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Hurricanes Hope Alignment, Coaches Stabilize Program

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By BART O'CONNELL

Tribune correspondent

Published: August 1, 2008

SHADY HILLS - It has been a busy four weeks for Eddie Kenny, Bishop McLaughlin's new athletic director who is still getting acclimated to high school sports after spending the past several years in Division II college athletic departments.

With less than two weeks until school starts at Bishop McLaughlin, on Aug. 11, Kenny still has a physical education position and five coaching jobs to fill - boys and girls swimming, boys and girls cross country, cheerleading, girls basketball and softball. He has even begun to entertain the possibility that he will have to assume one of those posts.

"No pressure," Kenny quipped. "I prefer to oversee everything. I guess it is a possibility, but I'm going to try to avoid that at all costs."

But perhaps the biggest, and potentially scariest, transition of all was calmed somewhat in June, when Kenny's predecessor, Mike Zelenka, and football coach Marty Williams joined Bishop McLaughlin with nine other schools in chartering the Sunshine State Athletic Conference.

Comprising all schools with independent football programs, the SSAC is perceived as a solution to the Hurricanes' recent football woes, which were magnified by a 1-8 season and repeated lopsided defeats in Class 1B-District 6 play.

"All of these teams were calling each other, trying to schedule games, and I think it just kind of developed from there," said Williams.

The conference will be divided into two divisions for football - North and South. Bishop McLaughlin and cross-county rival Academy at the Lakes originally were put in the South, but AATL pulled out after deciding to play six-man football instead of 11-man. That dropped the conference to nine teams for football.

The Hurricanes join Canterbury, Bradenton St. Stephen's, and Tampa's Carrollwood Day in the South. The North consists of Mount Dora Bible, Winter Garden Foundation Academy, Leesburg First Academy, Brooksville's Hernando Christian Academy and Ocala St. John Lutheran.

The winners of each division will play a championship game, and the second-, third- and fourth-place teams in each division will have bowl games against each other as well. In essence, the players of these teams now have something to strive for.

"It gives us the opportunity to play on a level playing field, and it gives the players the opportunity to earn something at the end of the season," Kenny said. "That's valuable and great for them. It will help grow the program and promote a competitive season."

Of course, the Hurricanes' ultimate goal is to return to the state series and district play, and grow the program from there. That could happen as soon as 2009, but Kenny and Williams have not discussed that possibility.

Bishop McLaughlin's uncertain future enrollment and history of small turnouts for the football team make independent status with a potential bowl game a satisfactory alternative. There's still no JV football program, though, so there is still plenty of growing left to do in the program.

But for now, Kenny believes football is as stable as many of the school's other sports.

"The football program is not on life support," he said. "Numbers are up, interest is there. ... Of course everyone wants to get back to district play, move up the ranks. Eventually we'll get back there, but I believe the program has kind of turned a corner."

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

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