Early Stages (8th grade)
Oscar Duran (‘27) first began playing football when he was in 8th grade after the middle school head coach, Coach Rodriguez recommended he played football when Oscar was in 7th grade. Oscar started at defensive end and throughout the season, where he amassed six sacks. He also played running back, but a fellow 8th grader, Kaydan Fernandes (‘27), started over him.
Freshman year
Oscar had a very productive freshman year playing Freshman and JV football. He scored four touchdowns on the Freshman team and one on the JV team. He also got some reps with the varsity team during practice and was able to suit up for the playoff game against Marlboro, although he never played a varsity snap. South Brunswick however, would end up losing 26-16 in the first round of the playoffs capping off his freshman campaign. Despite the fact that Oscar had a successful freshman year he still wanted to play Varsity football his sophomore year and knew he needed to get better. So he researched youth teams to play in the winter and found the Bulldogs, located in Middlesex, and began working with them. He started at running back and linebacker for them and put together a solid season having four touchdowns at running back and one interception at linebacker in the short four-game season.
Sophomore Season
After a very promising freshman year, Oscar was primed to have a productive sophomore season. He attended many camps and played his first and final season of youth football during the offseason with the Bulldogs. He also began hitting the weight room during strength and conditioning getting his bench up to 135, Squat to 285 and deadlift to 355. It was clear that Oscar really had a desire to be great. All that work seemed to pay off because during the summer Oscar ran the ball effectively and was given Varsity reps at Running back during South Brunswick’s two opening scrimmages. During those scrimmages, however, Oscar performed really well with blocking and was given reps at fullback to open the season against Robinsville. Oscar was also put on all the special teams squads. In the North Brunswick game, Oscar again performed well, but the bigger story was South Brunswick beating North Brunswick for the first time in seven years. Oscar performed alright in all the remaining games, but he never really broke out as the true superstar he wanted to be. His worst game was against Union, where he severely disappointed himself because he failed to properly block his guy, which prevented an SBHS touchdown from being scored. However, Oscar’s lowest moment of the season was off the field when got suspended two days prior to his final game against East Brunswick and was unable to play. Overall, even though Oscar Duran had a relatively successful season he still wanted to seize the moment and get a real full Varsity experience, scoring touchdowns and making big plays.
Junior Season and Oscars journey to offensive player of the year.
Going into this past school year, Oscar really wanted to prove to himself he was no longer the freshman sitting back learning from his seniors and developing, nor the sophomore getting his varsity experience. He was the Junior looking for a breakout season with his boys. Oscar wanted that breakout season and he wanted it really bad. He had also switched back to running back this year. He was able to again improve his numbers getting his bench to 205, squat to 385, and deadlift to 405. However, yet another setback for the Junior running back occurred when he sprained his ankle early on in summer camp. However, Oscar took this as a minor setback as he continued benching and doing upper body while his leg was recovering. Soon enough, after taking the proper recovery measures, Oscar was back in action being a full participant in practice. The season was getting closer and closer and Oscar and fellow running back and Kamari Toney (‘27) were going to split reps. South Brunswick once again opened the season vs Robbinsville and Oscar was able to perform well, picking up 65 yards and hitting paydirt once in a hard fought overtime loss. However, during the game Oscar broke his hand and was unable to play the next game, a 10-0 South Brunswick win over North Brunswick. Fortunately, Oscar was able to return in the 3rd game vs Monroe where he picked up another 74 yards on ten touches in South Brunswick’s win over Monroe. As South Brunswick moved into their next two games against really good opponents, things went a little south. Against Old Bridge, Oscar played alright even though the team lost 45-7. In Piscataway, Oscar did not play very well as three-star Penn state commit Josiah Zayas stripped the ball leading to Oscar fumbling. South Brunswick would go on to lose the game 28-0 dropping their second game in a row. This game really took a hit on Oscar’s confidence as he cried and felt like he was terrible. However the back half of the season was different. Oscar performed really well and completely restored his confidence, getting over 100 yards three times including a career high of 152 total rushing yards on just 27 carries in the very next game after Piscataway. During that stretch Oscar had over 450 yards and firmly cemented himself as one of the best players on the team. Overall, Oscar had a total of 642 yards and three touchdowns on the season, his favorite season of football. At the postseason banquet, Oscar received the Offensive Player of the Year award as the best player on the offensive side of the ball for South Brunswick.
Captain O (Senior season offseason)
Approaching his final season in high school Oscar has taken a different approach. He has become a leader for the Vikings squad and has truly taken a step towards becoming a leader. Oscar has seen firsthand the disappointing seasons South Brunswick has had and is determined not to repeat them under new Coach Mike Gerst. He has organized player-led practices and is adamant about everyone showing up to the offseason workouts. He has even been voted captain by his teammates.
I spoke with the man of the hour himself, Mr. Oscar Duran:
Why are you putting in so much work into this offseason compared to other offseasons?
“Because I want to be good and go out with my boys. I have goals I would like to accomplish this year. My goals I set for myself last year I broke so I want to do the same thing this year”
Do you think you will start this year?
“I don’t know because this year we will have a different system and who knows?”
How did your suspension change you both from a player and person prospective?
“It made me realize that things can be taken away from me so quickly, and seeing East Brunswick beat us for the first time in years made me stop making dumb decisions.”
What was the hardest part of your football career?
“Definitely getting over the mental part of the game. A lot of people think football is just physical but the mental part is also a big part of the game and takes a ton of time to get over and be consistent”
What has motivated you to continue playing football even when you have had so many setbacks?
“Just having the thought of not letting my support system eg my girlfriend, my parents, my family, teammates, and my coaches down, I really want to be good which will be my way of thanking and repaying them for their help in my journey”
