Mustangs dominate Reds
Lukas Cuthbert is all about the team.
The 16-year-old, Grade 11 student turned in a standout performance Friday leading the Saint Michael Mustangs past the Denis Morris Reds 29-0 in Niagara Catholic Athletic Association senior boys football action, but all Cuthbert wanted to do was talk about his teammates.
“I’m proud of my blockers, my linemen did really well today,” Cuthbert said after scoring a pair of touchdowns. “We’re a young team so it’s really hard to be on that line with those big 12B’s. “Greg (Bertone-Doughty) is doing a great job here and our quarterback (Lukas Chaudar) stayed calm under pressure and he’s a good runner.”
Cuthbert scored his first touchdown on a one-yard run early in the first quarter, then added his second when he caught a 10-yard pass from Chauder and scampered into the end zone in the second quarter.
“It feels great but it’s obviously it’s a team effort,” he continued. “It’s not possible for me to run through 12 guys on the field. I need blockers and that’s why I want to give props to my teammates too.”
Mustangs coach Brian Carter loves Cuthbert’s skill set.
“He brings a lot of speed and power and very difficult to tackle,” Carter said. “Any time you can break a big play for a game that’s huge. When you have that in your back pocket it’s awesome.
“We have a lot of other guys who are very similar who play rugby. It’s crossed over nicely for us.”
Cuthbert, who plays rugby for the Niagara Wasps, Niagara Blues and in the Niagara Rugby Union, feels that sport helps him on the gridiron.
“It does, form tackling and running the ball especially,” he said. “Rugby is arguably more of an individual sport because they have to cover more of the field passing the ball around so you only have to worry about one-on-one. It helps in those situations where we are running the ball.”
Asked which sport is more difficult and Cuthbert didn’t hesitate for a second.
“Football is tougher because it’s a team sport,” he said.
The Mustangs broke open a close game in the fourth quarter with touchdowns by Jacob Gigliotti on a 58-yard pass from Chauder and on a 17-yard run by Nathan Carter. Max Marinas added three extra points while the Reds also conceded a safety.
The win evened the Mustangs record at 3-3 to wrap up their regular season schedule.
“We came into it as our last game,” Cuthbert said. “We tried our hardest to beat these guys. They were in the way and we want to keep playing this season. We’re all hungry for it and ambitious young players.”
Carter was happy with his team’s effort.
“We want to keep getting better throughout the season and be more physical,” he said. “They tackled and blocked a lot harder than in the past and good things happen when you play the game of football with physicality.”
The Mustangs now take on the Saint Paul Patriots in the NCAA third-place game Nov.10 at 5 p.m. before Notre Dame and Blessed Trinity battle for top spot at 7 p.m.
“Saint Paul is a good team and well coached. They beat us the first time pretty handily (27-5) and we’re looking forward to doing out best and hopefully winning that game,” Carter said.
The Reds fell to 2-4.
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