Tabor's Chad Duerksen: Leader by example
By RYAN RICHTER
Sports writer
When Chad Duerksen adds to his school-record 36 sacks this season at Tabor, and as he makes big plays, don't be surprised if he doesn't talk trash or make a scene on the field.
The fact of the matter is, he doesn't have to.
A team player of few words, in a day when emotion is running high, Duerksen is one player that lets his play do the talking.
"I'd have to say that's because you have to respect the players you're playing against," Duerksen said of his quiet nature. "They're just trying to do the same thing I am. I've never talked very much in a game. It's just not me."
What he is: a 6'2," 255-pound NAIA All American defensive end, possibly the most decorated Bluejay defender since former Atlanta Falcon All-Pro and Tabor folk-hero, Rolland (Bay) Lawrence of the early '70s.
Underneath Duerksen's apparently emotionless exterior, there's an inner fire that always seems to burn.
Just ask his teammates, coaches, and more so, opposing quarterbacks, who often are the culprit of helping Duerksen break out of his shell.
"When he gets fired up he will (show emotion)," said Eli Kennedy, fellow teammate and Bluejay emotional leader. "Other than that, he really doesn't say that much. He leads by example. He goes out and gives it 110 percent every game, and does what he has to do to help the team win."
The feeling is mutual for Bluejay defensive coordinator Mike Gardner.
"Chad's more of a leader through actions," Gardner said. "If we need somebody to make a play, Chad does that.
"I always tell my players to run to the ball, don't run your mouth."
Relentless against the pass rush, leading by example and not by words, is an aphorism that fits Duerksen like a glove.
Playing like a man among boys, leading by example is something h ehas always lived by.
Hillsboro High School
A 1999 graduate and football standout at Hillsboro High, Duerksen was selected by The Wichita Eagle, The Topeka Capitol, and Kansas Sports magazine to the All-Class 3A team as a senior.
A three-year starter both on the offensive line and at linebacker, much of Duerksen's success he accredited to his former high school coach, Dustin McEwen.
"Coach McEwen is an absolutely fantastic high school coach," Duerksen said. "He did a great job with me and helping me out as far as sticking with me.
A captain his senior season, Duerksen, along with Dave Enns, and Joe Woods were the mantle pieces of the Trojans' first playoff team since 1991.
Tragedy struck Hillsboro in bi-district play as its dream season came to an abrupt end in an overtime loss to the Beloit Trojans.
Many thought the storybook career of one of the Trojans' best, came to an end in the cold muck and mire of the Beloit field.
But there was one high school game left to be played, as Duerksen was selected to play in the Kansas Shrine Bowl.
A game featuring the state's top 66 players, Duerksen began the trend of three straight Hillsboro players chosen to the bowl.
Fellow Bluejay teammates Tyson Ratzlaff and Jeremy Loewen followed in 2000 and 2001 respectively, both from HHS.
During his high school career, Duerksen invested in a second home — the weight room.
By the time he graduated high school, winning the 215-pound weight class in power-lifting was one more award Duerksen added to his credentials.
Duerksen added one final award to his legacy in late May, when he took third in shot put at the state track meet.
Heavily sought by small colleges and junior colleges in Kansas, Duerksen bypassed offers from three of junior college football's biggest stalwarts, Butler County, Coffeyville, and Garden City.
Instead, Duerksen opted for then-freshly acquired Jerry Kill at Emporia State.
Things had changed since Duerksen's first visit though, and he found it wasn't what he expected.
"I didn't think it was a very good fit for me," he said. "I thought it was right out of high school, though. I don't regret any decisions I made to go to Emporia."
While Duerksen was fighting for playing time at Emporia, Bluejay coach Tim McCarty was in the midst of a seemingly impossible task — rebuilding Tabor football.
That winter, McCarty found a big piece of the puzzle he needed, and Duerksen found a new home. Duerksen hung up his cleats as a Hornet and transferred to Tabor.
"Number one, Chad is a great person. Number two he's a great player," McCarty said of his future All-American. "He brings a tremendous dimension to our football team."
