Forrest City Mustang Head Coach Dwight Lofton is going home. He has his players to thank for the trip. Wednesday, Lofton and his Mustang team will return to the North Little Rock site where Lofton spent many of his childhood weekends just being a kid.
The site is the new North Little Rock High School basketball arena which stands on the very field on 22nd Street where Lofton and the kids from all over the neighborhood played.
Lofton remembers playing football and other games on the 22nd Street site that now houses the new arena -- which will host the Class AAAAA State Tournament, which begins today.
Way back then it was nothing more than a grassy field on which Lofton and the neighborhood kids as well as kids from other areas, would come together on Saturday or Sunday to play football or basketball or stage fake track meets.
"You know, we would have East Gate versus the Heights or whatever," Lofton said. "It was the place where kids from all of the neighborhoods would meet. Later they made it into a parking lot but to me it will always be one of the best reminders of my youth."
Lofton, who grew up in his parent's home on 21st Street, played as hard as any of the neighborhood kids at the field, but he always knew when it was time to go home. From the field, he could see his bedroom window, just past his grandmother's house, which sits right across the street from the new arena.
"Mom would go into my room and turn on the light when it started getting dark," Lofton said. "That was my signal to come home." The journey home was a mere hop, skip and jump for Lofton, as he used the shortcut through his grandmother's yard. Those memories remain foremost for Lofton.
Now, Lofton is going home once more. Last Thursday, his Mustangs "turned out the lights" on the Jonesboro Hurricane, winning 56-52, and securing the No. 4 seed from the AAAAA-East conference into the state tournament.
"Just to be able to go back and play in a state tournament is a tremendous opportunity for me," Lofton said.
Lofton's Mustangs will open play Wednesday, at 2:30 p.m., against El Dorado.
This isn't Lofton's first trip to the state tournament in his seven seasons at Forrest City -- he's been there three previous times -- but Wednesday's trip may well be Lofton's most emotional trip to postseason.
"From a professional standpoint, going back to play at a place where you grew up is hard to put into words," Lofton said. "This will always have a special meaning no matter what the future has for me. As a team, we knew all season we were going to be playing in the state tournament. The kids knew how important getting to the state this year was for me as a coach and they worked hard toward that goal. After we defeated Jonesboro last Thursday to clinch the fourth seed, the players told me 'coach, we got you home, we got you home.' It is a classic example of a coach imposing his will on a team."
Over the weekend, Lofton returned to North Little Rock and had the chance to get a first-hand look at the new arena.
"Sweet," Lofton said. "It is huge but it is the same type of arena that we have here. It is super nice, it really is."
Lofton spent his entire youth on 21st Street, with the exception of his seventh and eighth-grade years when his dad moved the family to Tulsa, Oklahoma. But when the family returned to Arkansas, they moved back into the same house. Lofton went on to graduate from North Little Rock, where he competed in sports and played for former coach Gary Goss, now the North Little Rock athletic director.
After graduation and entering the coaching ranks, Lofton coached at Louisiana for three years and returned to NLR to coach at the junior high level for nine years before making the move to Forrest City.
Lofton and Rickey Treadway, the Sheridan girls coach, both played for Goss. Both are returning for the state tournament. Treadway's girls will play Wednesday, right after Lofton's Mustangs play No. 1 seed and third ranked El Dorado.
"I think we will have a home-court crowd against El Dorado," Lofton said. "Playing at North Little Rock, I believe their students and fans will pull for us. And I also know this bunch of kids I have now aren't ready for the season to end."
Past history has shown, No. 4 seeds have beaten No. 1 seeded teams in first-round play.
Lofton hopes history will repeat itself Wednesday. If it does, there is another storyline for Lofton and his Mustangs.
A Mustang win over El Dorado, could set up a potential second-round matchup on Friday against -- who else, but -- North Little Rock.
By FRED CONLEY
T-H Sports Editor
MARMADUKE -- Too many missed free throws and too many blown layups.
That lethal combination helped Marmaduke rally for a 72-66 win over Hughes Monday in the finals of the Class AA Region 4 tournament.
The win makes Marmaduke a No. 1 seed into the Class AA state tournament, which begins today at Newark and leaves the Blue Devils as the No. 2 seed from Region 4.
There may be a silver lining, however. As a two seed, the Blue Devils are in the lower half of the bracket which is seen by many as being the easier road to a possible state title.
Hughes opens state tournament play today at 5:30 p.m, when they take on the Charleston Tigers, 58-42 winners over Lavaca Monday in the finals of the Region 1 tournament at Danville.
Marmaduke opens state play Wednesday at 5:30 p.m., against Lavaca.
Monday's storyline between Hughes and Marmaduke was told at the free throw line -- the Greyhounds hit 20-of-22 chances while the Blue Devils hit only 10-of-19 chances, which helped equal a six-point loss.
The Blue Devils, the top seed into the regional, raced to a 17-8 lead after one period as senior guard Jermaine Davis continued his hot shooting streak, hitting three, three pointers to run his total to 14 for the tournament.
Davis had nine threes in Saturday's semifinal win over Bay. Monday, Davis was held to 22 points for the Blue Devils.
Marmaduke (33-9) rallied in the second period to take a 33-32 lead at the half, led by eight points from senior Josh Bateman and seven points from senior Shane Jordan.
The Blue Devils got six points from sophomore David Dowden in the third period to help regain a 51-50 lead as officials let the two teams play, calling only two fouls, one against each team, in the frame.
In the fourth, Marmaduke outscored Hughes 14-5 to close out the game for the win.
Hughes' final field goal came with 5:44 to play when Malcolm Curne converted a layup to give Hughes a 57-53 lead.
From there, Hughes hit nine free throws while the Greyhounds scored 19 points.
The Greyhounds rode a strong performance from Bateman, the tournament's most valuable player, who finished with 24 points and 10 assists.
Bateman owned the final minutes, scoring 12 of Marmaduke's final 16 points. he was 14-of-14 from the free throw line.
Curne hit two free throws to give Hughes a 61-58 lead with 3:25 left before the Greyhounds began living at the free throw line, hitting all 12 of their chances in the final three minutes.
Bateman then dropped in two free throws to get Marmaduke within 61-60.
Hughes' Courtley London missed the front end of a one-and-one and Marmaduke grabbed the lead for good when John Clark drove the lane for an uncontested layup and a 62-61 lead with 2:33 to play.
Shane Jordan added 20 points for Marmaduke, while Clark, a sophomore center, added 16.
The Blue Devils (18-6) shot just 36 percent (26-of-72) for the game, and hit just 3-of-19 from the field in the fourth quarter.
Hughes also missed its final 10 shots from the field in the fourth quarter.
Dowden added 14 for the Blue Devils while Curne finished with 13.
A first-round win today over Charleston, would bring Hughes back on Friday at 2:30 p.m., for a potential second-round matchup against either Camden Harmony-Grove or Bradford.
The Marmarduke Lady Greyhounds made it a sweep Monday by defeating previously unbeaten Turrell 58-48, rallying from 17 points down to take the win.
It was Marmaduke's eighth consecutive regional title.