CENTREVILLE &8212; Way back when Jason Brabham was a teenager and his school was about to close, he and his dad went looking for a new school to attend and possibly play football.

The Brabhams met up with Centreville head coach Bill Hurst, and the everyone agreed he&8217;d enroll at Centreville Academy to finish out the school year just before old Valley Forge Academy shut its doors. Brabham drove every morning to Hurst&8217;s home and rode with the coach from there to school.

Twenty years later, the two remain that close.

Brabham will return as Hurst&8217;s defensive coordinator this fall after six years years as head coach at Oak Forest Academy.

&8220;He was the only person I knew,&8221; Brabham remembered. &8220;I didn&8217;t know anyone in the school. Those people have been really good to me my whole life and really made me feel at home as a teenager and later as (assistant) coach. In today&8217;s world of criticism, everyone seems to know more than a coach or teacher. In general, that school is unified. It all goes back to having a great person there in leadership.&8221;

Brabham said he made the decision to return to Centreville in late March, but Hurst said the two didn&8217;t discuss it much until recently. Brabham spent time as an assistant under Hurst before taking the OFA job in 2000, and he&8217;ll return as an assistant on the football field and also in the school&8217;s administration.

Brabham will be defensive coordinator and offensive line coach this fall as Hurst enters his 30th year as head coach needing 27 wins to reach 300. He&8217;ll replace assistant Keith Wicker, who took a job at Marshall Academy.

&8220;I think the world of him,&8221; Hurst said. &8220;We feel we&8217;re very fortunate to have him coming back up here. He&8217;s done a great job, and he and I have a close relationship. He and I have always been the best of friends, and I have the utmost respect for Jason.&8221;

The decision to leave may have been a tough one for Brabham after he helped establish Oak Forest as a regular contender in the Class AA ranks since arriving prior to the 2000 season.

The Yellow Jackets lost to Copiah Academy at South State this past season and lost to Hurst&8217;s Centreville team, 10-0, for South State in 2004.

&8220;It&8217;s been a real tough decision,&8221; Brabham said. &8220;I basically came down to I felt it was the best thing for myself and my family over the long run. I really reached a point where I needed a change, and this gives me an opportunity to walk back into a situation where I can bring some new life back into me. It&8217;s a new challenge, and I&8217;m energized.&8221;

Brabham leaves Oak Forest after turning into a powerhouse, something that didn&8217;t surprise Hurst. Brabham played one season for Hurst with the Tigers in 1987, a year the team lost at South State to Canton Academy, before returning in the mid-1990s at Centreville as an assistant.

His first team at Oak Forest lost at South State to Bowling Green, and every year since then the Jackets were one game away from the championship. The Jackets won state in 2002.

&8220;In the back of our minds, I always wanted and hope to get him back up here one day,&8221; Hurst said. &8220;One thing is he brings a lot of energy to the table. Jason is an endless worker. He&8217;s a great on-the-field coach, and he&8217;s a workaholic. He works at it constantly. He&8217;s had a great weight program and good relationship with the kids.&8221;

Brabham, in turn, used that to build the program at Oak Forest and take it to heights the school had never seen. For years the Jackets struggled in football and wound up at homecoming dates for other schools, but the tables turned quickly.

He just modeled some of it after what Hurst established at Centreville. And he established a successful strength and conditioning program.

&8220;Not blaming anyone, but the coaching position had been kind of a revolving door,&8221; Brabham said. &8220;Just being able to be in that position and give them some stability. I think (Hurst) instilled in all his people discipline and loyalty, and those are two things that have served me well since I got here.&8221;