He was only 5 years old when he began playing football.
Over a decade later, he would go on to join Sunny Hills High School’s football team as a freshman and work his way up to the varsity team to finally win a CIF championship ring.
Quarterback and defensive back senior Luke Duxbury spent his high school athletic career playing for the Sunny Hills football team, joining the varsity team for his sophomore, junior and senior seasons.
“[It was] definitely a journey,” Duxbury said as he reflected on his time as a key team player after his team’s season ended in a 42-21 loss against Bakersfield Christian High School in the CIF State Division 3-A SoCal Region game. He was also selected to the 61st Orange County North vs. South All Star Game on Saturday, Jan. 25, along with fellow teammates seniors Jun Ahn and Wilson Cal.
Rather than pursuing a football education at other winning programs such as La Habra High School, Duxbury stuck with Sunny Hills due to his beliefs of making a difference on the football team.
“I felt like I could come [to Sunny Hills] and have a quick impact and be able to start [playing] quickly,” he said.
After multiple offers from football programs such as University of Redlands and the University of Puget Sound, Duxbury finally committed to Simon Fraser University’s Division 2 football program in Vancouver with plans to major in kinesiology.
“Based on my options, this [university] was the best [option] for where I could go to play the highest level of football [while also getting] the best education,” he said.
Duxbury’s final career statistics are 5249 passing yards, 53 passing touchdowns, 383 rushing yards and eight rushing touchdowns in 37 starts. He finishes his career holding the Sunny Hills records for most touchdowns in a game (five), touchdowns in a season (24), career passing touchdowns and career passing yards.
As his high school years come to an end, he closes this chapter of his life with records and triumphs.
“It was a great, great season,” Duxbury said. “It was honestly an amazing feeling [to be with] all your friends on the field and [to see] all the hours of hard work that’s behind it, so it definitely feels good that it pays off.”
Though Duxbury has a bright future for his athletic career, one thing he will miss from his high school days are his fellow teammates, and he advises aspiring footballers to always put in their best effort in order to reach their goals.
“[I’ll miss] the camaraderie, and the relationship with the guys, [and simply] being in the locker room and hanging out with everybody,” Duxbury said. “I would say [to aspiring footballers to] just try your hardest in every drill and [take] every opportunity that you have to show what you can do.”
