WINDSOR, VA (WTKR)- Back in August, WTKR visited with Windsor's football team. A squad that has struggled for the better part of the last decade, head coach Benjamin Dubois was confident he had the team that could spearhead a turnaround.
Fast forward to October and his Dukes have taken it up a notch so far in 2025. After just three combined wins since the start of 2022, they're out to a 5-1 start.
"Winning still feels new after each win," said senior quarterback and safety Jeremy King. "You never get used to it. The feeling feels good after every win and you want to keep doing this, so we stay humble, stay consistent."
"It was cool, but it was hard," senior running back and defensive tackle Javion Collins smiled. "It was hard going from running clocks to beating people and giving them running clocks. It feels very good."
"We try to stay as humble as we can, make sure our heads don't get too big, but it's definitely been great winning," added senior running back and linebacker Logan Powell.
This fall has seen Windsor reach five victories for the first time since 2011, which was also the last year the program reached the playoffs. At the core of the success is a senior class that's endured the losses, fought for every yard and every point and has trusted the process. This October, practice feels a little bit different than it has at this point in past years.
"Normally at this time of year, the kids are starting to think about basketball season, wrestling, things like that," Dubois noted. "Now they're actually talking about postseason."
"Coming into October this year, you see there's a lot less playing around," said King. "Straight to business. People actually want to be here."
The Dukes will tell you they're viewed by opponents differently as well. A name on the schedule that used to be chalked up by others as an easy victory is reshaping its reputation.
"Usually in the past, you see Windsor and you think that's a free win," King pointed out. "Now you look at us and we're doing great. We have teams actually feeling for us."
"You get comments from coaches who tell you they have started to watch Windsor a lot more closely," added Dubois. "I get text messages from different coaches around the state saying congratulations."
The team is also getting plenty of congratulations from its community. Windsor is a small town that looks forward to every fall football Friday nights and neighbors are letting the players know that they're enjoying being along for the ride.
"You go to the gas station and they ask if you played Friday night," Collins said. "It feels good being in a small town. Everybody knows you."
"I turned around one time and was like 'where is all the noise coming from?,'" Dubois recalled. "You look up there (in the stands) and there's people. I have people texting me 'I'm on the other side. There wasn't any room on this side,' and things like that. It's really fun."
The Dukes are looking for the fun will continue. Six games are in the books with the most important part of the schedule still to come and the team is hoping it can keep heating up as the temperatures cool down.
"Our motto is 'one day at a time,'" Dubois declared. "We take it one day at a time. We've got a really big game this week against Sussex. They're going to bring it and we've got to be ready for them."
"Obviously we're looking at playoffs and states, but it's really just one game at a time," King pointed out. "Get to next week, win our game next week and we just keep going from there and see where the road takes us."
"We're taking it week by week, but we want to make it to states," said Collins. "It's our last year together. We might as well take it all the way. We're trying to do the best that we can. We're not leaving anything out here."
Windsor visits Sussex Central Friday night with kickoff set for 7 p.m.
