MAGAZINE — Late in Magazine’s 41-20 quarterfinal victory against Carlisle, freshman quarterback Charly Moua was supposed to run more time off the play clock before calling for the snap.
Coach Josh Jones yelled those instructions to Moua from the sideline, but Moua didn’t understand. Then several of Moua’s teammates yelled the same instructions.
The message came through loud and clear that time. It was in Hmong.
Magazine (13-0) plays Danville (13-1) in the Class 2A state championship game at noon Saturday at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock, and the Rattlers’ Hmong contingent is a big reason why. Five Hmong start for Magazine, where Principal Randy Bryan said roughly 7 percent of the school’s 270 students are Hmong, an ethnic group primarily from the mountainous regions of China, Vietnam, Laos and Thailand.
“We wouldn’t be as successful as we are without those kids,” said Jones, who is in his sixth season at Magazine.
Many Hmong fled southeast Asia after the Vietnam War ended in 1975 for fear of retribution because Hmong had supported the CIA’s secret war against communists in Laos. About 3,000 refugees settled in Arkansas, and there was another migration from other states to Arkansas in the early 2000s as Hmong bought land to become chicken and turkey farmers. Several of those families settled in or around Magazine.
Danville, which is just 26 miles down Arkansas 10 from Magazine, is even more diverse than its opponent, which even with six Hmong among its 37 players is still predominantly white. The Little Johns have two Hmong on their roster but also have 10 Hispanics and nine black players on a team of 44, including freshmen.
Danville Coach D.J. Crane said he used to have even more Hispanics on his team before the recent closing of a chicken processing plant in the area. Many Hispanic families moved to Russellville to find work after that.
“They have the chicken processors, and we have the chicken farmers,” Jones said about the ethnic makeup of the two teams that will meet for the state title.
Senior kicker Ulises Gutierrez is the only Hispanic who starts for Danville, but last year Eduardo Ventura and Ossie Apalategui were standouts for the Little Johns and played in the high school All-Star game. Gutierrez moved with his family to Danville from Mexico City when he was 7.
“Any time you get extra kids, it’s a benefit to your program,” Crane said.
Without Gutierrez, the Little Johns might not even be in the state title game. Gutierrez kicked field goals of 42 and 37 yards last Friday in Danville’s 20-14 victory against then-Class 2A No. 1 Bearden in the semifinals.
Cultural melting pots aren’t uncommon across America, but not all of them work as smoothly as they seem to at Danville and Magazine.
In 2006, Gentry High School experienced problems with tension between whites, Hispanics and Hmong that culminated when a Hmong student, after an altercation at a city park, pulled a gun on a white student whom he said had been threatening him and his brother. After the incident, Gentry High School took steps to help diffuse the tension and improve relationships between different groups of students.
Gentry, like Magazine and Danville, is a small, rural community where poultry farms are a major industry. But Jones and Crane said neither of their schools have had any such problems.
For the Hmong players in Magazine, their transition from Minnesota and Massachusetts - the states from which they moved - was eased because the students were fluent in English and American customs. Jones and Bryan agreed that the Hmong players, all of whom are related, were helped because Magazine welcomed them into the community.
“They’re just part of the team,” Jones said. “They fit in perfectly.”
Athletics helped as well.
When the Hmong players showed up in late middle school or junior high, their athleticism was obvious and other students quickly convinced their new classmates to participate in sports.
“They talked me into it,”said defensive end Jay Moua, who moved from Frogtown, Minn., in 2004 with his cousin Toto Yang, a reserve receiver and defensive back. “I didn’t even want to play.”
Others were easier sells.
Running back Long Yang may be the smallest starter in state finals history at 4-11 and 125 pounds, but he makes up for his size disadvantage with remarkable speed and unexpected strength. In fact, he can bench press twice his body weight.
Jones said other 4-2A Conference coaches have compared Long Yang to a hummingbird because his feet move so fast when he runs, like a hummingbird’s wings.
“I started playing football in sixth grade,” said Yang, who moved with his brother Chang and cousins Bobby and Charly Moua in 2003 from Massachusetts. “I was more into it. I was fast then. I didn’t know anything about football. I didn’t know there was a league or anything.”
Magazine two-way lineman Skyler McElroy said there was never any animosity shown toward the Hmong from other students in town. He said he and the team’s star players, twins Ryan and Cory Chambers, became friends with the Hmong players right from the start.
McElroy, 6-5, may tower over the tallest Hmong - Jay Moua is charitably listed at 5-9 - but he said he considers himself an honorary Hmong (“I eat lunch every day at the Hmong table,” McElroy said) and has learned enough of the language that left guard Bobby Moua tells him audibles in Hmong during games.
“We all became friends instantly,” McElroy said. “It was no big deal. I don’t know a single person who doesn’t get along with them. They were all willing to make friends, too.”
Gutierrez had a tougher transition than Magazine’s Hmong players because he spoke no English and knew little about the customs of his new home. Even though Danville had a sizable Hispanic community - it still does, despite the closing of one poultry plant - Gutierrez said he felt isolated until he learned to speak English.
“I didn’t have any friends,” Gutierrez said. “It was hard, but I got used to it.”
Athletics can certainly unite, but Danville quarterback Mike Jiles Jr. and McElroy said the bond between cultures at their high schools goes beyond the field. Jiles said it’s a case of understanding that people are just people, while McElroy pointed to the communities’ small-town values as helping pave the way.
“We have great parents, and they taught us to get along with everybody,” McElroy said. “No matter what race you are, you’re still God’s child.”
Sports, Pages 17 on 12/09/2010