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Streak, Coach's Beard Intact

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By BART O'CONNELL, Tribune correspondent

Published: December 9, 2007

NEW PORT RICHEY - Red, neatly trimmed and stretching from ear-to-ear, Mike McHugh's facial hair serves as a reminder of just how well River Ridge has been playing.

Since losing 2-0 to Land O' Lakes on Nov. 19, the first-year Royal Knights coach has been growing his beard out. He won't shave it off until River Ridge loses again.

Entering Friday, his squad had kept the streak - and the beard - intact with a four-match unbeaten streak, which included three shutouts as well as a 2-2 tie against district rival Brooksville Central.

"I'm letting it go, kind of the old-time hockey type of thing," McHugh said. "I told them I'm growing it out, and they said, 'Coach, I hope you're planning to have a long beard.' If that's what it takes, I told them I'll go with that."

The Royal Knights had suffered back-to-back tough losses before the streak, leading Mitchell 2-0 before the Mustangs scored three times in the second half to win. The loss to the Gators was the next night.

But at 5-2-1 and 2-1-1 in Class 5A-District 7 entering Friday's match with Ridgewood, River Ridge is contending for a bye in next month's district tournament with Central. Land O' Lakes would have the top seed if the tournament began today.

Making the playoffs is something River Ridge's seniors, including goalkeeper Eric Karcinski, haven't thought about much in the prep careers until this year.

"This is my fourth varsity year, and the past three years have been bad," he said. "The main thing is, we've been trying to get a good spot in the district tournament. We've always ended up having to play someone hard, like Land O' Lakes, so it's important to win these games and try to get a better seed."

Karcinski has been a valuable utility player for the Knights the past two years. Though he prefers to play in goal, Karcinski was thrust into midfield duty due to injuries last season. This year, he played four games in the midfield due to a River Ridge player getting suspended after receiving a red card.

McHugh doesn't plan to use him at midfield again this year, but his ability to fill that role has been crucial to the Knights' success. He's also drawn attention from Division II schools in North Carolina and South Carolina, and may even walk-on to a state school as a football place-kicker. He's already been accepted to the University of South Florida.

Junior forward Alex Ratkovic has been the team's biggest surprise, with seven goals and eight assists in the first eight games. His contributions have been important because, according to McHugh, River Ridge has failed to finish its fair share of scoring chances.

"That's been our problem, if you want to call it that, this year," he said.

The Knights get another shot at Land O' Lakes on Wednesday at Gator Stadium, and a victory would help cement their place near the top of the district standings. It would also keep the team's goals intact - not losing again, and continuing to grow McHugh's beard.

"It's going to be a tough game. It was already a tough game the first time around," McHugh said. "Our style of play, it suits us well playing against them. We're kind of similar teams. I believe we can do it, and I think we're making believers out of other teams."

Bart O'Connell can be reached at boconnell@pop.tampatrib.com.

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