney Ford and linebackers coach Rich Infusino with drawing up the defensive plan for North. It was the way the secondary was placed, he said, and the execution by the players. That  execution included a fearsome pass rush, featuring Jared Carlson, who seemed to be all over the field.

For Harlem, it was a total team effort.

Edvin Ibrahimovic helped special teams with several 50-plus yard punts. He kicked a 29-yard field goal with 7.3 seconds left in the second quarter to increase Harlem's lead to 24-10.

Defensively, pass interceptions by Malik Lightfoot and Erik Cunningham led to touchdowns by Woods and Raymond Lee, respectively. Lee had another TD, covering 71 yards, nullified by holding early in the second quarter. 

Defensive stands early in the first quarter and late in the second period turned the ball over to the offense at the Harlem 25 and 21-yard lines, respectively. The first quarter stand saw Woods sack Bankord on a fourth-down play.

Offensively, the Huskies received a standout performance from Chris Hurtado, who caught four passes for 54 yards and a touchdown. His TD covered 20 yards and came on the heels of a North field goal, which cut Harlem's lead to 7-3. He also ran twice for 14 yards.

Jordan Tinnin caught his first pass of the season, which was good for 13 yards.

Quarterback Tanner DiGiovanni engineered a two-minute drill in just 42 seconds. He moved the ball from the Huskie 38 to the North 13 by completing consecutive passes to Ford, Lee, Cunningham and Cunningham again. Ibrahimovic made the effort pay off with his field goal.

"The point of emphasis was reducing turnovers and bouncing back," DiGiovanni said of practice the week before. Of the fake punt call, he said, "We have faith in his (Morrow's) play calling."

He was highly efficient at the controls, completing 12-of-15 passes for 134 yards and the TD to Hurtado.

Looking ahead to the Belvidere game, he said, "Belvidere is a solid team. There are no easy games in the NIC-10."

With the game in hand junior Traidyn Thomas took over at quarterback. Harlem mostly ran the ball in the final stages, featuring Thomas, Tim Martin, Tyler Flaningam, Nick Albright and Dan Crocker.

September 12, 20

ROCKFORD - The Huskies traveled to Swanson Stadium in Rockford on Sept. 6 looking to go up 2-0 early in the 2013 season.

A stiff challenge from East did not pose a threat as Harlem score early and often, taking a 23-0 halftime lead and then scoring two touchdowns in the second half to roll over the E-Rabs, 37-6.

The Huskies relied on a strong ground game, gaining 257 total yards on 42 carries. 84 of those yards came from Dee Woods, a 6’2” 225 pound senior, who pounded out yardage in holes opened up by the offensive line.

Three of the Huskies drives in the first half were capped off by Wood’s touchdown runs of seven, two and 11 yards. After the extra points by Edvin Ibrahimoviv, he added a 22-yard field goal which put the Huskies up by 23 at half time.

The second half picked up right where the Huskies left off by concentrating on the ground game. Junior’s Traidyn Thomas and Dan Crocker each scored for the Huskies and with the extra points the Huskies were up 37-0 and looking at a shutout.

East did rally for a late game score, with quarterback Jacob Benson hitting William Harris for an 11-yard touchdown strike and with the failed extra point, the six points were all the E-Rabs could put on the scoreboard and at the final buzzer the Huskies stood at 2-0 in the NIC-10 while East fell to 0-2.

Tim Martin had six carries for 39 yards. Raymond Lee had 22 yards on one carry and Tyler Flannigan picked up 38 yards on one carry. In the air, Tanner DiGiovanni completed 10 of 13 for 161 yards and had one interception.

Three of DiGiovanni’s passes went to Traidyn Thomas for 57 yards while three balls were caught by wide receiver Eric Cunningham for 75 yards.

Along with the one interception, the Huskies lost two fumbles. The three giveaways coupled with 11 penalties for 130 yards were not major factors against East but will have to be an area the Huskies will need to improve as they travel to Boylan next week to take on the undefeated Titans.

August 29, 2013

By Bob Balgemann

Reporter

MACHESNEY PARK – Harlem High School’s Casey Culver is 12 goals shy of the school record as the 2013 season gets under way.

