All Jonas Duffrene cared about was football his first two years of high school.
Partly because of that, all he could do was watch for nearly all of his junior season.
Now the Waltham High senior tri-captain has learned his lesson about the importance of schoolwork, and he's become an example for the potential of a young athlete when he decides to apply himself both on the field and in the classroom.
After playing Pop Warner his freshman year, Duffrene was prepared for a rare bid to make varsity as a sophomore when he tore his meniscus and partially tore an anterior cruciate ligament during a preseason scrimmage against Woburn. After a season of rehab and physical therapy, the Waltham coaches were looking for him to make a big splash again as a junior.
But, once again, he was on the sideline. Only this time, an injury had nothing to do with it.
``I really didn't take school as serious,'' admitted Duffrene, who was declared ineligible under the school's enhanced academic requirements shortly before last season's opener. ``I really just focused on football. I didn't know I needed school to play football. It was sad, actually.''
Waltham coach Paul Mayberry didn't want a sad situation to turn into a lost one. So he sat Duffrene down and explained what he had to do to get on the field by the end of the season. Duffrene listened and responded. Over the course of the fall, he worked with a tutor twice a week and improved his grades across the board. He also continued to stay around the team, taking snaps with the ``show'' squad that acts as the sparring partner for the starters each week.
By Thanksgiving game's against Brockton, he was eligible to make his long-awaited varsity debut at fullback and linebacker, and nearly led the Hawks to a monumental upset in a 35-28 loss to the playoff-bound Boxers.
``Coach talked to me and told me that grades are important and that I had to do well at school first, and play football after that,'' Duffrene said. ``But it was too late for that (at the start of) last year. But coach told me to come down and hang around the team. I would help them get better, and it would help me get better.''
``Young people have to understand that football and school, and sports and school, go together,'' Mayberry said. ``You can't do one without the other. For him, that was the light.''
Duffrene said he went home every night and studied. He did all of his homework. He worked with the tutor.
He excelled.
``She helped me a lot with the subjects, like Spanish, I was having a real hard time with,'' he said. ``I wound up getting a B-minus in that class. Test scores no lower than a 76 in all my classes.''
It set him up for his first full season while a senior. All of his new-found dedication in the classroom last school year, and all his dedication in the weight room and with organizing offseason football activities this summer, made his teammates take notice.
They voted him captain.
``The kids know he's a good player, and they know he's a good person,'' Mayberry said. ``They know he's a leader. It wasn't a decision by me. It was a decision by his peers.''
``That was a big surprise,'' Duffrene said. ``I was very happy. I was just trying to be a good teammate when I got back. Not getting down on them for anything, just trying to tell them things they could do to get better.''
The Hawks have done a lot better this season with Duffrene helping lead the way. After a 3-8 season last year, Waltham is 5-4 heading into tomorrow's game at Brockton. Duffrene's power at fullback has anchored the misdirection run game that was nearly unstoppable through the middle stretch of the season. His play at linebacker has helped light a fire under the defense that had the Hawks in the thick of the Dual County League Large Division title race until last week.
``Now that he's back, and has had a complete season, he's playing fantastic,'' Mayberry said. ``He's a Dual County League All-Star. He's a great kid. He's worked hard for it.''
Duffrene is even looking forward to college - both as a potential Division II player, and as a student.
``I think schools will be willing to take a chance on him because they see the improvement,'' Mayberry said. ``That makes him a good risk for them to take.''
Under MIAA eligibility guidelines, Duffrene might have been able to scrape by through the end of high school. But under the tougher guidelines Waltham High adopted two years ago, he had to sit. Even though it cost him nearly his entire junior season, he said he agrees with the higher-eligibility standards.
``I actually like it,'' he said. ``It made me work harder. I like working hard.
``I have a younger brother coming up. I am telling him it's always school first now. I don't want him to ever be ineligible for anything. I tell him to do your schoolwork. I am telling that to all the underclassmen.''
It took a season away from the game he loved for that realization to sink in for Duffrene. But now he and his coach believe he is better for it.
``I think it's a life lesson,'' Mayberry said. ``I'm not glad it happened, but I am happy that, in this case, we made a young man have even more character than he already had.
``For him to come back and have a great year now, that's what we're looking for as a school in helping to develop in our athletes.''
(Scott Souza is a Daily News staff writer. He can be reached at 781-398-8006 or ssouza@cnc.com.)
