Wearing discounted second-hand uniforms, the Hughes High School Big Red football team is currently second to none in the Cincinnati Metro Athletic Conference.
That's not bad for a team without a football field.
Using nearby Coy Park for practice, the players in gear walk close to a mile, cut through a field and then down a lengthy set of steps to a worn practice patch off Wagner Street. On the way, some may be dropped off food. Others will wait.
After a tough day's work, they repeat the walk, this time up the 115 steps and a reasonable climb up Straight Street back to school. For a three- or four-year player, that adds up to a considerable amount of steps in various kinds of weather.
Despite the odds and inconveniences, coach Chris Mobley's squad has won all four of their games, with all four coming on the road. After a 7-3 2019, they were 4-3 in last year's coronavirus-shortened season. Their next win guarantees a third straight winning season.
Saturday at 4 p.m. they'll play their first "home" game at Taft's Stargel Field, taking on Woodward.
From the Cincinnati Public School District, Hughes and Aiken consider Stargel their home field, which is adjacent to Taft and near FC Cincinnati's TQL Stadium. The other football-playing schools have their own field.
Despite not having the luxuries of many programs, the Hughes numbers are up since Mobley took over the program. Only five players attended his first meeting. Now nearly 50 are rostered.
"It was tough," Mobley said of his team build. "Kids didn't want to play football. It was kind of frowned upon. We were made fun of by everybody here. We just take it one year at a time, one game at a time, one practice at a time. Now, this is a place where people want to come and want to play."
No longer are the scores run up on the Big Red. Mobley prides himself on building from the ground up with homegrown Hughes kids.
The Big Red was close to a playoff slot in 2019 at 7-3 and the team's struggles and its relationship with some Kings youth football families were featured on ABC's Good Morning America. To ensure his players are fed, nearby Peoples Church on William Howard Taft also has stepped up to help in recent years.
Last year they played their first playoff game when everyone was invited to offset the inconveniences of the pandemic. Now, the goal is to get their first Cincinnati Metro Athletic Conference championship, along with their first playoff victory.
"It would be big for this community," Mobley said. "Alumni's started to pop up a little bit. It means something to everyone here in Clifton."
At quarterback for Hughes is junior Marvin Good who has 764 passing yards, including 318 against Purcell Marian. Keshawn Barber has been one of his targets, catching 16 balls for 280 yards and three touchdowns. Mobley says Good has enhanced his recruiting with a 3.8 GPA.
"If one of them beats their man off the first step, that's who I'm going to," Good said of his talented receiving corps."Our whole team (is made up of) leaders. If somebody's messing up, another person picks them up and makes them better."
Barber has led the league in receiving since he was a sophomore, according to Mobley. As a defensive back, he's returned a pair of interceptions to the proverbial house.
In the backfield, senior Keyontrez DeVaughn has 340 yards and also hauls down some Good passes, while junior Saleem Ford has 239 yards.
"Keyontrez has scored on a kick return, on defense, receiving, rushing and he's a good tackler, too," Mobley said.
Defensively, senior Larry Jackson has 3.5 sacks on the season and the Big Red has been stingy in keeping teams from running up points. Will Gilden Jr. has been a factor in the secondary.
"You can talk and get into a wide receiver's head," Gilden said of his strategy. "We're ready for the ride. I feel we're the best in the CMAC. I don't feel like anybody can beat us. We're going to show you. We're going to show everybody."
Most of the Big Red goes both ways (offense and defense) with the exception of quarterback Good. Depth has improved to where Mobley can substitute without a major drop-off in games.
Mobley shared CMAC Coach of the Year honors with then-Taft coach Jeff Cargile in 2019, Should the Big Red keep their current pace, he could win it outright. However, Hughes has a pretty competitive end to the 2021 regular season taking on defending champion Taft and Withrow in back-to-back Fridays Oct. 15 and Oct. 22.
Taft just recently knocked Division II Withrow from the ranks of the unbeaten, 13-7. Taft is No. 2 in Division V locally with Withrow No. 7 in Division II. Hughes is currently ninth in Division III, Region 12 according to the latest computer rankings.
Hughes got by Withrow 6-5 to end the 2020 season but hasn't played Taft since a 26-6 loss in 2019. In 2018, the Senators smoked the Big Red 55-0.
"Two very good teams with different styles of play," Mobley said of Taft and Withrow. "Coach (Tyler) Williams is a good young coach (Taft). Coach (Kali) Jones is a veteran really building up the Withrow program. I think it's good for our league overall. In the past, it's always been Taft at the top, Withrow's really good and we're much improved. The last few weeks of this season is going to be really interesting."
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