Calm is at the center of roaring Hurricanes

Larry Bishop is a calm man.

He keeps his emotions to a minimum -- never too high, never too low.

After Friday night's 17-0 win at Lecanto, Bishop, Citrus' head coach since 1998, was relaxed. And remember, his team is 3-0 for the first time since 1994, when Bishop was a Hurricanes assistant.

He smiled and shook hands, then he gave some words of encouragement to his squad. It responded by jumping up and down and running off the field to celebrate with students.

Bishop walked away and politely answered questions.

He looked just as he did before the game and just as he did during the game (no matter if things were going well or not).

This is the Bishop way.

After an accidental whistle erased a Citrus fumble recovery in the third quarter, Bishop calmly stated his case to the officials -- no yelling.

When the decision was made to replay the down, he walked away and quickly got back to coaching.

Bishop's team went 1-9 last year, but if he felt any heat to succeed from administrators and boosters, he hasn't let it show.

He believes in himself and his assistants. And right now his kids believe in their leader, and that's half the battle.

As Bishop walked off the field Friday, Lecanto coach Dick Slack removed his hat for a second and wiped his forehead. It had been a long night.

Lecanto went 0-10 two seasons ago, then 6-4 last year. Slack is a relatively animated coach, but at this point, he looked a bit exhausted.

Slack labored through six losing seasons before last fall's breakthrough effort, and he is trying to build something special. It hasn't been easy.

The Panthers are thin. Especially on the interior. Several starters play both ways. Every injury is tough to handle. When certain kids go down, two positions open.

Slack's gameplan took a hit early.

Phil Reed, who starts at quarterback and safety, left with a dislocated shoulder in the first quarter. Minutes before the injury, Reed ripped off a 58-yard run.

As the team doctor worked on Reed on the sideline, one can only imagine what went through Slack's head.

Injuries are part of the game, but why Reed? And why now?

You just know that crossed his mind.

Lecanto has won eight of its past 12 games, easily the most impressive stretch in its history.

But this one could have given the Panthers their first 3-0 start, the lead in the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference and first place in the district standings.

The effort, Slack said, was there.

The execution, on a few key plays, was not.

Afterward, Slack's thoughts were with Reed and with this week's opponent. Rebounding is crucial.

The program has come so far in the past 12 months.

The school opened in 1984, but didn't post its first winning season until last fall. The Panthers hoped to do even better in 2002, but this loss makes that goal a little tougher to reach.

Slack knows that, which probably is why he looked so drained.

Football is a game of blocking and tackling, of execution and collisions, of winning and losing. And, of course, of everyday people.

The latter is what makes it so interesting.

-- Keith Niebuhr can be reached at 860-7337 or niebuhr@sptimes.com.

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