Central’s Jamey DuBose named 2017 All-Bi-City 4A-7A Coach of the Year

Central head coach Jamey DuBose had already accomplished quite a bit before the 2017 season, but the Red Devils’ latest campaign featured a big first for the veteran coach.

Central went 9-0 in the regular season — the first undefeated regular season in DuBose’s 12 years as a head coach — en route to a Region 2-7A title, the team’s fourth region championship under DuBose’s watch. The Red Devils held the No. 1 spot in Class 7A for several weeks and advanced to the Class 7A semifinals, where they ultimately came up one point short against McGill-Toolen.

Thanks to Central’s record-breaking season, DuBose has been selected as the 2017 All-Bi-City 4A-7A Coach of the Year.

“This year, there were a lot of great things accomplished by our guys,” DuBose said. “I think our guys really moved the program another step, and that’s what you try to do each year. I think we had some great senior leadership.”

The Red Devils were viewed by many as the team to beat in Class 7A, and they made the case for those great expectations through the regular season.

Eight of Central’s nine regular-season victories came by at least 22 points, as the team rolled through the competition thanks to a high-octane offense and a no-nonsense defense. DuBose attributed the team’s workman-like focus each week to the leadership by the seniors, who almost acted as additional coaches for the Red Devils.

The season came to a dramatic close on Nov. 24 in the Red Devils’ third consecutive semifinals showdown with McGill-Toolen. The two teams traded blows for the better part of four quarters, with the game tied 20-20 at the end of regulation.

Ultimately, a blocked extra point in the first overtime session left the Red Devils with a 27-26 defeat.

“Our goals are always to go undefeated, win the region, win the South, get to the state championship and win the state championship,” DuBose said. “It’s been like a broken record for three years. I thought we played really good in the ballgame and our kids played well. There’s three phases to a game, and looking back to it now, that special teams phase was the difference in the game. We’ve got to go back now and do it again.”

The Red Devils will lose plenty of talent on both sides of the ball, but the depth within DuBose’s program sets them up for reloading instead of rebuilding. DuBose said he’s preparing to up the non-region schedule for his 2018 squad in an effort to test the players early and give them a feel for what it will take to win against talented teams later on.

DuBose added that he’s not changing anything within the Red Devils’ program. He saw firsthand how close the team was to its first state championship game since 1993, and based on those experiences, the only thing missing is finishing,

“I think our guys are doing everything right, and I think we’re getting better each and every year,” DuBose said. “We haven’t gotten it, but you don’t stop the process. The process has been working — we’ve just got to tweak that final thing to get the answer.”

This story was originally published December 23, 2017 at 5:00 PM with the headline "Central’s Jamey DuBose named 2017 All-Bi-City 4A-7A Coach of the Year."