Chasing the dream

Bryant coach wants to see his team in championship game

By Eric Moore

LITTLE ROCK — Paul Calley has had some decent football teams at Bryant High School the past five years,

But much to his disappointment, he has not been able to fulfill his goal of making it to the state championship game at the state’s highest classification.

Twice in the playoffs, he ha s been k nocked out by Darryl Patton, the very man he replaced as head coach at Bryant five years ago. Patton is now head football coach at Fayetteville High School, and Calley almost joined him there.

At the time, it looked as if Steve Griffith, a Bryant assistant coach, was going to succeed Patton as the head coach of the Hornets.

However, Griffith thought it would be better for him if he stayed as an assistant, since his son was moving up to high school, Calley said. After Griffith withdrew his name, Calley, as the offensive coordinator, was the next obvious choice.

Before t ak ing the head coaching position, Calley had worked as an assistant with the Hornets for 10 years, coming to Bryant immediately after finishing his playing career at Henderson State University at Arkadelphia. For the first few years, he was primarily an offensive line coach, teaching the position he played in college.

He may not look like it now, but in college, Calley was an all-star center. In 1991, he was named to the All-AIC team. At 235 pounds, he was fairlyundersized for an offensive lineman, but he made up for it in other areas.

“I prided myself on being quicker than my opponents,” Calley said. “I played with a reckless abandon, some might even say I was dirty.”

Since Calley started at Bryant, he has always had a hand in the offensive line. Even now, as head coach, the offensive line is where he puts most of his attention, trusting his assistants to be able to handle the offense and the defense.

The delegating of responsibility was something new for Bryant, Calley said.

“Patton tried to do it all, because that was the way it was done before him,” Calley said. “I gave everyone a job and let them do their job. I still coach the offensive line and the running game. I don’t even touch the defense.”

Despite delegating the responsibilities on the team, Calley has found that even at 39 years old, gray hairs can find him.

“When I got the job, I didn’t have any gray hair,” Calley said jokingly. “I feel like I have made a difference in the lives of many young men.”

One of those young men will be his son, Kurt, who is entering the seventh grade this fall. Having the opportunity to coach his son is an intriguing proposition for Calley, but he knows it will not be easy for either of them.

“It’s di f f icult to be t he coach’s son,” Calley said. “In some cases, I’ll probably be harder on him, but I think it will be a wonderful experience.”

In the meantime, Calley istrying to get to the promised land of 7A high school football - the state championship.

Despite the setbacks of the last couple of years, Calley holds no grudges over his former coach.

“As much as I want to beat him, I don’t mind losing to him,” Calley said. “I just don’t like losing.”

Since Patton left Bryant for Fayetteville, Calley has kept a good working relationship with him.

They talk daily about football philosophies and each other’s teams, about the good things happening with their programs and any setbacks they may have.

“We knew each other’s teams inside and out,” Calley said.

Regardless of how close he and Patton are off the field, on the field they are fierce competitors, and Calley knows that to achieve his dream of a state championship, he will likely have to go through his former boss’s team.

“It’s my ultimate goal,” Calley said. “I would like to have the opportunity to play for a state championship.”

Tri-Lakes, Pages 120 on 07/06/2008