Coachspeak: Edmondson football's Dante Jones
Dante Jones has Edmondson off to a 4-1 start this fall, with the Red Storm's only loss coming in a 12-0 defensive struggle with No. 8 Poly. At midseason, the team stands just behind the unbeaten Engineers in Baltimore City’s Division I and in first place in its Class 2A North region.
A 1995 Dunbar graduate, Jones played on the Poets' first state championship team in 1994. After going on to play at Delaware State, Jones took over at Edmondson in 2004 and has taken them to the playoffs four times, including their only state title in 2006. Jones, 35, is also the Edmondson athletic director.
Saturday night, the Red Storm faces Dunbar at 6 p.m. at Poly's stadium. The game against the Poets (4-1) marks the fifth annual showdown for the Ben Eaton Memorial Trophy, named for the Poets' beloved late coach, whom Jones also played for.
The Red Storm is looking for its first victory in the series since the trophy was awarded for the first time in 2007 just a few months after Eaton's sudden death.
This week's Coachspeak guest, Jones answers five questions about Eaton's influence, the Red Storm's success and the state of Baltimore City football.
What does it mean to you to have this rivalry marked by a trophy dedicated to Coach Eaton?
That’s an amazing thing. Coach Eaton was a great person, a great mentor, a great friend, so to have this in his honor is just a blessing to be a part of.
How did coach Eaton influence your coaching style?
Coach Eaton gave me the other side. I had dealt with a lot of coaches with a hard side, the aggressive side, the yelling. Coach Eaton gave the other side. Coach Eaton was they type of coach that could calmly tell you what he wanted you to do and you did it. He was the guy who would give you hugs, and that was the type of coaching that I never had before. That gave me the idea that you have to approach every child differently. Some children, a hug will get through to them. Some, you have to get in their ear. He just gave that flow, that vision that you’ve got to do more than just be one way. It just widened the scope of the different levels that you have when you deal with these inner-city children.
How tough is the city football race this year, and what do you think it’s going to take to come out on top?
The playing field is just so level now. There’s really nobody who’s that much ahead of anybody else, so every week you line up in these trenches and you’ve got to play. Nobody really has a whole lot of superstars. Everybody’s built on team concept this year, and I think that’s why Baltimore City football is improving. You can’t play any of these top teams and just key on one person. You’re playing against quality teams. The level of play in Baltimore City has increased and will continue to increase.
Why do you think the top teams in the city are so heavily defense-oriented? Where has all the offense gone?
Before, everybody used to key on offense and defense was just something to do. Now, everybody realizes that defense wins championships. Offense may fill the stands, but it doesn’t win championships. So coaches are really keying their program around playing great defense. I think what happens now that the game of football is changing and they’re putting more athletes on defense, you don’t really see the large, large, large kids on defense as much anymore. They’re more of an athletic type of kid, so that just made defenses more potent.
Assess your team now that we’re at midseason. What are you doing well, and what needs some improvement?
Right now, we’re playing excellent defense. The kids are really grasping the defense really well. The offense is coming. It’s like a mountain range at times. We’re high sometimes and then we’ll come down. We have to level out. And the key to the success of a lot of these teams is the special teams. With so many schools in Baltimore City playing great defense, you’ve got to get to the other aspects of the game. Our special teams are doing well. We haven’t put up as many points in our return game, but we’re playing good, solid special teams. We’re just looking to improve each week. Our concept is just to come out there a unified team and everybody just do your job. We won’t ask kids to do anything more than your job. If you do your job, then you’re a star.
