Quarterback Carlos Cadet accounted for nearly 1,500 yards and 22 touchdowns for the Far East Division I champion Kubasaki Dragons. (Tiffany Mae Okamura/Special to Stripes)
CAMP FOSTER, Okinawa – Sometimes, when the PCS Plane leaves a team without, the answer can be found within.
That was the case with Kubasaki this football season. Brothers Trajon and Onzci Weaver, who started at quarterback and wide receiver in 2023, transferred to the States, the Dragons found the answer to their quarterback quandary at the opposite wide-receiver position.
Carlos Cadet started at wideout as a junior and was tasked with replacing Trajon Weaver under center.
“There was a lot of pressure, a vast amount,” Cadet said of stepping into the starting quarterback’s vacated shoes. “Day in and day out, training hard to play a new position.”
But the result was exactly what the Dragons were seeking.
Kubasaki became the first team to go unbeaten and capture a Far East Division I football title in 13 years, with Cadet accounting for nearly 1,500 yards and 22 touchdowns over the course of a 7-0 campaign.
And for all those efforts, Cadet has also been named Stars and Stripes Pacific high school football Athlete of the Year.
Along the way, Cadet said he learned – quite quickly – that playing quarterback involved much more than just handing off the ball to running backs Lukas Gaines and Haustyn Lunsford and finding open receivers such as Ryan Hater with pinpoint passes.
“Most importantly, I had to understand to keep my cool so everybody else will,” Cadet said of a quarterback’s most vital task – leading the team from the top.
That went along with learning the team’s playbook inside and out, understanding where each of his teammates had to be on every play, learning to read his offensive line and the opposing team’s defenses.
“It takes a lot of mental strength to do that every day,” Cadet said, adding that he also learned to rely on teammates so the entire burden didn’t fall on his shoulders.
“I had to trust in my teammates and everybody playing their role, and they did,” he said.
Kubasaki had to deal with defending D-I champion Kadena right off the bat on Aug. 23 and survived 14-13 on the Panthers’ home turf. The Dragons also had their hands full at Humphreys on Sept. 14, but they prevailed 31-23.
From there, the Dragons’ defense took charge. They gave up points in only their next game, a 38-14 win over American School In Japan on Sept. 21, then won their next four games by shutout, including the D-I title game 13-0 over the Panthers.
Cadet recorded 14 rushing touchdowns and threw for eight more, rushing for 876 yards and passing for 503 for a Dragons team that became the first D-I squad to go unbeaten since Yokota in 2011.
“It feels amazing, to know what we did hasn’t been done in a long time,” Cadet said.
Carlos James Gerald Cadet
Year: Senior
Age: 17
Place of birth: Queens, New York City
Favorite school subject: Accounting, mathematics
Least favorite school subject: Art.
Favorite athlete: Justin Jefferson, WR, Minnesota Vikings.
Favorite performers, music: 50 Cent, R&B.
Favorite snack: Peanut butter and jelly sandwich.
