PALM BEACH GARDENS – In Benjamin’s 49-0 home win over Archbishop McCarthy on Friday, Oct. 2, no player was more versatile than Luke Cannata.
It showed in how the Buccaneers scored their touchdowns against the Mavericks. It showed all over Cannata’s stat sheet.
It showed on the field with the senior linebacker’s teammates and coaches. It showed in the trenches and in his overall demeanor.
And most importantly, Cannata’s overall performance is on his Hudl highlight tape for everyone to see themselves, including college coaches and scouts everywhere.
Here is the stat line for Cannata:
•6 tackles on defense
•1 fumble recovery for a touchdown on special teams in the first half
•50 rushing yards on offense in the second half, including a 23-yard touchdown run on a quarterback keeper at the 5:43 mark of the third quarter
The 5-foot-11, 185-pound linebacker spoke on his two scores that happened in Benjamin’s 49-point blowout win.
“I felt like I was on top of my game,” said Cannata, who played at quarterback for the first time since his middle school days.
“That (the fumble recovery) was a great play by Gabe [Griffith] to hit the punter and knock the ball out. I was just in the right place at the right time and fell on it,” Cannata continued. “And on my other one, it was a great feeling. I usually don’t get to play offense, so it was a lot of fun to do that and get my first offensive touchdown of my high school career.”
After two games played, Cannata has 16 tackles at the linebacker position, 10 of which came in Benjamin’s season-opening 24-3 road loss to American Heritage (Delray Beach) about two weeks ago (Week 3; Friday, Sept. 25).
Cannata is working to build on last season, which resulted in him tallying up a total of 84 tackles (26 tackles for loss), 12 pass breakups, 3 forced fumbles, 2 fumble recoveries, 2 interceptions, and 1 touchdown in 12 games as a junior.
As a result of his production, Cannata has garnered interest from the likes of Davidson and Drake.
Cannata, who is ranked as our No. 4 outside linebacker in Palm Beach County, has specific expectations for himself throughout the rest of his senior season at Benjamin.
“I don’t know how much offense I’ll play, but you can expect a lot of big plays on defense,” Cannata said.
We will be closely following Cannata’s on-field progress and recruiting process from now until he decides to wrap it all up with his final college decision.
Stay tuned.
