By FRED CONLEY
T-H Sports Editor
On Monday, Hughes Head Coach James Wright walked onto the practice field and liked what he saw.
Wright welcomed close to 40 players for the start of the Blue Devil's football drills.
Now, if he can just keep that number close to where it is and stay injury free, Wright will field one of the largest football teams he has had since coming to Hughes.
If there is a downside to having good numbers this season, it is this -- of that total, Wright has only three seniors, a few juniors but oh what a sophomore class.
"Two years from now, if we can keep this group together, we will be senior heavy and very experienced," Wright said. "Plus by that time, we will have dropped down to Class AA and if the cards fall right, should be in a conference in which we can be very competitive."
Wright is beginning his fourth full season with the Blue Devils and is coming off a 2-7 season, Hughes missed the playoffs last year for the fourth time in five seasons.
Wright will be joined on the sidelines this year by assistant coaches Steve Maynard, in his second year at Hughes, Brad Brannen, formerly from Wynne and Bert Greenwell, who spent the 1999 season at Hughes.
The Blue Devils are picked to finish fifth in the 6AAA Conference this season.
The Blue Devils have been working at 8 a.m. and again at 5:30 p.m. each day this week. The team puts on full pads Thursday.
The Blue Devils will open the season on August 31 against Barton.
By FRED CONLEY
T-H Sports Editor
LITTLE ROCK -- Saying that the proposed reclassification effort "really would not have affected Forrest City that much," Forrest City High School Principal Abbey Robinson voted against the measure at Tuesday's meeting of the governing body of the Arkansas Activities Association in Little Rock.
More than 200 other administrators felt the same way by soundly defeating the proposal 202-97.
The proposal was an attempt to help some of the state's smaller high schools become more competitive in football.
It failed miserably, apparently because of concerns about increased travel costs among other things.
The AAA governing body also defeated a proposal to move the state high school golf championships from spring to fall despite the fact that the AAA Board of Directors had recommended a "do pass" for the proposal.
This vote was out of character for the governing body, which traditionally follows the board's recommendations.
Robinson said she felt "keeping the golf program as a spring sport would be more beneficial to Forrest City at this time."
The vote on the golf proposal was 143-138 with a two-thirds majority needed for passage.
All in all, high school administrators considered 10 proposals.
Currently, the state's 32 largest schools play football in Class AAAAA, the next 32 are in AAAA and the next 64 are in Class AAA.
Under the proposed reclassification, the 32 largest schools would have been in a new AAAAAA, the next 32 in AAAAA, the next 32 in AAAA and the next 48 in Class AAA.
Mansfield Superintendent Larry Austin said previously that the restructuring would allow smaller schools in what is now Class AAA to be more competitive. He said the larger schools tend to be in the Class AAA playoffs year after year.
Mansfield is among the schools that would have been in the 48-school category.
A year ago, the vote on a similar proposal was 141-104 with two-thirds needed for passage.
Austin was the only person who spoke in favor of the measure and he simply asked for support.
Lewis Diggs of Center Point said something needs to be done about reclassification, but the proposal Tuesday was not the answer.
Charlie Bradford of Heber Springs said the proposal could end long-time rivalries and it would increase travel.
In other action taken Tuesday, the proposal to allow junior high football teams to play an overtime period to break ties in conference football games was passed and will be effective this season.
The Forrest City White Mustangs played to three ties a year ago.
The body also approved a proposal to restrict any suspended athlete or school representative from attending the next comparable event, as a player or as a spectator.
A proposal to allow single round-robin basketball tournaments for four teams or less during the holiday period, provided there is a clear-cut method to select a champion, also passed and will go into effect immediately.
A proposal to eliminate the requirements of schools sending eligibility forms of athletes registered with the AAA to other scheduled school opponents failed.
By FRED CONLEY
T-H Sports Editor
Any Forrest City student, in grades 9-12, and interested in helping to form the school's first male/female cross country team, are invited to attend an organizational meeting at Mustang Arena, Monday, Aug. 13, at 9 a.m.
The team will be coached by Lewis Etheridge.
Etheridge said he had been working on laying out the cross country course and hopes to have that course plan on paper as soon as possible.
The cross country program will begin in the fall.
Etheridge will also coach the senior girls' track program this year at Forrest City.
Registration is set to begin on Monday, Aug. 13, at City Hall, for the upcoming Forrest City Recreation Department youth soccer and flag football fall programs.
Boys and girls, ages four through 14 may sign up to participate in the youth soccer league, while boys, ages 7-12 may register for the upcoming flag football league.
The flag football program will be beginning its second full season. Last year six teams participated.
Registration fees are $20 each for players who live inside the Forrest City city limits and $25 each for those who live outside the city limits.
For more information about either of the two programs, contact Kenneth Taylor at (870) 633-3667.
The leagues will begin play in September and continue through October.
All games will be played at the Sports Complex.
CHAMPIONSHIP FLIGHT: Don Guthrie, second place; Mallory Parker, first place and Stevie Stevens, third place. Guthrie was first in the senior division and Stevens placed second. Parker was second in the low-net division while Dewey Snowden was first.
FIRST FLIGHT: Jim Murry, second place; Tyler Hammer, first place and Phil Byers, third place.
SECOND FLIGHT: Gene Satterfield, first place and Ron Killingsworth, third place and Danny Tate finished second.