Reeling from Katrina, LaTech ready for Gators

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Posted 10:11PM on Thursday, September 8, 2005

GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) The Louisiana Tech Bulldogs have dealt with death, destruction and displacement the last two weeks. They're ready for a diversion. The Bulldogs get a short break from the problems caused by Hurricane Katrina when they open the season at No. 10 Florida (1-0) on Saturday. ``A lot of our players have lost everything,'' coach Jack Bicknell said. ``It really hits home.'' LaTech's campus in Ruston is more than 300 miles northwest of New Orleans, far enough to escape the devastation caused by Katrina but hardly immune from it. More than a dozen players lost their homes when Katrina cut a swath along the Gulf Coast on Aug. 29. Many of them spent several anxious days awaiting word from family members. Bicknell canceled two practices to help players track down family members. Tight end Thad Williams of Independence, La., reached his family after two frantic days. Backup quarterback David Allen, of New Orleans, finally contacted his father and grandfather Sunday. ``He said, 'Coach, the weight of the world has been lifted off my shoulders,''' Bicknell said. Defensive lineman Oren Lewis wasn't so lucky. He lost an uncle, a sister-in-law and a godchild in the storm. ``It was a very sad situation,'' Bicknell said. It could have been worse. Lewis' mother decided to ride out the hurricane in the coastal town of Bay St. Louis, Miss. Lewis waited five days to hear from her, then had started driving home Saturday to search for her when she called to tell him she was alive. ``Thank goodness his mom was OK,'' Bicknell said. ``He couldn't just call down there, and he couldn't go down there (for several days).'' Although everyone was accounted for, the suffering was far from over. At least 100 family members have since relocated to Ruston after losing their homes. ``They basically had the clothes on their back, and that was it,'' Bicknell said. ``It's been a real tough week. ... It's not like it just goes away. It's not like it's over. It's not over at all; it continues to go on. The people are still here. They still need to be taken care of. There are just so many ramifications to it. It's just overwhelming.'' The Bulldogs also have taken an active role in helping Katrina victims. Players and coaches signed autographs and handed out candy to hurricane victims at the Ruston Civic Center and Trinity Methodist Church last week. Receiver Freddie King addressed the Civic Center crowd, saying ``I just want you to know that we are with you. We hope everything is going to be OK. If you need anything, we are here for you.'' The Bulldogs backed it up, too. They set up beds at several shelters around Ruston and helped move more than 80 people into a campus dormitory. ``The fact that the team really pitched in, I think the people up here appreciate that,'' Bicknell said. ``One thing I know for sure, you appreciate what you have. A simple dorm room became everything. Just being able to have a bed and three hot meals and four walls and a roof, that's something to really be thankful for.'' Bicknell acknowledged that it would have been difficult to play last week in the wake of Katrina. But he said his coaches and players as well as their friends and family members are eager for Saturday's game against the Gators. ``It'll be a good diversion for everyone,'' said Bicknell, who arranged to have the game televised at the school's assembly center. ``Each day gets better. Just the mere fact that everybody knows about everybody now is a huge thing and a big relief.'' (Copyright 2005 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)