Duty signs with Central College in Iowa

Gonzales Apaches senior quarterback Cole Duty will be heading to college to continue his football career.

Duty signed to attend and play football at Central College in Pella, Iowa Wednesday, May 8 during a signing day ceremony.

Duty helped the Apaches return to the playoffs for the first time since 2019 with a 4-1 second place finish in District 12-4A-2 and a 6-4 overall record.

Duty is looking forward to the next chapter of his football career at the collegiate level.

“It feels amazing. It's been my dream my whole life and everybody has helped me get there to this point,” Duty said.

Duty will be entering a program that has not had a losing season since 1960 and has been in the top 25, he said.

Duty transferred from Hallettsville last year and joined the Gonzales football team and he appreciated how the coaching staff helped him grow for that one season wearing the orange and black.

“It helped me tremendously. It's the best place I've been. I've been to three schools in my high school career and Gonzales is by far the best place I've been at. All the coaches here are amazing. Everything's just great here,” Duty said.

Apaches head football coach Joey Rivera was glad to have Duty on his team for the 2023 season.

“The day that our kids go and make a name for themselves outside of Gonzales, it's always a big thing to go represent the community and I am excited to see how he's going to do out there. I wish him the best of luck,” Rivera said.

“What I told everybody at signing day was, you know, he transferred in, but from day one, it felt like he was here his whole life and he fit in perfectly with the kids. The kids suddenly looked up to him and he was an instant leader. And that's just a testament to him and his demeanor and his work ethic that everyone was able to get behind,” Rivera added.

Duty will be majoring in kinesiology in college in hopes to get into coaching, he said. And he has a message to the juniors that are looking into college as an option.

“Just work hard and never give up. If something goes wrong, don't hang your head low. Just keep it up high and keep fighting for it,” Duty said.