Wayne Grandy
October 20, 2007 08:19 pm
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MOULTRIE — Parks Hughes downplays his achievements as the Colquitt County High quarterback, tipping his cap instead to teammates Greg Bright, Christopher McCranie and others and saying he hopes his selection to the Colquitt County Sports Hall of Fame represents all the seniors on the 1991 team that advanced to the state championship game and nearly upset a strong LaGrange team.
But to those who watched the Packers defeat Lowndes in overtime and then pull off win after playoff win in Tifton, Warner Robins, Hinesville and, especially, in Marietta on the way to the meeting with the Grangers, there is little doubt about his passing skills and leadership abilities.
Hughes still ranks No. 3 among Packer quarterbacks in career passing yardage, throwing for 3,214 yards, including 2,020 in the season the Packers reached the state title game for the first time since 1963.
His throw to McCranie to beat Lowndes on the final play of overtime that year has become part of Packer football lore.
So has the 80-yard drive in overtime at Marietta that he capped with a touchdown pass to Sharone Roberts with 3 seconds remaining to send the Packers to the state championship game.
Hughes will tell you he was just part of a team that continued to believe and get better as the season went on.
And, true, it was team with some outstanding individuals.
The team’s coach, Jim Hughes, Parks’ father, is already in the Hall of Fame.
McCranie, Bright and Tony DeRosso, also members of the 1991 Packers team, will join their quarterback in being inducted as part of the Class of 2007 at the annual Hall of Fame banquet scheduled for Thursday, Oct. 25, at the high school cafeteria.
Parks Hughes may not have been destined to become an outstanding football player, but he certainly had the genes and training.
In Thomasville and in Moultrie, where his father was the outstanding coach of their high school teams, Parks was on the sidelines and in the field houses, learning the nuances of the game.
And it was not just his father to whom he turned for knowledge. There was Brent Brock, the Colquitt County offensive coordinator, and Tim Kelshaw, the quarterbacks coach, among others.
“Football was part of my family life from Day 1,” he said. “Growing up on the sidelines, watching other guys play.
“It just seem real fitting to be able to enjoy the success we had that year (1991). I wouldn’t trade it for anything. It was very unique. And not just because of my dad. I became close to all the players and coaches.”
When he was a sophomore, the Packers went 8-4 and pulled off the memorable 7-0 victory over Valdosta at Cleveland Field.
Hughes credits quarterback Bucky Goff, linebacker Darius Dawson and others on that team “for showing us how to win.”
Colquitt went just 5-5 in 1990, losing at Coffee in the final game of the season and being bumped from a playoff berth.
The Packers quick out of the gate in 1991, winning their first five, before being defeated 19-17 by Dothan and 22-9 by Valdosta in successive weeks.
The overtime win over Lowndes followed, but the Packers then lost to Tift County 10-7.
Colquitt defeated Coffee to reach the region playoff game and the five-game gallop through the playoffs began with a stunning 42-13 win over Tift County in Tifton.
The Packers blanked Warner Robins on the road, knocked off Bradwell Institute in Hinesville, then got their second overtime victory of the season, driving 80 yards in the final 3:01 to the winning touchdown to beat Marietta.
Hughes credits Brock with the call on the winning touchdown pass. Hughes faked to fullback Nathan Williams, who was swarmed by the Marietta defense.
Hughes then lofted the ball to Roberts in the end zone, send the Pack home at last.
“I was just praying I didn’t overthrow it or underthrow it,” Hughes remembers.
Hughes completed 22-of-41 passes for 278 yards and the winning touchdown against Marietta.
In the state championship game a week later at home in his final high school game, he hit on 8-of-16 passes for 92 yards and a touchdown.
The team had a number of outstanding players, including McCranie, Bright, Nathan Williams, David DeRosso, James Stancil III, Lee Brooks and others.
Hughes says the state championship run “was the highlight of my sports career. We were close-knit. We had played together since ninth grade. We were well-coached. And it was a neat experience for me, with my dad coaching.
“Other than losing the championship game, it could not have played out much better.”
The Packers advanced to championship and lost 17-16 on a LaGrange field goal with 13 seconds remaining at Mack Tharpe Stadium despite having lost three games.
“That’s the great thing about team sports,” Hughes said. “It recognizes that teams get better. It was a great lesson on what you can accomplish when you play together. It was exciting.”
Hughes said he also remembers how the community took to the team and how many fans followed it all over the state.
“I remember coming out on the field at Marietta and looking up and I couldn’t believe how many people from Moultrie were there,” he said.
Following his senior football season, he was named to the All-Region team and received honorable mention on the All-State team.
He and McCranie were selected for the Georgia-Florida High School All-Star game in Orlando.
Hughes was the valedictorian of the Colquitt County High Class of 1992 and considered going to Furman to continue playing football.
Once he received a commission to the U.S. Air Force Academy, however, “I ended up taking a longer-term look. I recognized I was not going to play any more football. I was OK with that.
“Having played in Moultrie was good enough for me.”
Hughes actually did play four years on the Air Force football team, primarily as a holder, and was on teams that played in the Liberty Bowl and Copper Bowl.
He graduated from the Air Force Academy in 1996, ranking No. 57 in a class of 916. He received the Outstanding Cadet in Humanities Award and received the AFIT Scholarship to complete his master’s degree in English at the University of Georgia.
After earning his master’s degree at Georgia, Hughes volunteered for and was accepted into the prestigious Combat Control School.
At graduation two years later, he received the leadership award and the iron man award signifying the most outstanding physical performance during the final 18 weeks of the program.
He is currently a major in the U.S. Air Force stationed in North Carolina. He met his wife Alexis at the the Air Force Academy. She is currently a captain in the Air Force.
“I don’t know that I’d do anything differently,” Hughes said of his decision to make a career of the Air Force. “I’ve done a lot of interesting things and met a lot of interesting people.”
And Hughes said the lessons learned on the practice and playing fields of Georgia helped prepare him for the rigors of the Air Force Academy and his current role.
“You can tell the people who hadn’t had to work as part of a team,” he said. “I was much more prepared.”
Hughes said he is looking forward to attending the Hall of Fame banquet and catching up with friends and acquaintances he hasn’t seen for a number of years.
And, perhaps, reliving once again the Packers improbable run the state championship game 16 years ago.
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