Big-city QB finds small-town life fits him well at Forest Hills High in Union County
Maybe you’ve heard this story before.
Big-city athlete moves to the small town. He complains about all the things he’s missing in his life. He just doesn’t fit in very well,
Except that’s not the way it has worked out for Brady Hibbard.
Two years ago, Hibbard was a sophomore and starting quarterback at Providence High. He faced 4A opponents, attending a school with nearly 2,100 students. The scoreboard at his school’s football stadium had a video replay board.
A year ago, the Hibbard family changed their mailing address from Matthews to Marshville.
Brady Hibbard moved to the country, living a mile from his 880-student high school — which, not surprisingly, doesn’t have a video replay board.
“I love it here,” Hibbard said last week, after finishing practice with the Forest Hills High football team. “I feel right at home.”
And this fall, Hibbard is poised to make himself a part of football history in the eastern Union County community.
‘Optimistic atmosphere’
The Yellow Jackets have most top performers back from a team that went 9-2 a year ago, dropping its regular-season finale and its 2A playoff opener after about a half-dozen starters got hurt.
“The mood is very upbeat,” said Hibbard, who threw for 1,818 yards, 25 touchdowns and six interceptions last year.
“Interest in the community is really up,” added head coach Jammie Deese, in his fourth season at the helm.
“I’d describe it as a very optimistic atmosphere,” said starting center Braxton Grace.
You can’t discuss Forest Hills football without a history lesson.
The Yellow Jackets were state powers from the early 1980s into the middle of the last decade. They won a state championship in 1984, with the late Algie Faircloth as head coach. He was succeeded by John Lowery, who put together a 266-152 record as head coach for 30 seasons before retiring in 2015.
With Lowery playing golf in retirement, things went south for the Forest Hills program. The Yellow Jackets went 11-34 the next four seasons, before Deese arrived and took over in the COVID-delayed spring 2021 campaign.
He and his staff gradually have built Forest Hills back into a power.
The Yellow Jackets are the preseason No. 16 team in The Observer’s Sweet 16.
A cerebral QB
A big part of the team’s high hopes this year revolve around Hibbard, a 6-3, 200-pounder who is described by teammates and friends as “a student of football.”
“He is really cerebral,” said Grace, who snaps the ball to Hibbard. “The interesting thing about him is his ability to lead, but also to step back when he needs to do that.”
“He doesn’t yell and scream,” Deese said of Hibbard. “He just leads. And he’s very adaptive. I can talk to him during a game about something we need to change, and he immediately understands.
“Last year, he had 25 touchdowns to just six interceptions. You don’t do that unless you’re able to understand the game well.”
Hibbard said he was “pretty nervous” when he arrived at Forest Hills a year ago. It was, he admitted, a big change in his life.
“But the guys here made me feel at home, right from the beginning,” he said. “The community has been very accepting. It has been very good.”
Bad memories
Hibbard said he is driven by the way last season’s victory parade went off the tracks in the final two games – a two-point loss to rival Monroe, and then a 17-point playoff loss at Shelby.
“That was an awful feeling,” he said. “We had played so well, and we were so excited about going to the playoffs.”
Deese said he had to move a running back to quarterback in the Shelby game.
“We hope to stay healthier this season,” he said.
Deese, who played at Scotland County High and at Wake Forest, said players like Hibbard and Grace are a part of what he has tried to do at Forest Hills.
“We wanted to change the culture,” he said. “We hold everyone accountable. That includes on the field, in the classroom, and in the community.”
This Forest Hills team has plenty of weapons. Tight end Jaquavion Smith (Howard) and wide receiver Ross Smith (Elon) are Division 1 commits. Junior receiver Christyan Washington is a Charleston Southern commit. Deese expects Hibbard eventually to land a Division 1 offer.
“Players like Brady are what we want for our program,” Deese said.
Noting that Hibbard’s father, Kenny, is lead pastor at a Union County church (Team Church, in Stallings), Deese said. “The family sees this (athletics) as another ministry. They’re a great family.”
Grace said there’s a sure-fire way of knowing that Forest Hills football is on the right track.
“The last few years, we were the hunter,” he said. “This year, we know we’re the hunted.”
Steve Lyttle on Twitter: @slyttle