The Huskies were scheduled to play their first game at home Aug. 27 against Stillman Valley.

After traveling to Auburn for an Invitational Friday and Saturday, they will have a string of home games starting with NIC-10 foe Rockford Guilford on Sept. 3. After that they will entertain Belvidere on Sept. 4 and Rockford East on Sept. 7, all at 7 p.m.

Non-conference opponent Aurora West will be in town Sept. 7, for a noon game; Boylan will be here on Sept. 12. Then Harlem will hit the road for a bunch of games.

The Huskies wound up third in the NIC-10 last fall, their best finish since 1987. Overall, they were 10-10 in what head coach Kyle Truax said was a “successful season.”

Graduation has taken its toll on the team, especially on defense “so it will be tough to adjust with new players back there,” he said.

But Harlem does return its standout goalkeeper, junior Adem Dzananovic. His prowess in goal is drawing the attention of such Division I schools as Notre Dame, Northwestern and Michigan.

Other key returnees are seniors Edwin Ibrahimovic, Connor Westman, Heythem Sahori and Chad Brady.

Some newcomers expected to make an impact on the team are senior Gani Dalip, junior Gabriel Barbosa, a foreign exchange student from Brazil; sophomores Dan Mitrovic and Lucas Frey and freshmen Jacob Lee and Nenad Paunovic.

“The outlook for the 2013 season is a positive one,” coach Truax said. “We hope to compete for conference and regional titles, and to simply build off of last year’s success.”

Assistant coaches this year are Tim Freesmeier, David Chu and Ben Scheppmann.

Boys, girls cross country

Harlem’s boy finished fourth in the conference last year and qualified as a team for the state sectional tournament.

Top returners this year juniors Austin Wallschlaeger and
Seth Wescon, along with sophomores Scott Kirker and Grant Hume.

Head coach Danny Savage said it was too early to tell if any of the newcomers will be able to help.

The goal, he said, was to finish in the top three in the conference, top three in the Illinois High School Association regional and top 15 at the sectional.

Kelsey Lueshen is an assistant coach this fall.

The Huskies’ first meet will be Sept. 4, joining Huntley and Auburn at the Ben Newsome Invitational.

Veterans returning for the girls cross country team are seniors Allison Hartman, Makenzie Barlow, Morgan Hume and sophomore Rachel Huwe.

Graduation took Moriah Palmer, second to graduate Leah Raffety as the fastest runner in school history as a senior. Palmer is attending the University of Wisconsin-Parkside this fall.

Another loss occurred when Kiley Golden, second fastest freshman in school history, moved to Maryland.

Sophomore Emma Platzbecker is one of the newcomers expected to help this year. She was on the track team last spring and went to state as part of the 4-by-400-meter relay team, which wound up taking seventh in the finals.

Coach Savage said the goal is to finish in the top 3 in the NIC-10, top two at the IHSA regional and top 11 at the sectional.

Lueshen also is the assistant coach for the girls team.

The Lady Huskies will open Sept. 10 at the NIC-10 preseason meet, also on the road.

Information on the other fall teams could not be obtained.

August 29, 2013

By Bob Balgemann

Reporter

MACHESNEY PARK – Harlem Community Center began its fall fastpitch softball league Sunday afternoon with 14 games in the four age divisions.

HCC has nine teams among the 22 made up of girls 12 and under, 14 and under, 16 and under and 18 and under.

After taking Sept. 1 off because of the Labor Day weekend, action will resume Sept. 8 and continue into mid-October, when there will be a season-ending tournament. Sunday games are played at noon, 1:45 and 3:30 p.m. with one hour and 30 minute time limits.

Area teams participating are from Belvidere, Dakota, Durand, Roscoe and Winnebago.

HCC’s 16U team played in an entertaining game on opening day when it lost, 7-6, to Winnebago in extra innings. The contest moved along quickly, with six innings being completed in just one hour and the teams tied, 5-5.

The Elite, as the ‘Bago team is known, won on a walk-off, inside the park home run by Kennedy Archer in the bottom of the eighth inning.

