Lebanon
After teaching in Unity for the past five years, Duford landed a sixth-grade math position at the Lebanon Middle School for the upcoming school year. He and his fiancee, Stephanie Simon, plan to put down roots in town, so when Childs approached Duford last spring about joining his staff, the offer was accepted and the final steps of the that hiring process are underway.
“I couldn’t be happier,” Duford said. “Neither of my jobs feel like work.”
Duford felt uneasy, however, when it came time to tell Stevens coach Paul Silva about the move. The older man has known and mentored Duford and his twin brother, Nate, since the younger pair were in peewee football and Silva was coaching against them. Together, they helped restart Cardinals football at the varsity level in 2004, and reached a state title game a year later.
Josh Duford was a standout Stevens receiver and defensive back, catching 48 passes for 619 yards and nine touchdowns as a senior, despite playing on a sprained ankle. He finished his Cardinals career with 116 receptions for 1,827 yards and 23 touchdowns, and added 10 interceptions as what Silva described as the best cover cornerback he’s ever coached. Duford led Plymouth State in receptions as a senior and began assisting Silva upon graduation.
After three years coaching at Stevens and spending games atop the press box to act as Silva’s eyes in the sky, Duford was promoted to offensive coordinator. That allowed Silva to focus more on paperwork, discipline and motivation.
“I wasn’t going to stand over his shoulder and micromanage,” said Silva, whose team won the NHIAA Division III title last fall. “If you’re going to give a coach responsibility, it has to be his. We didn’t change a lot of what we were doing, but we started to get some talented players with whom we could open it up a little bit more and Josh disguised what we were doing.”
That’s similar to Duford’s current efforts. Lebanon has been married to the wing-T offense during 10 seasons under Childs, and it won’t be scrapping the run-based formation anytime soon. However, Duford is tinkering with the engine a bit, adding pass plays here, pre-snap motions and new formations there. The hope is it will keep defenses off balance.
“There were some times last year that other teams would call out the play we were running as we got to the line,” said Raiders senior running back Matt Eylander, whose squad finished 6-4 with a playoff loss at arch-rival Hanover. “I’m glad we’re doing this. (Childs) needs to be the head coach.”
Childs said it took him time and maturation to delegate play-calling responsibility. He noted Duford’s development and creativity with an appreciative eye each time Lebanon and Stevens scrimmaged and heard good things through the coaching grapevine. Silva delivered a dynamite reference and Childs decided it was time to bring youth and fresh eyes on board.
“You realize you can’t do it all yourself,” Childs said. “What I say isn’t always right and Josh has been in the trenches and knows what works.”
Getting in the middle of the action is one of Duford’s strengths. He’s prone to short sprints and gentle helmet slaps when excited. During a practice last week, he stood behind a guard and placed his hands on the youngster’s shoulders. When the ball was snapped and the play run at half speed, Duford followed his man closely.
“That’s the problem!” the coach exclaimed when the Raider reached the defense’s second level and turned the wrong way. “By dong that, you’re messing up the trap.”
A few minutes later, Duford stuck his head in the huddle to tutor sophomore quarterback Jon Wileman on how best to call a play. His tone was confident, his persona down-to-earth and his enunciation crisp.
“It’s like there’s a comma in there,” Duford explained. “You give the formation, you pause, and then you call the routes.”
At practice’s end, Childs designated a player to attempt a short field goal. Make it and conditioning drills would be skipped. The boot was true and raising both arms aloft and jogging with delight was the coaching staff’s newest member.
“He’s always going around with a smile,” Eylander said. “He’s not a yelling coach and it’s really fun to work with someone who has such a positive attitude.”
Silva knows exactly what he’s losing and while he laments it, there’s also pride in a protege ascending the teaching ladder and earning a crack at something new. Stevens will be rebuilding without Duford and 2016 standout players such as Richard Bell, Parker Smith and Henri Bourque.
“He was a little worried that I would think he was bailing at the wrong time,” Silva said. “But that was the furthest thing from my mind. It’s a life-changing move for him financially, and he’s perfect for both positions.”
Duford and Childs are going out of their way not to tread on the other’s toes. Duford often asks his boss if there are plays or formations he’d like to see run and the two check in every few snaps to analyze and compare thoughts. While it’s usually Childs who barks at the players to focus or speed up the drill, he’s careful to phrase his words to Duford as suggestions rather than commands.
“I don’t want to be the guy to come in and try to change everything,” said Duford, the son of a junior high teacher and a computer programmer. “They’re so well-trained in the wing-T and I want to add a few wrinkles and take this offense to the next level.
“It’s flattering to have someone let you call the offense they’ve been running for years. It says a lot about (Childs) as a coach that he’s so open-minded.”
Notes: Lebanon lost its second-week opponent, Pembroke, when Manchester’s Trinity High couldn’t field a varsity squad this season. The NHIAA decreed that all Division II teams will now play only eight state games instead of nine, affecting teams such as the Raiders, who didn’t have Trinity on their schedule. Not only did Lebanon lose a likely victory, its season-ending clash with Bow was moved from a home game to a road contest in an effort to balance teams’ schedules in that regard. … Woodstock had 32 players at Friday’s practice, when coach Ramsay Worrell told them they’d lost their season-opening contest with Oxbow. The Olympians dropped to a JV-only program last week because of low participation numbers. … Hanover has 46 players, 18 of whom have never competed in football before. The Marauders are being aided in their learning by a pair of $8,000 MVP robotic tackling dummies developed at neighboring Dartmouth College. Coach Sam Cavallaro said a Byrne Foundation grant covered the cost of one of the dummies and fundraising the other. He said the team’s early spring order was placed just ahead of ones by two NFL teams. … Pembroke, which recently installed a new running track and artificial turf, is coached by former Newport High bench boss Larry McElreavy. The Spartans were 1-8 last season, including a 54-6 loss at Lebanon. … Lebanon’s Monday practice will begin about half an hour later than usual to protect the Raiders from potential eye damage during the afternoon’s solar eclipse.
Tris Wykes can be reached at twykes@vnews.com or 603-727-3227.