DOVER PLAINS — When Christian Jones took over the head football coaching position at Dover in 2023, he knew the challenges that laid ahead. An alumni of Dover, he understood the battles and adversities that came along with taking over a program with struggling numbers and no real success in the recent years.
Ever since, the man who claims he bleeds black and orange has catapulted the Dragons to one of the powerhouse programs in Section 9 Class C. Reaching the sectional title game each of the previous two seasons heading into this campaign, Jones believes he has the group to finally break through the ceiling.
“When you build a program, you want to build a program that’s disciplined and has toughness. These guys are tough, gritty, relentless and resilient,” the head coach said. “What’s most exciting is we’ve had freshman and sophomores who moved up through the ranks and now they’re seniors. This is the biggest senior class that we’ve had seen we’ve been here … I just want the young guys to see what can happen if you dedicate to the program.”
Maybe more importantly than finding team success overall, the identity and culture of the program is now helping to propel student-athletes to continue their athletic career far past just the high school program. Jones noted that one of the biggest differences now is the amount of recruiting opportunities to play at a collegiate level.
Mentioning the likes of several FCS schools, programs like Davidson and Army as well, these high-level collegiate institutions are making the rounds towards bigger high schools in the area but also making sure to stop by Dover to see the talent rising through the ranks
“It’s more than just the buzz in the community, it’s a buzz in the whole football community with what’s been going on here,” he said. “These recruiters don’t just come out to anybody. I see all the other schools, the big schools, a lot college football programs didn’t go out to the big schools. They come to see our players.”
Two of those star players whol will potentially play at the Division I level are returning seniors Conor Drnek and Matt Ogana. A pair of All-Section and All-State standouts, the duo is set to command the backfield of this season’s team.
“Outside of winning, giving them an opportunity to further their education and football career, that’s what everybody should be working towards,” said Jones said about the two and various other players on the roster. “They’re tremendous on and off the field. Always in the weight room, always putting in the extra work. I can’t count on one hand how many practices they’ve missed in the past four years.”
Along with those two, Jones made sure to note the importance of multiple returning offensive lineman who will be counted on to open holes for those in the backfield to get out in the open field. Those being John Higgins, Aiden McRoberts and Colbie Royer.
Before Jones took over the football program, Dover had succumbed to many of the issues that plague a small community when it comes to high school athletics. With overall numbers at a low, the Dragons were forced to play 8-man football for some years before promoting back to the normal ranks.
Since then, Dover has only improved in Jones’ first three seasons at the helm. Going winless in 2023, the Dragons secured four victories in the year after before going 8-3 this past season with a perfect 6-0 record at home.
“From year-to-year, the buzz gets greater and greater,” said Jones. “We went from not really being able to compete to having a target on our back and being the favorite in the league.”
Not only holding the pride of continuously getting better on the field year after year, the fact that Jones has been done it at his alma mater has made the progress that much sweeter while building the program back to relevance. Getting the opportunity to coach the children and nephews of former teammates and continuing the bloodline of a tight-knit community means the world to him.
“I get chills every time I think about it. You could rip me open and I bleed orange and black. Every single thing I’ve poured into this football program and this community comes from the heart,” Jones said about the opportunity to helm his hometown community’s football team. “The support has been so tremendous and there’s no place I’d rather be.”
The marathon for a highly-anticipated season in Dover Plains gets going on on Sept. 3, hosting Putnam Valley at 7 p.m. as the Dragons look to finally break through and become section champions.
This article originally appeared on Poughkeepsie Journal: Dover football ready to remain a contender under coach Christian Jones
Reporting by Eric Decker, Poughkeepsie Journal / Poughkeepsie Journal
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Eric Decker, Poughkeepsie Journal | USA TODAY Network
