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CURLEW – The Cusick football team dominated Curlew the afternoon of Friday, Sept. 11, winning 86-22.
Junior quarterback Kaden Person led the Panther offense, completing 15 of 27 passes for 306 yards and four touchdowns while adding 70 rushing yards and three rushing touchdowns.
“I was proud of how our team responded and executed. Offensively, we made explosive plays all night long and had contributions from a lot of different players,” Coach Dustin Person said.
According to Person, the offensive star of the night was senior Daniel Lyon, who delivered an exceptional all-around performance. Lyon finished with 353 total yards and six touchdowns, including 208 receiving yards and three receiving touchdowns on seven catches. He added 38 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns and electrified the crowd with a 72-yard kickoff return touchdown, totaling 107 kickoff return yards on the evening.
Judah Sutton continued to provide a strong presence in the backfield, rushing for 35 yards and a touchdown while adding 29 receiving yards and converting an extra point. Steve Mathis contributed on both sides of the ball with 22 rushing yards, 33 receiving yards, and two extra points, while anchoring the defense with a team-high eight tackles.
Trevin Williams added a touchdown reception, Mylind Whitford hauled in three catches and converted two extra points, and Brawk Umbarger added rushing yardage, an extra point, and solid defensive play.
Defensively, the Panthers were outstanding in creating turnovers, according to Person. The defense forced four total takeaways, including two interceptions by Hudson Whitford and fumble recoveries by Steve Mathis and Daniel Lyon. Hudson’s biggest play came when he returned an interception 55 yards for a touchdown.
“Kaden (Person) did a great job leading the offense, and Daniel had an outstanding all-around game. Defensively, forcing four turnovers was huge for us,” coach Person said. “Hudson’s pick-six gave us a big spark, and Charles Whitford played an excellent game at linebacker.”
Whitford recorded seven tackles and generated multiple turnovers throughout the game.
“Steve Mathis and Daniel Lyon also came up with key fumble recoveries. When you combine that effort with our offensive production and special teams play, it was a great team effort,” Coach Person said.
Cusick travels to Odessa Friday, Sept. 18 to play at 7 p.m.
