Dupont Middle School- 2016 is the year of the turnaround in middle school football.Teams like Ribault, Kirby Smith, and Arlington all have shown vast improvements from a year ago, and sit 2-0 this year. But there is another team that currently sits 2-0 and has been better since they first took the field this year. The Dupont Dragons led by Head Coach Marquis Lundy have started their season with two wins, when last year at this time they were 1-1. However the team’s record is not the most glaring difference from last year to this year. The obvious difference is how the team has won.
Baldwin at half trying to make adjustments @DuvalSports pic.twitter.com/cMDgYsQCrg
— Corey Davis (@ByCoreyDavis) September 20, 2016
Last year, Dupont faced Baldwin in a week two matchup where the Dragons inched out a win 13-6. Dupont faced the same team this past Tuesday in week 2 action of the 2016 season and defeated Baldwin 28-0. Now we know teams change year to year and there is no way to measure how good the 2016 Baldwin team is in comparison to the team in 2015. But we can measure the 2016 Dupont squad by simply looking at their play and observing their attitude on the field.
Tyrese Shaw with 70 yard kickoff return for Dragons @DuvalSports pic.twitter.com/ivYZZv8Lx6
— Corey Davis (@ByCoreyDavis) September 20, 2016
Against Baldwin they played with confidence and fast, indications that they are comfortable with the system they run and have trust in their teammates. Trust is an important ingredient to have when you desire to field a winning team and Coach Lundy knew that when he took the job last year. His goal was to attract talented individuals to the school for academics as Dupont is one of Duval County’s prized magnet schools. Then he and his staff would take the time to teach each student athlete the fundamentals of the game in order to win on the field and in the classroom. So far he is succeeding, as his team is 2-0 and winning in a way that shows improvement across the board. Last week they defeated a good Mayport team 35-22, and seem to be getting better as the season goes on. Dupont’s QB Jacobi Myers was honored as the Duval Sports Middle School Player of the Week for his effort against Mayport. He was honored at Gator’s Dockside Baymeadows where his mother shared with us how Jacobi is a great student in the classroom as well.
Our Player of the Week honored last night Jacobi Myers scores 3 TD today for DuPont. @DuvalSports pic.twitter.com/1WbWNs8dFb
— Corey Davis (@ByCoreyDavis) September 20, 2016
They’ve got coaching, they’ve got talent, they’ve got confidence, but most importantly they’ve got experience. And it’s that experience that has them thinking division championship and beyond this year. Dupont has a chance to get their first division win against Mandarin (0-2) next week. A team they fell to last year. Look out for the Dragons as they set the league a blaze in 2016.
Final: DuPont 28, Baldwin 0
DuPont (2-0), Baldwin (0-2)@DuvalSports pic.twitter.com/bzonNeGU7A— Corey Davis (@ByCoreyDavis) September 20, 2016
