By FRED CONLEY
T-H Sports Editor
John Thompson has a lot to be grateful for ...and being a teacher and a football coach ranks high on his list ...but not as high as his family.
Thompson, a Forrest City native, recently resigned as head football coach at East Carolina University in Greenville, N.C. His resignation was effective Saturday, at the conclusion of a 52-14 loss to North Carolina State.
His resignation or firing "or however you want to write it," Thompson said, came at the request of ECU Athletic Director Terry Holland on Nov. 15, with two games remaining on the school's regular season schedule.
Holland asked Thompson to stay and coach the last two games.
"I agreed to do that. I could not and I would not quit on these players, these families, or on this coaching staff," Thompson said.
That was the first time the two men had met and talked even though Holland had accepted the AD's job six weeks previously.
Thompson is stepping down after two seasons at ECU in which he compiled a 3-20 record. Thompson was 1-11 in his first season (2003) at ECU.
But Thompson remains as gracious in this situation as he does in happier times.
"You learn a lot, you see a lot and we've been through a lot, but we still have so much to be thankful for," Thompson said Tuesday morning. "That's all I can say right now."
He is not sure where this leaves him and his family.
He knows a football coach today has a tough job and that the coach is really a small percentage of what it takes to be successful, particularly at something as competitive as the business of college football.
"It is not as simple as just buying a program. You can't do that in a day's work. If you could, there would be a lot of teams winning national championships. It is just not that simple," Thompson said. "Coaching is the greatest profession in the world. "Teaching is the greatest profession in the world. The 'business' of coaching now, and the way it is, really stinks. There are people that are abused in this business and they've got nothing to do with it. The business is nasty. I grew up wanting to be a coach. I respect all coaches and it hurts me when any coach loses his job. I'm going to be okay. I'm thankful that I've been a coach for 27 years and its not going to sour my outlook on the coaching profession. I'm not going to let it. I take responsibility for this thing.
"Being a head coach and being responsible for the assistant coaches and their families has made me step back and take a look at where this has taken me. Do you cheat your job or do you cheat your family?"
Thompson says he knows his family has suffered through the years due to the very demanding profession of coaching.
While he feels he has cheated his family, he says with a clean conscience that he has not cheated when it comes to coaching.
"We haven't broken any NCAA rules, we haven't had any players being arrested or going to jail ...my resignation is simply because we didn't win enough football games," Thompson added. "I think we planted a lot of seeds at ECU and I felt like if I had a couple of more years and a couple of more recruiting classes, we could have been successful, However, if you're not producing wins, then your future isn't always secure. We didn't get the job done. I didn't get the job done Saturday or in two years The bottom line was, we didn't win enough games and we didn't have enough time."
Thompson became East Carolina's 18th all-time head football coach on Dec. 20, 2002, following a one-year stint as Florida's defensive coordinator under former Gators' Ron Zook.
Thompson led the Gators to a top 25 national ranking in total defense.
Thompson's 24-year collegiate coaching career includes 19 seasons as a defensive coordinator with stops at four Southeastern Conference schools -- Florida, Alabama, Arkansas and LSU.
He has also held assistant coaching positions at Conference USA members Memphis and Southern Miss while also serving appointments at Louisiana Tech and Northwestern (La.) State.
He thought East Carolina University would be his final coaching destination.
"I really thought this was the place where I could coach and retire," Thomspon said. "We really like living in Greenville, it's a great place. The only thing wrong with Greenville is that it isn't in Arkansas."
Upon arriving at ECU, Thompson and his staff literally inherited a 'house divided.'
Although they have done all they can to heal old wounds, the lack of success on the field has made an overwhelmingly difficult healing process virtually impossible.
Until he was asked to step down, Thompson, his staff and his football players never gave up under these adverse conditions.
East Carolina's last winning season was in 2000.
Talking by phone Tuesday morning, Thompson said he was unsure at this time, what his next step would be or where his next position would be.
"I have some offers and options on the table and I have had some phone calls," Thompson said. "But right now I am concerned about the future of my family and my assistant coaches. I need to know that they will be taken care of before I commit to anything. Right now, I think I would rather chase my wife and my boys around for the next 10 years rather than have them chase me around like they have for the last 10 years. The biggest thing I want is for my boys to have someplace they can call home. Right now, if I were to die, I'm not at all sure where I would be buried. I know that sounds morbid, but nonetheless, there is a lot of truth in it. I want my boys to have a home. My six-year-old son has lived in five different places and now may be on the verge of moving to number six somewhere. Right now, my boys need their daddy around."
While Thompson would not talk specifics about his offers, he indicated that he might even take some time off from the coaching business. He did say some of the offers were SEC-related.
Thompson said returning to the state of Arkansas would definitely be an option, if it was presented to him.
"I have no idea what the future holds for me. I will sit back, take a deep breath and we'll see. Right now, my wife and children and taking care of the assistant coaches are the only two things I have on my mind," Thompson added. "I have to put my family first in whatever decision I may make at this point. And I have to make certain that I make some good decisions..the right decisions.
