Football:

By Brian Reed-Baiotto, Sports Editor

San Dimas senior Nick Cuda was one of the San Gabriel Valley’s most elite and versatile football players in 2019.

Cuda was the featured back in the Saints’ high-powered ground game, which averaged 360 yards per game.

But he also made his presence felt at cornerback, as well as returning both punts and kickoffs.

He did so much for San Dimas and was needed in so many ways that he was on the field for approximately 96-percent of all snaps, or 115-120 plays per game.

What many don’t know is that Cuda wasn’t particularly fond of playing defense, but when injuries plagued his boys in blue, he was willing and wanting to do everything he could to help the program win as many games as possible.

Cuda rushed for 1,682 yards this season on 139 carries, and he had a team-high 19 rushing TD’s.

He missed a pair of games to injury or he would have surpassed the 2,000-yard mark, and he had at least 100 yards rushing in 10 of the 11 games he played.

Cuda averaged 169 yards per game on the ground, and he also led San Dimas with four receiving TD’s as well.

On defense, he had a team-best five interceptions.

To be that dominant, including the ability to produce an average of 200 all-purpose yards per game, this kid must be about 6-foot-1 and 200 pounds, right?

Not even close.

Nick Cuda is 5-foot-8 and 180 pounds.

How did this kid take over football games?

“Nick has been at San Dimas all four years and is a great student-athlete, San Dimas coach Mark Holman said. “He is a prototype ‘San Dimas’ player, which means undersized, hard working and an overachiever. Nick was a weight room rat and loved to train. That is what made him so special.”

In fact, Cuda worked his butt off so much on the field and at the gym, that he put on nearly 20 pounds between his junior and senior year.

“To be effective at my size and to be as durable as possible, I knew I had to work hard in the weight room and it was a huge factor in my success,” Cuda said. “As tired as I would get, that work in the weight room, including cardio, made it possible for me to contribute in every way my teammates and coaches needed me to.”

How did all of the hard work and time sacrificed by the players and coaching staff translate on the field?

San Dimas began the 2019 season 1-2, including a 35-25 setback to rival Bonita in the Smudge Pot game.

After dropping that Saturday night contest to the Bearcats at Citrus College, and being 1-2, it was time to either step up and change the trajectory of the season, or to stay mired in mediocrity for the rest of the year.

And the Saints would be back on the field five days later, as they traveled to Colton for a Thursday night showdown.

San Dimas would cruise to a 33-6 victory over the Yellowjackets and the Saints would go the next 69 days without dropping another football game.

There were many highlights along the way, but two stand out the most.

San Dimas went over to Covina District Field on October 4 to take on a Northview team that was not only ranked No. 1 for several weeks in CIF-SS Division 7 poll, the Vikings were heavily favored to win the Valle Vista League championship.

And Northview got out to an early lead in the VVL opener for both programs.

But San Dimas and Cuda would prevail in impressive form, 27-13.

Cuda finished with 180 yards on the ground and a pair of rushing TD’s.

He also scored on a 56-yard swing pass from quarterback Ryan Bulick.

It was easily one of the top two moments collectively in 2019 for the Saints’ program.

The second being a 21-18 victory over undefeated and No. 1 ranked Foothill in the quarterfinal round of the CIF-SS Division 9 playoffs.

Cuda rushed for 150 yards, scored a TD and picked off two passes in the upset victory over a very verbal and ‘confident’ Foothill program.

The season, sadly, came to an end seven days later, when North Torrance shut out the Saints in the semifinal round.

But even a season-ending defeat could not take away from San Dimas’ magical season, including a Valle Vista League championship, a deep playoff run and representing their program and school with honor.

For this writer, what makes Cuda so special is both the difficulty in which a defense has in taking him down, as well as those second and third efforts to get an extra yard or two when it looks like a play is over.

But where his discipline and character shined brightest was when he didn’t receive the same respect that he doled out to San Dimas opponents.

I’d like to share a couple anecdotes to illustrate the case.

In the quarterfinal game, Cuda took a hand off some 40 yards deep into Foothill territory before finally being forced out of bounds on the Knights’ sideline.

While about three steps out of bounds, a defensive back who was beaten on the play says loudly enough to be picked up on video/audio, “you’re out of bounds bitch,” which made no sense, considering Cuda had just burned their defense for 40 yards.

