MARLBORO - It was almost a full day before Jayden Cutting heard the bad news.
His mother received a heartbreaking early morning phone call informing her that her sister had died. But, understanding how devastated Jayden would be, she withheld it from the ninth grader until after school.
"I was really close to her," Cutting said of his Aunt Juanita. "When I was little, she used to babysit me when my mom was at work, so she was almost like a second mother."
His aunt succumbed on Tuesday to a years-long battle with metastatic breast cancer. The family still is grieving, and will be for some time, but Jayden promised them he would make his aunt proud on Friday.
Despite a heavy heart and burdened thoughts, Cutting managed to make a lot of people proud, leading the Marlboro football team in a 14-0 win over Liberty.
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"This was for her!" Cutting said, looking to the sky. "I wanted to do something to honor her."
The linebacker showed instincts belying his years and made several splash plays, none more pivotal than the interception he returned for a touchdown to get the Iron Dukes on the board in the third quarter when their offense was sputtering.
"I'm really proud of him," teammate Chris DeNatale said. "He's young, but he's already a great player. In a game like this, we needed someone to come up big, and he stepped up."
Cutting made seven tackles, including two for loss, and forced a fumble, helping anchor a dominant defense that offset an offense that was hampered by missteps and missed opportunities, enabling Marlboro to remain undefeated.
"It was great to see him do this well after dealing with a painful loss," coach Ryan Brooks said. "As coaches and teammates, we've been there to support him throughout the week, but I think him having a performance like this will be especially meaningful."
DeNatale and Daylon McKenzie each had a fourth-quarter interception and Sean Robertson and sophomore linebacker Giorgi Partsvania each made nine tackles, helping stifle Liberty. Jack Buzzurro rushed for 112 yards, Carter Rivieccio completed 7 of 12 passes for 91 yards, and Robertson had two catches for 48 yards.
Salvatore Montaperto Jr. played sparingly in his first game back from injury, but the senior scored a 1-yard touchdown that created the margin with 5:09 remaining.
The Dukes (5-0) had been without their vocal leader and star running back since he suffered a dislocated elbow in their Sept. 13 game. Montaperto's return certainly is welcome and, Brooks said, it comes at a good time as Marlboro readies to face rival Port Jervis next week.
As pleased as they were to collect another victory, there still was a tinge of disappointment when assessing their performance.
"Liberty played hard, so credit to them, but we absolutely should've been better than this," said DeNatale, a cornerback and running back. "We didn't play well in the first half, and it shouldn't have had to come down to us scoring late."
This was a lopsided matchup on paper, considering Liberty was throttled by an average margin of 41.6 points by its previous opponents during a three-game losing streak. Marlboro is in a relative rebuilding phase with several young players and others in new roles, but the group has shown for a month that it is worthy of being deemed a title contender.
The offensive line, including Mike DiViesti and Sam Garitta, did at times clear paths for explosive runs. But holding calls nullified two touchdowns, and a red zone interception likely cost them additional points.
"I'm definitely not happy with the lack of execution and the penalties," Brooks said. "We can't be making these mistakes at this point. Our goal has been the postseason and we need to start playing playoff-caliber football."
Nevertheless, Marlboro did make enough plays — and at the right times — to avoid what would've been a frustrating loss.
Cutting's pick-6 followed a Marlboro turnover. The defense forced a third-and-9, and Liberty's Tayler Schwartz threw to a curl route over the middle. But Cutting, in stride with the receiver, positioned himself to make the catch.
"I was just focused on covering him and staying close," said Cutting, who was promoted to varsity in August and eventually earned a starting role. "He turned at the top of his route, so I turned, and the ball was coming at me. I'm just glad it happened because we needed something like that."
He made the catch, broke out of a tackle and ran 12 yards before plunging into the end zone with 1:09 left in the third. Jesus Cediel Echeverri's point-after kick gave Marlboro a 7-0 lead, and the defense ensured that would be enough.
DeNatale snagged an interception a minute into the fourth, thwarting a trick play. Liberty set up what appeared to be a screen and had the receiver throw deep, but the Dukes secondary wasn't fooled. McKenzie's interception was off a desperate heave for the end zone with 41 seconds left, sealing the win.
"The defense has done great all year," Brooks said of the unit, which is holding opponents to 5.2 points per game. "They communicate well, they're in the right spots, and they really kept us in this game."
Marlboro will need stellar play in all facets against Port Jervis, which stands as a measuring stick for any section title hopeful in its class. The Raiders have won five consecutive Section 9 Class B championships and, this season, have crushed each opponent by no fewer than 32 points.
“We’ve gotta move past this game and lock in,” Montaperto said. “We’ll take this win, but we know everything has to be a lot better. Everything. And we’re gonna keep working toward that.”
Stephen Haynes: shaynes@poughkeepsiejournal.com; 845-437-4826; Twitter: @StephenHaynes4
This article originally appeared on Poughkeepsie Journal: Football: Cutting honors late aunt, helps Marlboro overcome struggles to beat Liberty
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