Scouting the South Elgin Storm
South Elgin has a younger, smaller football team than the version that won a division championship a year ago, but a favorable schedule could give the Storm time to develop into a playoff contender.
Now led by veteran coach Dragan Teonic, who spent the last four seasons at Larkin, South Elgin counts 14 seniors among the 43-man varsity roster. Seven are likely to start, Teonic said. Several juniors and three sophomores will play starting roles.
Fortunately for the Storm, a backloaded schedule in a revamped Upstate Eight Conference might allow the new ingredients to simmer to a slow boil. South Elgin opens the season against four teams that posted a 5-31 combined record last year: West Chicago (2-7), East Aurora (1-8), Elgin (2-7) and Streamwood (0-9).
South Elgin's final five regular-season opponents finished 22-26 in 2017. Only Glenbard South (6-5) and West Aurora (7-3) had winning records.
"We think as the year goes on we're going to get better and better and that will put us in the mix," Teonic said. "The kids are doing an awesome job of adjusting and learning after I got thrown in a few weeks into the summer. They're bright and willing to work."
The first order of business is replacing two-time all-area quarterback Nate Gomez, now at Northwood University. Teonic said the starter will be either Azxavier Salinas or Jakob Johnson, both seniors. He described Salinas as a "dynamic kid, real, real tough," and said Johnson "has all the intangibles and he's extremely, extremely bright."
Salinas' veteran presence could prove to be more valuable in a double-duty capacity. As a junior he played receiver (17 receptions, 201 yards, 2 touchdowns) and defensive back (17 tackles).
Sophomore Davion Cherwin will likely see action on both sides of the ball. In 10 games as a freshman he carried 24 times for 104 yards, made 3 receptions for 63 yards and a touchdown and registered 15 tackles.
A promising receiving corps also includes athletic 6-foot-1 senior Parker Frey, formerly of St. Edward, junior Calin Gurau (6-3, 185), Nate Gomez's cousin Chris Mejia Gomez (6-0, 190) and senior slot receivers Ricky Russo (5-7, 150), Patrick Noworol (5-11, 175) and Ian Nathan (5-10, 160).
Four players will rotate at running back, Teonic said.
South Elgin can depend on the leg of junior Andrew Bucaro. He made 35 of 40 extra points, 2 of 2 field-goal attempts and his 8 punts averaged 31.6 yards.
In addition to Cherwin, the Storm defense returns junior linebacker Vince Clinite (6-1, 205) and Noworol at safety, possibly alongside Salinas.
Junior defensive tackle Jacob Cooper (5-11, 250) returns to anchor an eight-player line rotation that includes senior Alex Ojomo (6-2, 245) and junior Andy Koch (6-2, 215).
"I like the kids we have," Teonic said. "We are really young and we're not real big but we're athletic, quick, skilled and tough. We're not real good yet, but you can see day-by-day improvement and you can see the potential in this group."