As for strength, Duerksen pound-for-pound is the strongest Bluejay.
Bench-pressing over 400 pounds, Duerksen added another school record squatting over 800 pounds.
As McCarty's quest began, Duerksen's legacy continued.
Tabor football
Formally known as the KCAC punching bag, the real question wasn't if the Bluejays would lose, but rather, how bad.
But Tabor took a big step shedding that reputation Duerksen's first year.
In a downpour at Hillsboro's Reimer Field, Duerksen and his teammates pulled off one of the biggest upsets in both school and KCAC history, stunning the league's heaviest hitter — Bethany.
The 14-7 miracle over the Swedes still remains one of Duerksen's most cherished memories.
For a team that had gone three years without a win, Duerksen, along with McCarty's fabled recruiting class of 2000, found themselves part of a new trend at Tabor.
The Bluejays still ended the season 3-7, but the days of getting mauled were gone.
In 2001, defensive coordinator Mike Gardner busted on to the scene.
And right away, Gardner and McCarty began resuscitating a dying program.
Tabor posted its best finish in 23 years, going 5-5.
"Coach Gardner is a pretty amazing guy," Duerksen said. "I've never seen anything like him to tell you the truth.
"It seems like he knows every defense there's ever been and he does a great job at putting us in a defense that we can run and do it well."
Duerksen, one of Gardner's best students, was chosen as a first-team all-KCAC defensive end.
"Chad's definitely the complete football player," Gardner said. "He does as good a job as anyone on this level of being able to do what we ask him to do.
Breakout year
If 2001 wasn't enough, the best was yet to come for Duerksen and the Bluejays in 2002.
Despite losing of host of Bluejays defensively, Gardner still guided the Bluejays to a runner-up finish in the NAIA's "total defense" category, second only to semi-finalist Sioux Falls, SD.
Dropping quarterbacks for a school record 14 sacks, Duerksen spearheaded a defense that ranked fourth against the pass, and ninth defending the run.
"We just played real good team defense last year," he said. "We just came prepared to a lot of games and things seemed to go our way quite a bit."
Along with helping Tabor to its record-setting 6-4 season, Duerksen was selected as a second-team All-American by naiafootball.net and an honorable mention All-American.
Duerksen too, was the only unanimous conference pick.
One of the biggest highlights of 2002 for Duerksen came in the second week when the Bluejays routed the defending champion Kansas Wesleyan Coyotes in Hillsboro, 25-7.
The real highlight was what the Bluejays' smothering defense did to the NAIA's seventh leading rusher Oscar Nero.
A punishing bruiser carrying the ball, Nero was held to a modest 41 yards, 85 yards under his 126 yards a game average.
The season had its share of potholes though, due in large part to the Bluejays' inability to stay healthy.
Despite getting hammered by the Bluejays, the Coyotes still qualified for the postseason by repeating as conference champions.
Duerksen's best game of the season, was one he might want to forget, when he recorded 15 solo tackles and three sacks in a loss to Friends.
With a roster riddled by injury, the biggest question was how good Tabor could've been had its immune system been stronger.
2003
As the sun rises on a new season, it's last-call for Duerksen, Kennedy and the rest of McCarty's prized recruiting class of 2000.
Predicted as the runner-up to defending champion KWU, the Bluejays aren't likely to be bitten as hard by the injury bug like 2002.
Health will remain one of the biggest keys in 2003.
"I've really been happy with the choice I made to come to Tabor," Duerksen said. "I've enjoyed my time here.
"This could be a big year for Tabor, one they've never had. We're a senior-laden team and I guess its our last hurrah."
All-state football player, powerlifting champion, two-time KCAC first-team defensive end, and an NAIA honorable mention All- American are a few of the honors Duerksen brings to the table.
But there are still a few things missing from his legacy.
Down to his last chance, Duerksen will do all he can to snag a KCAC championship, and help Tabor qualify for its first ever trip to the NAIA playoffs.
Just don't be discouraged if he remains imperturbable though. His play will have done the talking for him.