"ECU was a great place to be with such tradition and expectations. I said when I came here that I looked forward to building on that tradition through recruiting. I am confident that we have recruited talent, and good young men for this program and the type of men that represent what ECU stands for. We have built solid relationships throughout the state, region, and across the country. I whole-heartedly believe that this program is in better shape than when I arrived here in 2002."
With that said, Thompson said he was going to make a few more calls and then head out to do something really important -- watch his son's basketball game.
By FRED CONLEY
T-H Sports Editor
Hughes was finally able to get their basketball season under way Tuesday by hosting Marvell in a 6AA Conference three-game set.
Nine Hughes players scored to lift the Blue Devils to a 71-54 win over the Mustangs.
Hughes led 17-9 after the first quarter, 36-26 at the half and 46-40 after three quarters of play.
In the fourth quarter Hughes outscored Marvell 25-14 to set the final.
The Blue Devils were led by senior Melvin Williams and sophomore Kevin Brown, both with 17 points.
Hughes forced 34 turnovers while committing 15 of their own.
The Hughes Lady Blue Devils opened conference play with a 66-35 victory over Marvell.
Hughes led 16-13 after the first quarter, 38-17 at the half and 56-28 after three quarters of play.
Marley Lemons poured in 20 points to lead the Lady Blue Devils scoring effort.
The Hughes Junior Lady Blue Devils suffered a 30-9 loss to marvell in their opening game.
Marvell's junior girls led 10-0 after the first quarter, 18-2 at the half and 24-7 after three quarters of play.
Hughes was led by Ashley Middleton who scored 4 points.
*Palestine-Wheatley rallied from begin down by 20 at the half to take an 82-76 win over DeValls Bluff Tuesday night.
Playing at full strength for the first time this season, after getting the football players in uniform, Patriots' Head Coach Terry Clardy called the game "interesting."
Palestine-Wheatley had five players finish in double figures led by Curtis Allen's 23 points. Osas Oyara had 14 points while jesse Adams and Vince Jones finished with 11 points each. Antonio Leak added 10 points.
"It took me a while to get the right combination of players on the floor," Clardy said.
P-W closed the gap late in the third period and took the lead in the fourth and then finished the effort.
The Patriots improve to 3-1 for the year.
In the junior high boys game, Roger Allen poured in 17 points to help the Junior Patriots to a 44-24 win over DeValls Bluff.
Raphael Williams added 13 points and Orlandon Watson added eight as the junior boys moved to 2-0 for the year.
DeValls Bluff won the seventh grade game 20-15. Owendall Gordon had nine points for P-W while Zach Jumper added six points.
*The Calvary Christian Eagles placed three in double figures Tuesday but it wasn't enough to earn the team victory as Pathway Christian held on for a 67-58 win.
Kyle Smith led Calvary with 16 points, Sam Hoffman added 15 and Jason Cantrell finished with 10. Aaron Austin added eight points for the Eagles while Chad Phillips had six.
Pathway led 25-13 after one period and 40-32 at the half.
Calvary was within six points to start the fourth period, trailing 55-49.
The Calvary Christian Lady eagles improved to 4-1 for the year with a 46-43 win over pathway.
Hannah McMahand led the Lady Eagles with 22 points while Meredith Borden and Ashley Austin each had eight points. Katie McNair added five.
Pathway led 14-2 after one period and were up 23-16 at the half before Calvary battled back to tie the game at 30-30 to start the fourth period. The Lady Eagles went on to outscore Pathway 16-to-13 to get the win.
Marion's Junior Patriots held off Forrest City's Junior Mustangs 62-55 in overtime Tuesday at the Turrell Invitational Tournament.
Marion led 25-24 at the half before Forrest City picked up the defensive intensity to start the third quarter and then took a 38-30 lead. Marion hit a three-pointer at the buzzer to take a 38-37 lead into the final frame.
Junior Mustang forward Teraye Lee fouled out late in the fourth and finished with four points, and five rebounds.
Trailing 48-46 with less than 10 seconds to play, Henry Henderson's running floater fell as time expired, sending the game to overtime.
Early in the extra period, shooting guard Jesse Mitchell fouled out, finishing with 24 points, 10 rebounds, and five steals with Forrest City trailing 50-48.
Marion made all their free throws (8 of 8) in the final minute to seal the 62-55 win after Forrest City was forced to start fouling.
"Our guys played well, but losing two starters to fouls really took a toll on us," said Forrest City Coach Chris Houser. "It seemed like we couldn't get any calls to go our way down the stretch and Marion got too many second and third chances at the basket."
Forward D'shay Hinton was second in scoring with 7 points and 5 rebounds. Henry Henderson finished with 6 points, and played great defense on Marion's leading scorer.
We next play Monday in our conference opener at Wonder.
*Shatel Lee hit two free throws down the stretch to escape Wynne Tuesday night with a 35-30 victory in junior girls' basketball.
Lee finished with 11 points while Valerie Ford led the Junior Lady Whirlwinds with 12 points.
Annie Camp (6-2) held slim leads throughout the game, with a 19-15 halftime advantage and a 23-19 lead after three quarters.
Annie Camp took the eighth-grade game by a 30-14 margin and shut out Wynne in the seventh-grade game 33-0.