Kubasaki's Carlos Cadet gets an escort from teammate Kaito Moore for his 44-yard punt-return touchdown. (Dave Ornauer/Stars and Stripes)
CAMP FOSTER, Okinawa – Be it offense, defense or special teams, Carlos Cadet sparkled and Kubasaki benefitted greatly for it.
The junior returned a punt, a kickoff and an interception each for touchdowns and also rushed for a score, boosting the Dragons to a 49-21 romp Friday over Humphreys at Kubasaki’s Mike Petty Stadium. The Dragons improved to 2-0, while the Blackhawks fell to 0-2.
“He came alive today,” Dragons coach Tony Alvarado said of Cadet, who finished with 283 all-purpose yards on eight touches, most of them coming on returns.
It was just the second varsity start for Cadet, who moved up this season from Kubasaki’s junior varsity program. He had 130 total yards with an interception in last week’s 34-22 win at Kadena.
“What a product, to come up from the JV program and do what he’s doing,” Alvarado said. “His hands and speed are unmatched on our team.”
“He played an amazing game,” Humphreys coach Reggie Meno said of Cadet.
Humphreys' Williams Dales gets wrapped up by Kubasaki's Ian Lyons (Dave Ornauer/Stars and Stripes)
Kubasaki's Onzei Weaver catches a touchdown pass ahead of Humphreys' Andrew Thompson. (Dave Ornauer/Stars and Stripes)
Humphreys' Luke Robinson runs to daylight through the Kubasaki defense. (Dave Ornauer/Stars and Stripes)
Kubasaki's Evan Swan draws a bead on Humphreys' quarterback Bradley Miller. (Dave Ornauer/Stars and Stripes)
Kubasaki's Carlos Cadet snags a pass in front of Humphreys' Andrew Thompson. (Dave Ornauer/Stars and Stripes)
The Dragons burst in front 19-0 strictly on special-teams and defensive returns; the offense was on the field for exactly 13 plays in the first half.
Lukas Gaines returned an interception 66 yards for a touchdown on Humphreys’ first possession, then the Blackhawks immediately gave up a 76-yard pick-six to Cadet on the next. They punted to Cadet on their third possession and he ran 44 yards for a score.
Humphreys finally got on the board when Craig Slayton snuck across from a yard out. And on the ensuing kickoff, Cadet struck again, this time for a 90-yard touchdown return. Gaines rushed 2 yards for a score to make it 33-8 at half.
Even Cadet seemed surprised by his own success. “I don’t know … the fans came out to support us; I didn’t want to disappoint them,” he said.
Cadet’s 7-yard TD run halfway through the third quarter made it a 33-point game, triggering a running clock. Quarterback Trajon Weaver hit his brother Onzei from 24 yards out to cap the scoring with 2:43 left in the third quarter.
Meno and Slayton each added rushing touchdowns in the fourth quarter to get the Blackhawks within 28 points.
Trajon Weaver finished 7-for-10 for 125 yards and Gaines had 86 all-purpose yards for the Dragons. Onzei Weaver had 89 yards on five catches. Carter Mullen recovered a fumble for Kubasaki.
“We have a lot of work to do,” Alvarado said of the future, which includes a homecoming game next Friday against Nile C. Kinnick. “Humphreys is a good team and we look forward to seeing them again at their place” next month.
For the Blackhawks, Luke Robinson had 120 yards on 17 carries and Koah Meno rushed 13 times for 105 yards plus a touchdown. Andrew Thompson and Brian Taylor each had interceptions for Humphreys.
“Fundamentals. Basic fundamentals,” Meno said of what the Blackhawks need to work on. They host Kadena next Friday at 6 p.m.
