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Inducted | 2002 |
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High School Attended | Attleboro |
Graduated | 1995 |
A brilliant two-year, starter at tailback and defensive back for the Blue Bomdardiers in 1993 and 1994, Jesus Duran was a key to Attleboro's outstanding 8-3 and 9-1 seasons. As a senior team leader, Duran stepped out of the shadow of Hall of Fame fullback Dave Menard and established himself as one of the best running backs to ever wear the Blue and White. Blessed with the outstanding speed of a track star, the balance and power of a gymnast, and the tremendous vision to see the whole field made Jesus Duran a threat to score a touchdown every time he touched the football. One opposing coach best described Duran "as the most explosive back I have ever seen, before I could yell watch out for Duran, he was off to a 50 yd touchdown run."
In a spectacular 9 and 1 campaign, Duran led a very talented and powerful 1994 Bombardier team that must go down in history as one of Attleboro's very best. Blessed with an outstanding offensive line, the durable and consistent Duran amassed an incredible 1302 yards rushing 176 carries (7.4 avg.), scored 23 touchdowns and 10 two-point conversions for a Division 3 leading 158 points. Maybe, most important to Attleboro's success, however, was that Jesus came up big in the big games. In a 46-32 defeat of powerhouse Mansfield, Duran gained 205 yards on 27 carries and exploded for TD runs of 51,20 and 43 yards. In a brilliant final effort on a Turkey Day, when Attleboro beat North for the first time in 10 years, Duran rushed for an unstoppable 96 yards on 22 carries in the second half of play to preserve the 22-8 win.
Following Duran's fabulous season, he was First Team All Eastern Athletic Conference Selection as the best back in the conference and an easy first team All Sun District Selection where Coach Cliff Sherman stated that "we knew he was going to have to carry a big load for us and he really came a long way both physically and mentally in leading this team through such a great season." In 1994 Jesus Duran proved to all the fans of Attleboro football that he would now cast his own shadow over all those Bombardier running backs who followed in his footsteps.