Sports

Citrus / Hernando

Curse or not, Panthers are tired of losing

By DAWN REISS
Published August 26, 2005

---

LECANTO - Some call having only one winning season in 21 bad luck. Others call it a curse.

The Panthers have heard it all. They've been laughed at, called a joke and losers. Despite producing several Division I players - think Todd Bandhauer (Iowa State) and Brad Breedlove (Duke) - the Panthers haven't been able to build a winning program since they began varsity play in 1984.

"It's like Lecanto is built over an old Indian burial mound or something," said assistant coach Ron Allan, who has been at Lecanto since the school opened. "We've done some crazy things to try and get rid of it somehow. I can't figure it out."

A new district ends the domination of South Sumter, leaving the door open for a new champion. The timing couldn't be better for the Panthers, who have the area's top running back in Richard Chaney. But the ascension to success will have to overcome a legacy of mediocrity.

The stats aren't pretty. Lecanto's all-time record: 49 wins, 159 losses. That includes three 0-10 seasons. In 1989 the Panthers were outscored 334-37. They did not win a district game from 1990, when they upset South Sumter 16-8, until Oct. 24, 1997, when Lecanto beat 1-6 Lake Weir 42-34. It took Lecanto 18 seasons to earn a .500 record. The Panthers' lone playoff appearance - a 28-20 loss to Jefferson in 1999 - included 31 Dragon penalties for 305 yards and still Lecanto couldn't win.

"We've certainly got a monkey on our back," Lecanto coach Bob LeCours said. "You've got one winning season since the school was built."

A lot of players and coaches deny there is a curse, there's no denying things haven't gone the way the Panther nation would have liked.

"Let's just say there has definitely been a set pattern in past years," Jody Backlund said. "And we need to take a different pattern."

Athletic director Dick Slack, who coached the program to a 24-67 record in nine seasons, cites several factors in the less-than-stellar history.

* Location. Slack said unlike its county rivals, Lecanto athletes live farther from the school, making participation more difficult. "We're out in the middle of nowhere," he said. "It's not like most kids can ride a bike to the weight room."

* Lack of tradition and small participation numbers. Allan said because Lecanto had so little success in the beginning, athletes didn't want to come out for the team. "When they did come out they didn't see improvement so they just stayed away," Allan said. Part of the problem comes from Lecanto athletes leaving for other schools.

"We've always battled the out-of-zone issue," Allan said. "Kids want to go to a winning program. You can't look at them and say that they were wrong because we were struggling. Hopefully we've got that corner turned."

* Attitude adjustment. "When you have a program that hasn't learned how to win it's hard," Breedlove said. "When I played, people would say "I don't want to play for a loser,' but that's when the people saying it have got to step up, come out and play." * Not having a youth program. Slack said Crystal River and Inverness have the Sharks and Razorbacks, but Lecanto doesn't have a Pop Warner team, only a Nature Coast flag football league, which isn't the same.

* Need for better leadership, coaching. "Ultimately, yes, it's always the responsibility of head coach," said Slack, who stepped down as coach in 2003. "And yes, if a head coach is not producing a winning program you have to look at that."

As Slack said, there's no magic formula.

"Only hard work," he said. "I think every year could be the year for us. No one works harder than Coach LeCours, and he has a tremendous opportunity if the kids can respond."

[Last modified August 24, 2005, 15:25:11]

[an error occurred while processing this directive]