And while it would have been easy to shoot an insult right back since it was both out of bounds and on the Foothill sideline, Cuda put his head down, handed the ball to the ref and jogged back to the San Dimas huddle.

At another point in that game, the same exact player picked off a San Dimas pass in the end zone to thwart a Saints drive, and in poor form, he tossed the ball at Cuda, hitting him in the stomach, and again, no reaction from the star senior.

“I don’t pay attention to trash talking and taunting,” Cuda said. “I’m just out there to have fun and compete and I never wanted to do anything that would hurt my team or our chances of winning.”

His behavior is also something his coach proudly describes as ‘the San Dimas way.’

On top of all of his success athletically and his high character as a young man, Nick Cuda is also maintaining a near 3.7 GPA, and he intends to go to Mt. SAC in the hopes of training to become a firefighter.

His demeanor and goals in life are directly related to his upbringing, he said, of his parents, Tom and Ursula Cuda.

Cuda said his parents have supported him in the best and worst of times and they trust their son enough to give him the independence to make his own decisions.

He also said his head coach Mark Holman and his staff, as well as his teammates are genuinely family to Cuda, and that they all believed in Nick far before Nick believed in himself.

The time he spent at San Dimas will always be special, as will his time on the field.

And yet Cuda says he’s played his last football game, because it’s time to heal up and become a man.

Over his career, Cuda has broken his wrist and leg and suffered a dislocated shoulder.

Cuda wanted to thank his offensive line (Fred Salazar, Dylan Ariaga, Nico Guerra, David Guerrero, Keegan Ramirez and Billy Hennessey), as well as fellow running backs Bleau Wallace and Jacob Buccola, quarterback Ryan Bulick, and every player and coach that helped contribute to his historic senior season.

Over his three years at the varsity level, San Dimas went a combined 27-9 overall and 13-2 in league.

The Saints earned the outright Valle Vista League championship in 2019, finished second in 2018 and we co-champions for the 2017 season.

Cuda has left an indelible legacy at a school he loves and he’ll be an example of what can be accomplished if an undersized athlete embraces a tireless work ethic and has the heart of a champion.

Quotable:

San Dimas coach Mark Holman: “Nick is a hard working and dedicated you man. He’s been at San Dimas all four years and is a great student-athlete. Nick was a weight room rat and loved to train. That is what made him so special. He is only 5’8, 170 pounds. For his body to hold up and play both offense and defense, he knew he had to embrace the weight room and commit year round. Nick is loved by his coaches and teammates. He has opportunities to play at the Division 3 level, but I believe he is done with football and just wants to be a student.”

San Dimas senior Billy Hennessy: “Cuda was very valuable to our team, because he’s willing to play about every position on the field and would give it his all doing so. I have a really high amount of respect for the kid because he would play under any circumstance. Towards the end of the summer, he dislocated his shoulder and the same injury happened on multiple occasions, but that didn’t stop him from playing his hardest. It was almost as if his “setbacks” made him stronger. He led the players by example and made other players want to emulate him.”

San Dimas senior Keniko Parham: “Nick Cuda was very important to our team, because he was able to help on both sides of the ball effectively. I respect his motivation and mindset of just going in, day in and day out, and working his hardest to dominate the opponent on game day. He is a great teammate, because he is always there for us when it counts to most, and you can always count on him, both on and off the field.”

San Dimas senior Fred Salazar: “I believe Nick helped the program as a whole through his leadership qualities. He was not the most talkative, but he just put his head down and went to work. In practice, he was always coachable. In the weight room, he never skipped a rep. In film, he always gave his full attention and because of that, he was successful on the field, and help give us an edge. With him being my good friend, I know a lot about him and what I really admire is his work ethic as he always did what was needed to get better both physically and mentally. He is not only a great athlete, but a great teammate, that always had my back, along with the rest of the team. And because of that, it is obvious as to why not only he but we had success as a team.”

San Dimas junior Ryan Bulick: “Nick is a team guy, who plays both ways and played most of special teams. His heart and dedication to the team inspired all the guys to be the best they could. He showed the young guys what a ‘San Dimas Saint’ is all about and put us back on the map.”