Nice article on Poquoson's Coach Duty...he probably does more with less than anyone...went from zero wins his first year to state champ his fifth year...not bad.
Football Bay Rivers District
Duty overcame a very slow start to produce a winner at Poquoson
Poquoson coach Elliott Duty is 100-58 in 13-plus seasons and has guided the Islanders to their two Bay Rivers District titles. (Jonathon Gruenke/Staff file)
By Marty O’Brien Staff Writer
One of the things that made Elliott Duty most grateful as he reflected about his 100th victory as Poquoson’s head football coach was how fortunate he was to get a second chance for his first win. Duty’s first Poquoson team in 2006 was winless.
“I was wondering if I was going to have a second year,” said Duty, whose Islanders beat Southampton 42-6 Friday for win No. 100. “But, except for (two games), it seemed we were within a touchdown late in all of them and there were a lot of good teams in the Bay Rivers District.
“The kids were working hard and buying in, and they continued to get better. We were spreading the ball out more so that more of the good athletes would come out, and the next year they did.”
In 2007, the Islanders pulled a stunning reversal, winning eight games and the Group AA Division 3 Region I title on their way to the state quarterfinals. Duty’s position was, of course, secure after that, and he has gone on to become the most successful coach in the history of the football-mad high school.
He is 100-58 in 13-plus seasons and has guided the Islanders to their two Bay Rivers District titles as well six regional finals and three titles. Then there was the 23-17 win over Richlands for the 2010 Division 3 state championship that ranks as his biggest victory, and perhaps the biggest athletic moment in the 109-year history of the high school.
“Having the police pick up our bus at the city limits and escort us back to a large crowd in the parking lot and the packed gymnasium that greeted the players, that’s a pretty memorable moment,” Duty said.
That erased what is perhaps Duty’s worst memory as coach: the 20-17 loss to Bruton in the 2009 regional final the year before. The Islanders led 17-14 with 42 seconds remaining and likely needed only to get off a punt to clinch a state semifinal berth.
But Chad Pinder, a current Oakland Athletics baseball player and perhaps the best athlete in school history, snapped the ball over the punter’s head, and Bruton subsequently ran the loose ball in the for the winning score. Duty says that defeat fueled the state championship run the next season.
“I’ve never had a team more dedicated in the weight room from one season to the next,” Duty said. “They were determined to make up for that, and when the season started, they were on a mission.”
Duty has continued to thrive in Poquoson, even as it has changed. Once a blue-collar town whose football players were often the sons of watermen and shipyard workers, Poquoson has become increasingly white-collar the past 25 years.
Regardless, Poquoson, a former Class 4 school now in Class 2, remains competitive.
“I think it speaks volumes how hard his kids play for him,” Lafayette coach Andy Linn said.
Tabb coach Matt Lawson said, “He’s a good coach who always does an awesome job with the talent he has in Poquoson. He’s a good person and leader of the staff.”
Football Bay Rivers District
Duty overcame a very slow start to produce a winner at Poquoson
Poquoson coach Elliott Duty is 100-58 in 13-plus seasons and has guided the Islanders to their two Bay Rivers District titles. (Jonathon Gruenke/Staff file)
By Marty O’Brien Staff Writer
One of the things that made Elliott Duty most grateful as he reflected about his 100th victory as Poquoson’s head football coach was how fortunate he was to get a second chance for his first win. Duty’s first Poquoson team in 2006 was winless.
“I was wondering if I was going to have a second year,” said Duty, whose Islanders beat Southampton 42-6 Friday for win No. 100. “But, except for (two games), it seemed we were within a touchdown late in all of them and there were a lot of good teams in the Bay Rivers District.
“The kids were working hard and buying in, and they continued to get better. We were spreading the ball out more so that more of the good athletes would come out, and the next year they did.”
In 2007, the Islanders pulled a stunning reversal, winning eight games and the Group AA Division 3 Region I title on their way to the state quarterfinals. Duty’s position was, of course, secure after that, and he has gone on to become the most successful coach in the history of the football-mad high school.
He is 100-58 in 13-plus seasons and has guided the Islanders to their two Bay Rivers District titles as well six regional finals and three titles. Then there was the 23-17 win over Richlands for the 2010 Division 3 state championship that ranks as his biggest victory, and perhaps the biggest athletic moment in the 109-year history of the high school.
“Having the police pick up our bus at the city limits and escort us back to a large crowd in the parking lot and the packed gymnasium that greeted the players, that’s a pretty memorable moment,” Duty said.
That erased what is perhaps Duty’s worst memory as coach: the 20-17 loss to Bruton in the 2009 regional final the year before. The Islanders led 17-14 with 42 seconds remaining and likely needed only to get off a punt to clinch a state semifinal berth.
But Chad Pinder, a current Oakland Athletics baseball player and perhaps the best athlete in school history, snapped the ball over the punter’s head, and Bruton subsequently ran the loose ball in the for the winning score. Duty says that defeat fueled the state championship run the next season.
“I’ve never had a team more dedicated in the weight room from one season to the next,” Duty said. “They were determined to make up for that, and when the season started, they were on a mission.”
Duty has continued to thrive in Poquoson, even as it has changed. Once a blue-collar town whose football players were often the sons of watermen and shipyard workers, Poquoson has become increasingly white-collar the past 25 years.
Regardless, Poquoson, a former Class 4 school now in Class 2, remains competitive.
“I think it speaks volumes how hard his kids play for him,” Lafayette coach Andy Linn said.
Tabb coach Matt Lawson said, “He’s a good coach who always does an awesome job with the talent he has in Poquoson. He’s a good person and leader of the staff.”
