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Getting a win crucial for River Ridge
By JOHN C. COTEY © St. Petersburg Times, published September 22, 2000 NEW PORT RICHEY -- Three weeks into the 2000 season, Gulf and Ridgewood are coming off last-second wins, Zephyrhills is undefeated, Wesley Chapel is 2-1 and there remains just one winless team in Pasco County -- River Ridge. Who'da thunk it. Not new Royal Knights coach Mike DeGennaro, whose debut has gone less than swimmingly so far. But you have to look further than just his team's record, he says. Look at its opponents' records: a combined 8-1 for Land O'Lakes, Hillsborough and Zephyrhills. "I think it has something to do with the schedule," DeGennaro said. "The kids are upset with the way they are playing and coaches are a little bit upset too. But are we really struggling or just playing some really good teams? There's a lot of teams that would be 0-3 after playing those games. To start saying we're on the decline or any of that is wrong. Last year, we were 0-2 and only beat Zephyrhills 10-0. It's not like a whole different world from last year." Which is exactly what the coaches are preaching. Despite the losses to the Gators and Bulldogs, the Royal Knights are only 0-1 in Class 5A, District 7. Tonight, they host Chamberlain (2-1, 1-0), and with a win remain in the playoff hunt. A loss, though . . . "If we do lose, there is still a slim chance," DeGennaro said, "but as far as the playoffs go, this is almost a must-win." River Ridge got to this point not unexpectedly. The opener against Land O'Lakes was an emotional overtime defeat, and the team was obviously still stinging from that loss, and the absence of injured fullback Mike Tubolino, when Hillsborough rolled over the Royal Knights the following week. That made beating Zephyrhills imperative, and the Royal Knights failed to hold on to a 10-0 lead against a much-improved Bulldogs team. Looking back, River Ridge was just a few yards from a whole different start. When it got the ball back late from Land O'Lakes on a fumbled punt return, it needed about 15 yards to get into Paul Clapson's field goal range. Instead, the team's weak link -- the offensive line -- collapsed and the Royal Knights went backwards, punted and then lost in the extra period. If the Royal Knights win that game, they don't lose Tubolino (hurt on last play in overtime), they play tougher against Hillsborough, and they potentially put away Zephyrhills. "I try to remind the kids, yes, we're unhappy we're 0-3, but we're 0-3 to three good football teams," DeGennaro said. "It's not like we gave games away to crappy football teams." A promising season now teeters on the brink of disappointment, and the Royal Knights face a slew of must-win games. Like last year, the Royal Knights are in a tight spot. In 1999, they managed to almost play their way out of it by winning six straight to end the season after a 1-3 start. But this time they'll need seven straight to possibly make the playoffs. However, says DeGennaro, that is only a secondary goal opposed to something much more important: his team finding itself. "I think were definitely looking to get the ship righted," DeGennaro said. "We've had some problems the last few weeks and tried to correct them and that's been the main focus. If we get those corrected, the wins will come."
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