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Judy's heart is in Smyrna now but his roots are in Dover

By Andy Walter
Posted 12/2/22

SMYRNA — Back then, they’d play football anywhere they could find.

Just like in a thousand other neighborhoods, Mike Judy said the kids in Dover’s Towne Point weren’t too …

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Judy's heart is in Smyrna now but his roots are in Dover

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SMYRNA — Back then, they’d play football anywhere they could find.

Just like in a thousand other neighborhoods, Mike Judy said the kids in Dover’s Towne Point weren’t too picky about what the field was.

“We grew up playing football in the park, in each other’s yards — anywhere we could find a nice big patch of grass,” he remembered. “It was just pickup football games. The old guys would let us play. We were running around.

“There were a lot of fond memories of playing with those guys.”
When they were young, Judy and his friends dreamed of playing for Dover High someday.

Judy was one the guys who made it, starting at center for the Senators before he graduated in 1997.

He never could have imagined that 25 years later he’d be the head coach of the team trying to stop Dover from winning a state title. But that’s where Judy finds himself.

On Dec. 10, Judy’s top-seeded Smyrna squad (11-1) will square off with No. 6 Dover (8-4) in the DIAA Class 3A state championship game. Kickoff is slated for approximately 3 p.m. at Delaware Stadium.

It will mark the first time that two Kent County teams have met in a football state finals.

The 43-year-old Judy is in a pretty unique situation.

He spent the first half of his life in Dover, playing football for both the Senators and Wesley College. Then, after a seven-year stint working and coaching in Virginia, he ended up getting hired at Smyrna in 2007.

Since 2014, Judy has been the Eagles’ head coach, helping the program to the most successful era in its history.

Now, in order for Smyrna to capture its fourth state crown — all since 2015 — Judy has to keep his alma mater from winning its first state title since 1988.

Under different circumstances, Judy would be happy to pull for Dover to win the program’s third state championship.

“Obviously, I’m an alumni and I respect and wish the program and school well,” he said. “I hope you go 9-1 and your only loss is to my kids.

“To an outsider, it may seem that teams hate each other,” he added. “But that’s not really how it is. There’s a respect. On Friday night, you’re both fighting for the same prize. But, outside of that, there’s a lot of loyalty to each other within the conference.”

Judy admits it was a little strange when he first starting coaching against Dover. He first faced the Senators as Smyrna’s boys’ lacrosse head coach.

“It was definitely an odd feeling,” he said. “I was years and years removed from actually wearing that uniform. But being there ... it was at the same field that I played on as a high school player. It had new turf but it was the same field, same stadium. It brought back fond memories.”

In his first season as the Eagles’ head coach, Dover dumped Smyrna, 41-22. That was also Smyrna’s first season in the Henlopen North.

But, since then, the Eagles have lost to the Senators just once, in 2018. They’re 9-1 against Dover in that stretch.

Of course, nobody has had much success against Smyrna lately. The Eagles are 79-21 with five appearances in state championship games in nine seasons under Judy.

And, to think, Judy first joined Smyrna’s staff as a volunteer coach.

Judy never made the state tournament as a player. He’s proud, though, of what he and his teammates accomplished.

The Senators upset rival Caesar Rodney in his final high school game.

“I cherish my memories playing for Coach Ox (Jim Oxford), his staff and all my high school friends that we played with — Khary Darlington, Rusty McKinney and those guys,” he said. “They’re still, to this day, great friends of mine. I’m really proud of them and what they’ve done.”

Judy knows his friends are proud of him, too — even though they might not be pulling for him in next Saturday’s state championship game. They’ll just set their friendship aside for a couple hours.

“I’ve already had some calls,” said Judy. “That’s always cool, too, because I know there’s a possibility they might be busting my chops — ‘Man, how are you going to do that?’ But then there’s always a, ‘We’re proud of you.’

“And it’s a mutual feeling.”

Sports editor Andy Walter can be reached at walter@iniusa.org. Follow on Twitter at @DSNSports.

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