DVC running back Miles Harrison won't take no for answer

AN AMAZING RUN
After a tough 28-20 loss against Contra Costa Friday night, DVC freshman Miles Harrison did have something to smile about -- a 21-yard touchdown run that showcased his iron will.
Late in the third quarter at Viking Stadium, Harrison took a handoff from Gary Chapeta, found a seam on the left and charged into the Comets secondary. He appeared completely surrounded inside the 5-yard line, but fought through the mob and into the end zone as the DVC sideline erupted.
"Once I get inside the 10 I just have tunnel vision to the end zone," Harrison said. "It was all heart from there. I tried to get in there and to do what I can for the team."
The courageous run helped cut the deficit to 20-14, and then Manny Lopez's 34-yard field goal cut it to 20-17, but the Vikings fell short in the first meeting between the district rivals since 2011.
Harrison, a former Clayton Valley Charter star, had 101 yards on 15 carries. He chalked up the loss to too many penalties and other breakdowns. The Vikings were penalized 19 times for 160 yards.
"We just need to work on more discipline in practice and just try to get it down," he said.
The Vikings (5-4, 1-3 Bay 6), who fell into the fifth place, will close out conference play at first-place College of San Mateo (6-3, 4-0) at 1 p.m. Saturday.
DVC faced the upset-minded Comets without highly ranked starting quarterback Jadon Brisendine, who suffered a shoulder injury in a 44-3 loss to Santa Rosa on Oct. 29. Chapeta was 8-for-25 passing for 125 yards.
Kory Lamberts led the Vikings in total tackles with 11, getting a sack and 2.5 tackles for a loss. He has a team-high 59 tackles, including 36 solo, eight sacks and 12 TFL. Quentin Casey intercepted a tipped pass.
Contra Costa's big moment came after Maurell Robinson's 16-yard touchdown run gave the Comets a 26-17 lead. The Vikings blocked the extra point, but Contra Costa's James Eggleston III, a 285-pound lineman, scooped up the loose ball and fought through a horde of tacklers and rumbled into the end zone.
With a victory over College of San Mateo this weekend, Diablo Valley would end up with 6 wins which would put them in a Bowl Game.

CROSS COUNTRY
The DVC men's and women's teams are headed to the state meet, thanks to strong showings at the NorCal Cross Country Championships at Sierra College. The DVC women placed fourth, led by Ariana Corwin in 23rd place in the 5k, and the men finished seventh in the 4-mile race.
On the women's side, DVC's Angelina DazaSanchez was 25th, Jessica Mendez 27th and Laura Becerra 28th. Ella Hymel rounded out the DVC top five, in 51st.
On the men's side, DVC's Sayed Opeyany was 32nd , Kevin Orellana was 34th, and a trio of Vikings held down the 41, 42, 43 spots – Ian Rider, Ata Ozmen and Jules Kormen.
The state meet is Nov. 19 at Woodward Park in Fresno.

DVC took care of business with a 3-0 win over visiting American River on Tuesday, to finish the regular season at 14-1-6 overall and 9-1-6 in the Big 8.
The Vikings lead Santa Rosa (14-2-4, 9-2-4) by two points and Folsom Lake (14-3-3, 9-3-3) by three points in a blanket finish, but Santa Rosa can take the conference title with a win at home on Friday against ARC. Folsom Lake can move into a tie with DVC for second with a win over Sacramento City on Thursday.
In Tuesday's DVC win, Noelle Lemos scored in the second and 20th minutes, both off assists from Ale Gonzalez. Vanessa Ruvalcaba rounded out the scoring in the 42nd minute.

WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL
The Vikings (9-11, 5-8) fell 3-0 to Modesto for their third straight defeat in the tough Big 8. The scores were 25-23, 25-19, 25-17. Brittany Portello had 10 digs and Jasmine Assia had 26 assists for the Vikings.

WATER POLO
The upstart DVC men's team won two of three games in the Big 8 Tournament at DVC, falling 13-11 to No. 1 seed San Joaquin Delta in the championship game. DVC (10-13, 5-3) notched wins over Santa Rosa 18-6 in the first round and Sierra 10-6 in the semifinals.
Standout Max Murphy led the way against Santa Rosa with five goals and two assists, and Zac Hudson had four goals and two assists. Will Simpson had three goals and an assist. Morgan Osborne had four steals.
Pat Hallahan had a game-high four goals against Sierra, and Murphy had a monster game with three goals, two assists and four steals. Gordon Kerns had four steals and two assists.
Will Simpson and Hallahan both had three goals against Delta, as the Vikings rallied with four straight goals to close the game, but time ran out on their upset bid. Murphy and Gordon Kerns each had two goals.
DVC will face Santa Rosa at Las Positas on Friday in the NorCal Regional Playoffs.
The DVC women's team fell twice in the Big 8 tourney, 9-6 against American River and 12-5 against Fresno.

MEN'S BASKETBALL
The Vikings (2-1) finished strong third in the Tony Costello Tip-Off Classic to open the season, besting district-rival Contra Costa 75-64 in the third-place game, marking DVC coach Steve Coccimiglio's 598th career win. DVC split its first two games, beating Columbia 65-54 and falling to Butte 65-53.

WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
DVC, ranked fourth in the CCCWBCA NorCal Regional Preseason Poll, opened the season with a sturdy 2-1 record in the Mission College Tournament. The Vikings beat Monterey 79-64, Cuesta 83-74 and lost to East Los Angeles 82-67.
The Vikings will conclude the tourney against Porterville on Thursday.
Four players are doing the bulk of the scoring for the balanced Vikings: Doris Jones (16.3 ppg), Seuvahnia Kuka (15.5 ppg), Safiyyah Yasin (15.0 ppg) and Samira Oliver (12.0 ppg). Kelea Pickeral-Dennis leads the team in rebounds at 9.3 per game.