It took awhile, but little brother has finally caught up on the football field.
DaQuan Cross may have had an 11-minute head start in life over his twin brother DaVion, but good luck separating them now. West Aurora coach Nate Eimer would be hard-pressed to choose between them.
Neither could we. That’s why the Cross brothers have led to a first as The Beacon-News 2016 Football Co-Players of the Year. It’s the first time The Beacon-News has named two players of the year in football.
“Ask me who was more valuable and I couldn’t tell you,” Eimer said of the two-way senior starters who both excel in basketball and track, too.
DaQuan, a four-year varsity player, is 5-foot-10 like his brother and weighs 180 pounds, giving him an advantage of about five pounds. He plays running back, linebacker and returns kicks and punts.
He also handled the bulk of the team’s placekicking duties, converting 37 of 44 extra-point kicks.
That helped him score a school-record 155 points for the Blackhawks, who cruised to the Upstate Eight Valley title with an undefeated regular season and into the Class 8A playoffs, where they lost a 42-40 heartbreaker to state champion Maine South. It was the closest game Maine South had in their title run.
DaQuan Cross also finished third on West Aurora with 77 tackles. He rushed 94 times for 923 yards and 16 touchdowns. He averaged 9.8 yards a carry.
DaVion Cross, meanwhile, played running back and cornerback and also returned kicks and punts. With the ball in their hands, each brother was electric.
“They definitely have different frames,” Eimer said. “DaVion has a longer frame. His hips go one way and his feet another on some of those cuts. DaQuan is a little more stockier.”
DaVion Cross had just 23 tackles and one interception, which he returned for a TD. A three-year varsity player, DaVion delivered 80 carries for 1,215 yards and 16 TDs. He averaged an impressive 15.2 yards a carry.
“Against Maine South, the kid DaVion was guarding didn’t have a catch against us,” Eimer said. “The rest of the playoffs, he had five or six a game.
“DaQuan? He’s at least one of the best all-around players to put on a West Aurora jersey.”
The program’s records aren’t complete, but Eimer believes DaQuan ranks as the Blackhawks’ all-time leading rusher with 2,609 yards, one of several career marks he could hold.
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“To be honest, it was always a battle to get DaVion to commit to football,” Eimer said. “Every summer until this last one, he would always say he didn’t know if he was going to play.”
It may have started when DaQuan made varsity as a freshman and DaVion didn’t.
“First time we weren’t on the same team,” DaVion Cross said. “I wouldn’t say I was jealous. I was happy for him, but it might have made me think I wasn’t good enough.”
DaQuan thinks DaVion dedicating himself to football made the difference.
Both would like to compete at the next level. For DaQuan, it will certainly be in football. Northern Illinois and North Dakota are interested.
“If I keep going the way I’m going (academically), I’ll get it,” he said of a scholarship.
DaVion, who has back-to-back state runner-up finishes in the triple jump, is torn. He might try to do both football and track.
“If I could do anything different, “DaQuan said, “I’d probably stay in focus, putting in the work I put in on the field, into the classroom as well.”
Dedication of the brothers and their classmates have turned the fortunes of the program with back-to-back playoff appearances for the first time since 1983-84, Eimer pointed out.
“This last year has made me believe,” Eimer said. “Before I’m done, I think we’re winning a state title here.”
Twitter @RickArmstrong28