Niles sophomore quarterback Alex Harpenau stood in the pocket last Friday against Benton Harbor and kept throwing the football.

How many times Harpenau tossed the football would grab anyone’s attention. He threw the ball 40 times against the Tigers, including 32 times in the first half.

You would expect maybe some arm fatigue from Harpenau after such a busy night.

That wasn’t the case.

“It feels perfect,” said Harpenau, who completed 21-of-40 passes for 402 yards with four touchdowns in a 50-7 win over Benton Harbor.

Harpenau is healthy and happy to be contributing to a 3-0 Vikings football team.

A concussion last year against Benton Harbor derailed Harpenau’s freshman season.

“I was out for three weeks and (Niles football) coach (Antwon) Jones then decided to keep me out for the rest of the season for safety reasons,” Harpenau said.

Harpenau had another health issue last spring during baseball season, while playing on the Vikings junior varsity.

“I messed up my shoulder during the baseball season,” Harpenau said. “I went to the doctors and went through therapy. I was able to throw at the end of the season. During the summer I felt great during the 7-on-7’s (for football). My arm is back to normal.”

Harpenau has proven that with the impressive numbers he has posted at quarterback. He has completed 54-of-89 passes for 976 yards with eight touchdowns.

“He’s battled back through adversity,” said Jones. “He’s a tough kid.

“Him and (backup quarterback) Joey (Avance) have tremendous potential. I’m happy with the play of both of them. They both have room for improvement, but we’ll get them right.”

Harpenau, who says it’s, “no big deal”, having to share time at quarterback with Avance, agrees with his coach when it comes to his own play.

“I did alright,” Harpenau said about his play against Benton Harbor. “There’s definitely a lot that I need to fix. I need to process stuff better, like when it comes to reading defenses.

“I do feel more confident this year. I’m very confident throwing to my wide receivers and I’m not as timid when I’m behind center because I’m confident my line will do a great job.”

That teamwork has Niles in position to make the playoffs and have a winning season for the first time since 2003.

“Leadership is the difference this year,” Harpenau said. “We have a lot more leadership from our seniors. They want the team to be successful. They’re not OK with us being 4-5 and that’s the mindset throughout the whole team.”