Ex-Brave Tyler Dubuque wins coach honor

A La Conner High School alum has been a key factor in unlocking doors leading to the successful rebuild and recent state championship run by the Anacortes football program.

Tyler Dubuque, a 2004 La Conner graduate, is the offensive coordinator and primary play caller for the 2A Seahawks, who set a state-title-round scoring mark with their 60-30 championship game victory over Tumwater last December.

Dubuque's peers noticed. The Washington State Football Coaches Association has named Dubuque the District 1 Assistant Football Coach of the Year.

"I had no idea I was even in the running for the award," Dubuque said. "I think the true reason I was selected is that our playoff run was historic offensively and concluded with a 60-point performance against a team that barely got scored on all year."

As a result, Dubuque will serve as an offensive coordinator at the Earl Barden East-West All-Star Classic later this month.

Dubuque played quarterback and linebacker for some strong Braves teams in the early 2000s.

"We had a run of a few really great teams and I was blessed to have had some amazing teammates," Dubuque said. "I played with the likes of Zach Johns, Brandon Young, John Dan, Jake Roth and Ryan Coonc, five All-State running backs in a row."

Dubuque switched to coaching after playing at College of the Redwoods in Eureka, Calif., and at the semi-pro level.

"My role in Anacortes started as a volunteer who wanted to help a rebuilding program," he said.

Dubuque worked his way up the Seahawks staff under head coach Travis Anderson. Within five years, which spanned the pandemic, Anacortes morphed into a state 2A powerhouse.

"It started with one or two kids showing up in the weight room and at off-season ­workouts," Dubuque said. "We started winning a few games and then something magical started happening. The kids got a taste for that success. They started holding each other accountable."

That cohesion revealed another positive trait. The players and coaches like each other.

"After the state championship game, we had nothing left to do so we didn't meet and watch game film like we normally would have," Dubuque said. "That next morning, we started messaging each other and the players asked if we could meet anyway. Pretty soon, we had the entire team in the locker room simply because we wanted to be together."

Dubuque advocates for the positive vibes high school football can provide.

"I love how it can bring a community together," Dubuque said.

He attended a winter meeting at Swinomish addressing the future of La Conner football as student enrollment declines.

"It brings young people together and shows them so many life lessons," Dubuque said of football. "It brings and injects emotion into people."

Dubuque cites among his most fond memories the Friday Night Lights experience at Whittaker Field during his playing days.

"It's something everyone gets to enjoy," he said, "and I'll never forget it."

Dubuque said he was greatly influenced by former Braves' head football coach Patrick Brown.

"He certainly gave me the original push to get into coaching," Dubuque said.

As far as his work ethic is concerned, Dubuque credits his dad, Paul Dubuque.

"He has really instilled in me that you do what you say you're going to do," Dubuque said. "I grew up watching him always come running (to help) when people needed him. That's how I view myself for the younger generation. I want to help them achieve their goals. Nothing is a greater reward than the feeling you get after helping somebody."

Dubuque owns a small construction business. He and wife Sarah enroll their children, Landry and Paisley, in La Conner schools.

Dubuque said the rise of Anacortes High School's football has been a total team effort.

"On the field, it takes all 11 players," he said. "But it's so much more than that. The custodian walks down the hall and tells the kids to 'go get 'em.' The bus driver is proud to bring us to the game. The small restaurant owner in town hosts a team dinner for free to reward the kids for hard work. It takes so many hands to make it happen that I think it creates something really special."