Cherrington Seeking Happy Ending

Dwayne Cherrington’s college football career at Colorado will come to an end against Boston College in the Insight.com Bowl Friday in Tucson, and he wants it to be on a good note.

Cherrington’s senior season hasn’t been as good as he hoped.

Cherrington, who played at Santa Ana Valley High, started the season as the Buffaloes’ No. 1 tailback, but a knee injury and the rise of promising sophomore Cortlen Johnson left Cherrington either sidelined or in a backup role most of the time. He has rushed for 270 yards and two touchdowns in 73 carries.

“I never really got to do what I wanted to do this season,” Cherrington said. “In the bowl game, I just want to go out and prove to myself what I can do when I’m healthy.”

Cherrington showed flashes of strong running at various times during his college career.

He ran for 93 yards in 10 carries and caught two passes for 12 yards last year in the Aloha Bowl in Honolulu. He finished that season as the team’s second-leading rusher with 350 yards.

Cherrington gained 356 yards the previous season, and his yards-per-carry average of 6.2 was the best on the team. He scored two touchdowns in a game against Iowa State, including the game-winner with nine seconds left.

However, in each of those seasons, injuries limited his effectiveness.

His luck didn’t change this season. After winning the starting job in fall practice, he found himself playing behind Johnson in the second game, then was hurt in the fourth game.

“After all the hard work to get myself ready for the season, it was a disappointment big-time,” Cherrington said. “I was hurting for about three weeks. My knee didn’t start feeling good again until the Nebraska game 1/8Nov. 26 3/8. Then the first time I touched the ball in that game, I went around the corner and I was hit again on my bad knee.

“But it’s finally feeling pretty good again now, and I expect to have a chance to play in the bowl game. That’s not an issue.”

In addition to playing in the Aloha Bowl last year, Cherrington was on the roster for the Holiday Bowl as a redshirt freshman in 1996.

“A lot of players don’t get close to a bowl game, but I’ll be playing in my third,” Cherrington said. “I’m happy about that.”

Cherrington said he completed work toward his degree in business administration this semester. He was one of three players on last year’s team honored by the coaching staff for academic achievement.

MOHERMAN HAS LANDED

Quarterback Austin Moherman (Capistrano Valley High) is planning to transfer from Ohio State to Murray State in Murray, Ky., his father, Darrell, said.

Moherman started the first two games for the Buckeyes this past season, but was replaced as their No. 1 quarterback by Steve Bellisari.

NOTEWORTHY

Brigham Young quarterback Kevin Feterik finished the regular season with 3,554 yards passing. Feterik, who played at Los Alamitos High, improved his career passing total to 8,065 yards, fifth best at BYU. BYU plays Marshall in the Motor City Bowl on Monday.

Oregon receiver Tony Hartley (Los Alamitos) will go into the Ducks’ Sun Bowl game against Minnesota Friday as the school’s career leader with 2,631 receiving yards.