It didn’t take long for Pedro Peter Cueto to get things started on Saturday afternoon. With his Rye Neck team looking for its first win of the season against Section IX Pine Plains on Sept. 9, the senior quarterback opened the game with a bang, returning the opening kickoff 74 yards for a touchdown. Cueto would be far from done, however, as his stellar performance, coupled with some inspired defensive play, helped the Panthers come away with a 39-13 win on the afternoon.
According to Cueto, a quick start was important for a Panther team that lost its season opener to Haldane last week.
Quarterback Pedro Peter Cueto splits two Pine Plains defenders on Sept. 9. Cueto rushed for three touchdowns on the day.
“I think we came in overconfident last week, so we just wanted to prepare better this week,” Cueto said. “And scoring so quickly, I think we got a little bit of confidence from that.”
Cueto’s contributions were felt in all facets of the game, as the signal caller rushed for 88 yards and three touchdowns, connected with tight end Matt Quartararo for another score, and came away with a key interception in the first half to spearhead a tremendous defensive effort. According to Rye Neck head coach Nick Ianello, it was Cueto’s athleticism that made him a prime candidate to run the offense this year after spending last season as one of the Panther’s primary running backs.
“This is what we were hoping to see from him,” Ianello said. “And I think the decision-making, once he gets used to the position, is only going to get better.”
Ianello was also pleased with his team’s defensive effort as his Panthers pitched a shutout for nearly three quarters of football.
Tyler Simon spins away from a tackler on Sept. 9. Simon rushed six times for 62 yards.
“I think last week we were a bit nervous and had the first week jitters,” he said. “We’re a young team, but I think we learned from last week and did a good job preparing this week.”
“We were working all week at practice, especially in the secondary, on our run reads,” Cueto added. “And I think that really paid off today.”
At 1-1 on the year, the Panthers will look to get above .500 this weekend when they host Tuckahoe in their homecoming game. The Tigers are also 1-1, and could present some matchup problems on the outside, with a 6-foot-5 deep threat in Alex Williams lining up at wide receiver.
But Ianello feels that the biggest challenge facing the Panthers this week will be doing a better job on holding onto the football. Against Pine Plains, Rye Neck fumbled a total of five times.
“When you run that spread stuff, there’s a lot of timing you have to get down, so we’re going to have to spend some time working on [ball security] this week,” Ianello said. “We’re going to be seeing a really tough, talented Tuckahoe team, so we are going to need to be better.”