With the game tied at 5-5 after the regulation seven innings, the Texas Tie-Breaker came into play. Each team put a runner on second base to start its half of the eighth inning and had three outs in which to score her, or any others who got on base afterward.

HCC was the visiting team and scored first to lead, 6-5. Emily Gibson was stationed at second base and she scored on a single to right by Teagen Smith. Smith stole second but was stranded when the next two hitters struck out.

An infield out in t he last of the eighth allowed the Elite to tie the game at 6-6. Then Archer singled to right-center and when HCC’s center fielder slipped and fell, the ball rolled far enough into the outfield that the ‘Bago batter was able to come all the way home.

Interestingly, Archer hit an inside-the-park homer during the HCC fall league last year.

Winnebago employed four pitchers and saved the best for last when Morgan Burkhart, who throws for the high school team, came on in relief in the fifth. She allowed just one run over the final three innings to pick up the victory.

Earlier, it was a back-and-forth game with HCC, named the Stanton team for its head coach, Steve Stanton, holding leads of 2-0, 3-2 and 5-3.

Lead-off batter Victoria Bevins scored the first run when she singled to open the first inning. Aggressive base running allowed her to score on an error, which followed Gibson’s grounder to third.

It was 2-0 in the third after Lindsay Winters doubled in Emily Stieg, who singled with one out.

The Elite struck twice in their half of the third to tie it, then HCC edged ahead, 3-2, in the fourth. Cailei Aldrich singled and was replaced by pinch-runner, Teagan Smith. She was caught off third base but managed to escape the rundown and score the go-ahead run.

‘Bago tied it again, only to see Stanton pull ahead, 5-3, with RBIs going to Winters and Aldrich. Stieg launched the rally with a double down the left-field line.

The Elite pulled into one more tie, this one in the bottom of the sixth, and neither team scored in the seventh to force extra innings.

August 22, 2013

By Bob Balgemann

Reporter

MACHESNEY PARK – After a one-year absence, LeiLani Mitchell has returned as head coach of the varsity volleyball team at Harlem High School.

She filled the void created when her replacement, Kaylee Libby, left to lead the volleyball program at NIC-10 rival Hononegah. Better known as Lani Mitchell, she had been Harlem’s head coach for 14 years before retiring at the end of the 2011 season.

For the past year she coached club ball as part of the Rockford Fusion.

A teacher at Harlem’s freshman campus, she decided to return as head varsity coach “because I didn’t want to see our kids with someone who didn’t know the game very well. I didn’t want to see the program I spent 14 years building go down the drain.”

And so she’s happy to be back, inheriting a young team that has seniors Theresa Heitz, Audi Nichol, Tessa DeMuth, Sylvia Elliott and Jami Helland, along with sophomore Abby Sundberg, having varsity experience.

Newcomers to the varsity are senior Alyshia Meyers, sophomores Grace Zimmer, Jess Dahle and Emily Guske and freshman Kahley Logan.

“The sophomore class is very strong,” coach Mitchell said of the up and comers. “And we have 15 freshmen at the three levels.”

That translates to some positions being very strong with others lacking experience. But this is a team whose members are “athletic and dedicated to being successful,” she said.

She spent the summer with the varsity in a league at the Fusion complex in Rockford. “I was really happy with the commitment they showed; they bought back into my expectations,” she said. “We worked out three mornings a week and averaged 25 a day.”

Fifteen dressed for the summer team, with Mitchell saying the mission was “to see where we were at and what we had to work on.” From beginning to end, she said she saw “a ton of improvement.”

There will be position training every day now that school is back in session, as the Lady Huskies prepare for their home opener, at 7 p.m. Sept. 3 against NIC-10 opponent Auburn. That means breaking down the players into four areas: outside hitters, defense, setters and middles.

“They go through the footwork and responsibilities, everything they will have to do at their positions,” their coach explained.

There will be one practice a day, instead of two in the past, meaning some drills will be on Saturday this season.

Overall, coach Mitchell said it was good to be back. “I feel I’m scrambling sometimes,” she said. But of her players, she said, “I can’t complain about their effort. They’re eager to learn and to improve.”

“Trust the Training” is this year’s motto, and it will be imprinted on the backs of their practice shirts.

