Technically, Hernando High went into last Friday's bye week at a respectable 2-2. Of course, one of those wins came courtesy of a forfeit by Hudson High in the season's second week.
In reality, the Leopards have dropped three straight games on the field by a combined 99-22.
But the beauty of the high school football season is like a video game, there's a chance to hit the reset button and start anew. In the end, district record alone determines a team's playoff fate.
Hernando finally plays its first Class 3A, District 6 contest tonight, when it hosts Crystal River for a 7:30 p.m. kickoff at Tom Fisher Memorial Stadium.
"Hopefully (the bye week) enabled us to get a little healthier," Hernando Head Coach John Palmer said. "We had to work a lot on our defense and offense as far as polishing up and making sure we're sound on things. We had a couple good weeks of practice. The kids really worked hard.
"We're coming into the most important part of our season in terms of having a chance to move on to postseason play. It's very crucial to get off to a good start here."
A realistic shot
Even though the Leopards have struggled mightily since a season-opening upset of Central, the idea that they could make it to regionals is hardly laughable.
While Nature Coast Technical thus far looks like the class of 3A-6 by a wide margin, the remaining four teams are essentially on the same level.
The rest of the district is made up of the three Citrus County schools - Crystal River, Citrus and Lecanto - none of which has more than one win.
With Citrus having already defeated Lecanto two weeks ago, tonight's winner would have a huge leg up in the playoff race.
Crystal River is actually the defending 3A-6 champ, but having lost over 20 seniors and their head coach, the Pirates have stumbled out to a 1-4 start. They are 0-1 in the district with a loss to Nature Coast.
"The first goal going into the season was to get to postseason play," Palmer said. "That's the thing we've harped on. To do that, we have to beat Crystal River. That's our objective right now.
"Crystal River had a couple of tough losses. I'm sure they're going to be fighting to get a win. They're going to be upset and ticked off. The kids have to realize they're going to come out and fight hard. They want to win, too."
The bye week may have come at an opportune time for the Leopards, who have had injuries issues.
Running backs Alvin Delaine and Clay Kessler continue to improve from early-season ailments, as well as linebacker Champ Lumsden.
All-County offensive lineman David Hines is back to full strength after missing the last game with a knee injury. However, offensive guard Kenny Day is questionable with a sprained ankle.
The time off also provided a chance for fine tuning. Palmer has seen signs of progress in his first year, and wants to see his team build on that.
He feels the keys for tonight are avoiding turnovers and not allowing the big plays that have plagued Hernando in recent losses.
"I think we've played hard in some spots and at times we've executed very well, at times we haven't," Palmer said. "We haven't been effective enough moving the ball and scoring points. Sometimes we've given up too many big plays defensively.
"The last couple of weeks we've been trying to settle the kids down and refocus on our goals."
Class 3A, District 6 Football Standings
PL TEAM W L .PCT
1. Nature Coast* 1 0 1.000
1. Citrus 1 0 1.000
3. Hernando 0 0 .000
4. Crystal River# 0 1 .000
4. Lecanto 0 1 .000
TOTALS 2 2 .500
# Denotes defending district champion
* Denotes defending district runner-up
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