South Elgin's Cherwin scores 5 TDs vs. Fenton
South Elgin running back Davion Cherwin was so good and so fast on Saturday afternoon that he was not only a one-man scoring machine, but often times his long touchdown runs didn't give the Storm's defense much time to rest before having to return back to the field.
Cherwin exploded for five touchdown runs in his team's 39-22 season-opening defeat of Fenton at Serpico Field in Melrose Park. Three of his scores came on runs of greater than 50 yards including an 84-yarder to start the game's scoring on the second play following a leaping interception from teammate Jordan Jones.
The senior back, who committed to play at Drake University last November, credited his teammates' blocking for his career day against the Bison.
"I saw an opening and I got a great block from Spencer Menchaca, a slot receiver, and I also got a great block from our outside receiver," he said of the first of his five scores. "I just made one move and I saw green and I ran (fast). Next thing I knew it was a touchdown."
Fenton answered with a 6-yard touchdown run from quarterback Nick Benn to close within 7-6 early in the second quarter, but the Storm's lead grew to 19-6 at the half after Cherwin added scoring runs of 57 and 4 yards. The South Elgin star, who consistently got around the corner, opened the second half with a 56-yard run on the first play following the kickoff and it was 25-6 just 22 seconds into the third quarter. His fifth score was a 24-yarder that upped the Storm's lead to 39-14 with 2:57 left to play.
"For our first game in like 500 days, I think we played pretty well," said Cherwin, who needed just 10 carries to run for close to 275 yards.
With Cherwin helping South Elgin often score fast, and with Bison quarterback Benn running a quick passing attack that allowed his team to move the chains on a regular basis, the Storm defense found itself on the field for a lot of snaps. But three interceptions and pair of sacks helped lead the team to a nice start.
For Fenton, Benn threw a touchdown pass to Frank Krygier and also ran in a score, and Zachary Gonzalez added a TD run while Krygier hauled in a pair of 2-point conversion passes from Benn.
Even in defeat, Fenton coach Matt Lynch was grateful to have this strange football season underway.
"South Elgin's a good football team and we came out and competed. We just asked them to fight and I'm proud of our kids," he said. "This past year has been difficult for kids everywhere around the world. Teenagers are social beings and the toll emotionally has been tough. The opportunity just to come out and play the game they love and be with their friends, you can't measure that."