WS Chronicle

In photo above: Cancer survivor Savion Littlejohn helped coach his teammates to victory during the tournament. He has no doubt in his mind he will be back on the field for the first game of the season when the Raiders face the Glenn Bobcats. (Photo by Tevin Stinson)

Student athlete from Reagan High, cleared to return to the field

By Tevin Stinson
The Chronicle

On Monday, May 18, Reagan student-athlete Savion Littlejohn got the news he had been waiting to hear since late last year: He is officially cancer free.

“It was just a minor setback,” Savion said. “I knew I would come back better than ever. I’m almost there.”

Although he is cancer free, Savion’s medical bills are still extremely high. To help lighten the financial load, Chase Vaden, a former teammate of Savion’s, organized the Pray For Sae 7-on-7 tournament.

The tournament was held on Saturday, May 30, at Reagan High School and featured both high school and college players. Although he expected a big turn out in the high school bracket, Vaden said he was surprised by the number college athletes that came out to support the event.

“I had a feeling we were going to struggle getting teams in the college bracket,” Vaden said. “But we ended up having more teams in the college bracket than in the high school bracket.”

In the high school bracket, the team made up of Reagan athletes defeated a talented team made up of athletes from East Forsyth for the championship. In the college bracket, “The Ones” who were made up of players from Guilford College, defeated “The Canes.”

Savion, who plays linebacker for Reagan said, he was pleased with how his team played even though they were missing some key players
“We were missing a few players, but we still played well,” said Savion. “A few of our players were at camps.”

Admission to the tournament was $5. According to Vaden, with T-shirt sales, and money from concessions, the event raised over $2,500.

“We will have a more accurate amount at the after party Wednesday,” Vaden said. “We didn’t have a goal going in, we just wanted to help Savion as much as possible.”

Brandon Jackson of Winston-Salem competed in the college bracket and said he enjoyed the event because it was for a good cause still competitive at the same time.

“I play in other flag leagues, and when I heard about this, I had to come out.” Jackson said. “I really wanted to come out and show my support for Savion.”

Although he didn’t get a chance to play in the tournament, his grandfather Charlie Garvin said that football is Savion’s heart and he is determined to make it back on the field.

“He’s been working with a personal trainer for two weeks now.” Garvin said. He is determined to run out on the field with his team the first game of the season.”

According to doctors by the time the season starts, Savion will be around 80 percent. Garvin believes that after all his grandson has been through, there’s no doubt he will be back on the field in August.

“After beating cancer, getting back on the football field should be easy,” Garvin said. “I can’t wait to see him run on the field that first game. It’s going to be amazing.