By Michael Cruz

Football Season

De’Aundre Cruz had quite a freshman season for the FD Friars during the 2014-2015 season.

First, he won the starting running back position. Cruz’s first game started with 46 yards rushing and one touchdown run. His second game was better. Cruz exploded with 13 carries for 223 yards rushing and two touchdown runs against Guam High. Cruz sat out the Southern game due to the flu. De’Aundre returned versus Simon Sanchez and ran 17 carries for 129 yards and one touchdown. The Friars won on homecoming night as the freshman ran for 17 carries for 89 yards and two touchdowns. The GW Geckos contained Cruz and held him to only 41 yards in a 19-0 loss.

Cruz rebounded and helped FD with a 41-6 win over Southern in the playoff quarterfinals. The Friars avenged their earlier loss with a 21-0 win over JFK in semifinals. Cruz ran 28 yards on eight carries and scored one touchdown. Cruz had more chance at the Geckos in the championship game. The Geckos though were able to hold Cruz to 14 carries for 69 yards and clinch the championship 12-0. Cruz finished with 650+ rushing yards, 8 TDS, and was awarded 1st Team All-Island Running Back.

No Offseason

Cruz has his sights set on bigger goals for his upcoming sophomore year with the Friars. (file photo)

Cruz also started in the post for FD’s 17-0 junior varsity basketball team as well as the varsity volleyball team. He stands 6’1″ and weighs 193 lbs. at only 15 years old. Cruz maintains a B average and has a goal to play for the Oregon Ducks. Since late May, Cruz has been productive. Cruz had 18 points and 8 rebounds for the Blue Team at the Wendy’s U15 All-Star Game. In June, he got back into lifting weights and practice drills on his own. De’Aundre just returned from the mainland visiting family and attended the Clemson Football Camp June 12-14. He received good feedback from one coach who felt he could play linebacker with his build. The rest of the summer will be preparing for Western Division Basketball Tournament and FD’s upcoming football season. Cruz plans on going to the GPA Hawaii Camp next June.

Quotes

“I think I did pretty well because the coaches told me so. I learned a lot of different things. The thing they wanted to emphasize for running backs was how to hold the ball properly. But I just did lots of drills on cutting, running RB passing routes, exploding, etc. but I also learned life lessons and how to be successful from former Clemson players”- De’Aundre Cruz

“Well, at first I was still supposed to play youth football because I thought I wasn’t ready for high school. But on the first couple of days, my friends from school and our coach encouraged me to play. So when I started practice I thought I was ready and after the first game I knew I was. But I wasn’t really satisfied with my season because I knew I can do a lot better and there still 3 more years for improvement. But my goals for next season are to rush over 300 yards in one game, 1,000+ in the season and, of course, the championship.” – De’Aundre Cruz

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V1_GHDDrlJA