Harper, Brown Part of Colorado’s Stampede to National Title

Former area football players Jim Harper and Sean Brown will be wearing national championship rings after Wednesday’s Associated Press vote that made Colorado No. 1.

Harper, formerly of Hart High and Valley College, kicked a 22-yard field goal and an extra point in the Buffaloes’ 10-9 triumph over Notre Dame.

The junior from Valencia beat out two returning players to earn the starting position and dedicated the season to his 21-year-old sister Jody who died last July after slipping off a cliff in Santa Clarita.

Brown, a former Granada Hills High and Valley College standout, caught two passes for 23 yards and was a key blocker in Colorado’s attack.

Brown, who started the season as the fourth-string tight end, made an 18-yard reception on the first play of the winning touchdown drive.

Work to do: Despite his team’s 46-34 victory over Iowa and a team-high seven tackles, Washington sophomore free safety Tommie Smith was disappointed with his performance in the 77th Rose Bowl game.

“It could have been better,” the Antelope Valley High graduate said. “It should have been better--not picking the ball off and misjudging the ball. That’s the kind of thing I have to improve on.”

Smith, who was victimized on Iowa’s second-longest play of the game--a 53-yard pass from tight end Michael Titley to wide receiver Jon Filloon--did have a 17-yard interception return in the game’s final minute, ending the Hawkeyes’ last drive.

With Iowa fearing the return prowess of Beno Bryant, Smith was in a position to return three kicks for 43 yards.

Smith finished the season with five interceptions, second on the Husky team behind rover Eric Briscoe, who had six. His 68 tackles placed him in a second-place tie with linebacker Chico Fraley, trailing linebacker Dave Hoffman with 85.

Add local flavor: Among the other former Valley area players involved in bowl games, Sean Burwell was limited to 20 yards in 12 carries, including a touchdown, in Oregon’s 32-31 loss to Colorado State.

Burwell, a former Chaminade and Cleveland High standout, also caught seven passes for 54 yards and a touchdown.

Former Crespi High standout Russell White was held to 18 yards in 14 carries by Wyoming, but California prevailed, 17-15.

Silver lining: If there is a bright spot in Cal State Northridge’s collapse and subsequent 69-61 loss to an average Weber State team Saturday, it is that the Matadors were competitive down to the wire for the first time all season on the road.

Unfortunately, their inexperience in tight situations showed when CSUN players fouled Weber State’s better free-throw shooters instead of the poor free-throw shooters the coaching staff had identified.

Eventually, Coach Pete Cassidy believes, a game like that will pay off. “They need to know that the game is being determined now ,” he said. “That the next two points are big .”

Three spree: Good things have happened in threes this season for the Valley College women’s basketball team. Valley recently made nine three-point shots against El Camino, tripling its output for all of last season and setting a school single-game record.

After making only three three-point baskets in 1989-90, Valley has made 65 in 18 games this season--Tisa Rush has 30, Katina Mines 19, Sylvia Castaneda 10 and Falicia Stanley six.

“They’ve kind of helped me get used to it,” Coach Doug Michelson said. “I’d like to play on this team. It’s fun to have a green light.”

Briefly: Valley (15-3), the third-ranked team in the state, is one of three top women’s junior college basketball teams in the region.

Moorpark (16-2) is ranked fourth and Pierce (14-2) was ranked 10th going into its game Wednesday against Santa Barbara City College. Pierce’s 11-game win streak is a school record. . . .

The Antelope Valley men’s team has moved up to 14th in the state rankings and is 12-3 despite having yet to play with its full complement. The Marauders have been plagued by injuries, academic ineligibility, suspensions, an illness in the family that kept one player out of a game, and a flight delay that cost another player a game. . . .

Statwatch: After allowing an average of 109.8 points a game in the first five road games, CSUN has allowed 79.3 points a game in the past three road games. In that same span, Northridge’s scoring has dropped from an average of 76.2 to 67.6. . . .

With a 15-2 pre-New Year’s Day record, the Moorpark men are off to their best start in Coach Al Nordquist’s 24 years at the school.

Moorpark’s only losses are to West Valley, ranked first in Northern California, and Rancho Santiago, the No. 1 team in Southern California.

Staff writers Theresa Munoz, Brendan Healey and Steven Herbert contributed to this notebook.