Huey and Salvini a winning combination as Fort Cherry rolls
MCDONALD — History is filled with fantastic duos.
In music, there was Daryl Hall and John Oates, before they hated each other.
In movies, Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker worked magic together in the “Rush Hour” movies.
In sports, Randy Johnson and Curt Schilling led the Arizona Diamondbacks to a World Series championship.
At Fort Cherry High School, there’s Eli Salvini and Ryan Huey.
In a commanding 43-8 win over California Friday night, Salvini rushed for 196 yards and two touchdowns on 15 carries.
More often than not, those numbers are more than good enough to be the night’s star.
But Huey ran for four touchdowns, picking up 169 yards on 16 carries and adding an interception for good measure.
If you do the math, that’s 365 yards and six touchdowns on 31 carries, good for 11.7 yards per carry.
“We always want to have our identity and hang our hat on the run,” Fort Cherry coach Tanner Garry said. “And you know those two are a really good 1-2 punch. You know there’s no nitpicking between them on who’s getting the reps. They support each other. They know that you know they’re better together as a group. And then, obviously, just a huge testament to the line up front, moving people around and being able to open up some of those holes for them.”
If that weren’t impressive enough, Fort Cherry (2-0) managed to have a 100-yard receiver, with Nathan Wolfe going for 115 yards on seven catches.
Cal (1-1) scored first on the first play of its second possession, with sophomore quarterback Brandon Meier taking it himself for a 67-yard run.
Fort Cherry answered two possessions later on a 34-yard touchdown run by Huey.
On the Rangers’ next offensive play, Salvini ran for a 55-yard score to put Fort Cherry in front.
FC took a little longer to score on its next possession, but on play No. 7, Huey ran in from seven yards out to push the lead to two possessions.
Fort Cherry effectively put the game to bed on its last possession of the first half with Huey’s third rushing touchdown.
Huey scored his fourth touchdown on the first possession of the second half.
The Rangers will look to stay unbeaten next week at Laurel. Kickoff is scheduled for 7. California looks to bounce back at the same time at home against Wash High.
Although Cal coach Ed Woods was disappointed with the result, he didn’t see everything as doom and gloom.
“There were some things that we did well,” he said, “but there were also some things that we definitely need to work on to get better. You know, we have a tough opponent next weekend with Wash High, so we’re definitely going to have to be better next week to play with a Wash High football team. So we’ll keep working hard. All we can do is ask the kids to just keep working hard and to get better.”