While it’s nice to do well in the conference, she said, “You don’t have to be good until mid-October,” shortly before the state tournament begins. “Everything before that is a process, a learning curve.”

Harlem will play Auburn, Jefferson, Hononegah, Boylan, East and Guilford twice, while going against Belvidere, Belvidere North and Freeport once.

The Lady Huskies went 8-8 last year. Interestingly, only one senior with varsity experience has played on a club team. Meanwhile, the sophomores, with no varsity experience, all have played on club teams.

August 15, 2013

The Gymnastic Academy of Rockford Tumbling and Trampoline Teams were in National Competition held on June 18-23 at the Greater Fort Lauderdale/Broward County Convention Center in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. GAR is very proud to announce that 36 GAR athletes are National Champions, 13 are 2nd place, 11 are 3rd place, with a total of 102 GAR athletes in the top 10 Nationally. The GAR Trampoline Team also received the 1st National Team Award. There were 142 teams with 1,800 athletes in over 4,000 events at Nationals.

July 25, 2013

By Bob Balgemann

Reporter

MACHESNEY PARK — Rochelle was looking for a little payback during the two-game tournament to end this year’s summer basketball league play at Harlem High School.

The Hubs and Huskies played earlier with Harlem winning on a last-second basket by incoming junior Robert Smith.

But July 15 there was no question about the outcome and no revenge for Rochelle. Harlem (4-8) won easily, 72-49, to wrap up league play by winning three of its last four games.

Earlier that day the Huskies defeated South Beloit, 42-35, after taking a 15-point lead in the second half.

“That’s a good way to end the summer,” head coach Chad Barger said.

The players who aren’t on the football or soccer team now will take a few weeks off before returning to the gym and the weight room, in preparation for the return of another basketball season in November.

“We have a lot of work to do,” coach Barger said. “Effort and consistency is what we need and we’ll get there. We can be successful.”

Harlem loses outside firepower in graduating Justin Van Wambeke and Safarii Hunt, and inside prowess with Josh Cass and Brandon Weber also getting their diplomas.

While the outside game has yet to emerge, the Huskies showed some strength under the basket in the person of incoming senior De Woods. He scored 20 points and hit the boards hard in the victory over Rochelle.

The Hubs stayed close until the sixth minute of the opening half when Harlem went on a 13-2 run to turn a 9-8 edge into a more comfortable 22-10 advantage.

Incoming junior Alex Karbarz, the Huskies’ tallest player at 6-foot-4, started the rally with a three-point play at the 15:22 mark. Woods followed with six points while another junior, Brennan Malachowski, scored twice off passes from Smith.

In all, opportunistic Harlem took advantage of three missed shots and three turnovers.

Rochelle comes back

Harlem cooled off moments later and Rochelle had an 11-2 run of its own to narrow the deficit to 24-23 with 7:25 remaining until halftime.

That threat wasn’t around for long, however, as the Huskies outscored Rochelle 17-8 the rest of the way to lead, 41-31, at intermission.

Senior Chris Scoville was the dominating force during those seven minutes, scoring eight points, four of them off soft jump hooks, around the basket.

Junior Malik Lightfoot rang in the final three points of the half, on a fast break following a missed Rochelle shot, during which he was fouled as well with just two seconds left.

There were no comebacks for Rochelle in the second half.

Harlem went on a 20-9 run to build a 61-40 lead with 10:52 left in the game.

The inside game was working well with Woods and Scoville, while the Huskies ran when the opportunities presented themselves off missed shots or turnovers.

Woods and senior Austyn Summers combined for six points off free throws to start the final half, Woods drove for two, Scoville and Tanner DiGiovanni scored off fast breaks, then Scoville put back a missed shot to keep the ball rolling.

Coach Barger continued substituting freely, giving everyone plenty of playing time. And he got some scoring off the bench from Chris Hurtado and Gabriel Gonzalez, with Gonzalez getting the game’s last basket along with being fouled, for a three-point play.

“We have some holes to fill,” coach Barger said of the way it almost always is in high school basketball. “I think we have guys who want to do that.”

But he cautioned that plenty of work will be needed. “At the varsity level you don’t just show up. The game rewards toughness.”