HUGHES -- About a month ago, 38-year-old Michael Bradley placed a hurried phone call to his mother.
Bradley's old football coach was returning to Hughes and he needed to dig out an old artifact for the occasion. Bradley's mother told him to pull up his mattress, and stowed away safely in a vacuum-sealed bag underneath was his old No. 44 Hughes High School football jersey.
Bradley was ready to see Gus Malzahn for the first time in 20 years.
"It's priceless, seeing him here in person," said Bradley, sporting the once-white but turned a light shade of yellow Blue Devils jersey that fit more snugly than it once did.
Bradley, a fullback on the 1994 team that Malzahn led to the Class AA state championship game, was one of about 15 former Hughes players to greet Malzahn, who visited the spot of his first coaching job for a luncheon in his honor and a ceremony that named the football field after him.
One "MALZAHN FIELD" sign was attached to the back of the press box atop the wooden bleachers, facing Arkansas 38. A second "MALZAHN FIELD" sign ran across the top of the scoreboard beyond the west end zone. Malzahn was also presented with a Hughes High School letterman's jacket and a key to the city.
Malzahn, who is about to begin his second season as Auburn head coach, spoke before the luncheon at Hughes Elementary School, and at the field, which hasn't played host to a Hughes football game since 2010, about how much he cherishes his five seasons in the St. Francis County town of about 1,400.
Standing at the 25-yard line of a field that bears his name, Malzahn reminisced about the 1994 team that came so close to winning the school's first state championship, and how it served as the launching point for a career that has reached the highest level of success at the high school and collegiate levels.
"I get this question a lot: Where did you learn football? I take great pride to say that it all started at Hughes," Malzahn said. "Hughes gave me an opportunity to coach, and really, it laid the foundation for my whole career."
Malzahn was 26 and two years removed from graduating from Henderson State in Arkadelphia when he arrived at Hughes as its defensive coordinator in 1991. He became the head coach the next year, and during his years there he also taught geography, was the assistant track and field coach and coached junior varsity basketball.
Freshly painted yard lines and a large white "H" spruced up the field for Monday's events, but Malzahn spotted the old pipes he used to move around to water the field when he was the coach. Malzahn cut the grass on the field, too.
"I didn't mind it," he said. "I spent a lot of time out here."
About 100 people packed into the cafeteria to greet Malzahn Monday afternoon. About six former players addressed the crowd and shared their memories of operating the "Uno offense." Most brought up the 1994 season, which ended with a 17-13 loss to Lonoke in the state championship game at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock.
"He showed you that, no matter where you came from, no matter where you are, you can accomplish big things," said Lemonte Harper, a linebacker on the 1994 team. "We all grew together. He got the opportunity to show people what kind of mind he has. Once he was able to show that, the sky was the limit for him."
Malzahn said he still remembers most of the details of the 1994 season. He remembers having to beat Brinkley in the rain by at least 13 points and Rivercrest by 7 to reach the playoffs, and the Blue Devils did. He remembers pulling off an overtime upset of Pine Bluff Dollarway, one of the state's powerhouse programs at the time to reach the title game.
"I remember the looks on their faces when our guys knew we were going to War Memorial Stadium," he said.
He also remembers the disappointment of losing in the title game, when a pass was intercepted at the goal line in the final minute.
"I was young, didn't have a clue about different things," Malzahn said. "Once a week, in my mind, I think about that '94 team. And the reason, I feel like I should have done a better job, especially towards the end of that game."
Malzahn spent one more season at Hughes, and the Blue Devils lost in the first round of the playoffs. He went to Shiloh Christian in 1996, Springdale High School in 2001 and to the University of Arkansas in 2006.
His one season as Arkansas' offensive coordinator served as a starting point to a meteoric rise in the collegiate ranks that saw him spend two years at Tulsa as co-offensive coordinator before moving to Auburn for a three-year stay as offensive coordinator, which included the 2010 BCS Championship season.
He coached Arkansas State to a Sun Belt title in 2012, his one season, and returned to Auburn as head coach and led the Tigers to the BCS title game this year.
His former players in Hughes have followed him all the way.
"All you can say is 'wow,' " said Sammie Wilson, Hughes High graduate in 1997 and president of the PTA. "That's all you can say."
Wilson helped organize Monday's event and those who helped him are working on another project: Getting football back up and running at Hughes.
Hughes hasn't fielded a team since 2010 because of declining enrollment numbers, but principal Jeff Spaletta said they have the numbers and the finances to field a junior-high team this fall. But because Hughes has been classified as being under "fiscal distress" they're not allowed to add new programs, Spaletta said.
Malzahn said he hopes that will change one day.
"There's been a lot of good games, good players on this field -- 1994, 1995, those were really good years," Malzahn said. "Hopefully there will be football on the field again, that would be my hope."
Sports on 06/03/2014