Lisbon bouncing back



Lisbon High football coach Jim Tsilimos never suspected anything was wrong when he awoke at 4:30 last Saturday morning to run.
He drove into the village and noticed lights were out and sections of roads were blocked off.
Nothing but high water, he figured; a normal occurrence when severe thunderstorms roll through, such as they did the previous night.
"I didn't think anything of it," the coach said.
It wasn't until Tsilimos received a telephone call from Lisbon superintendent Don Thompson at 6:45 a.m. that he knew something had happened.
"He said the village was declared a disaster [area] and some people may be missing," Tsilimos said. " 'We need to talk about what we want to do.' "
The previous night, Lisbon was to have opened its football season against Martins Ferry.
At Lisbon's War Memorial Stadium, the atmosphere was festive, aided by the six chartered buses and 1,000 fans who followed Martins Ferry to the game.
"We were ready to go," Tsilimos said. "Our guys were on the field ready to run through the hoop."
But just as the 2004 season was set to get under way, lightning flashed, sending the teams back to their locker rooms.
When the east end stadium lights went out, Lisbon was forced to postpone the game until Saturday at noon.
That planned changed drastically after creeks had overflowed their banks early Saturday, causing massive flooding in the village.
"When I found out, it was just, 'Wow,' " Tsilimos said. "Just seeing the people's homes and their personal items destroyed, that was pretty sad."
Change of plansmade necessary
Tsilimos and Thompson made the decision to cancel the football game, and Martins Ferry officials were "tremendous" in understanding the magnitude of the situation, Tsilimos said.
"Too much had gone on in the village that was more important than a football game," said Tsilimos, who added that the teams may play the game in Week 11 if neither makes the playoffs.
Unlike others in the village who lost their homes, Tsilimos and his players weren't directly affected by the worst devastation. The coach was without power at his home for about 20 hours.
"The whole thing was a surprise," Tsilimos said of his players' reaction. "They've never had this type of situation or devastation, and all of a sudden it was there. It made them realize how lucky they are."
Slowly, the village is getting back to normal, Tsilimos said, with the biggest hindrance being the availability of water, which kept Lisbon out of school to begin the week.
The Blue Devils returned to the practice field Monday with 10-gallon Gatorade jugs of water that Tsilimos filled from his house.
"They were glad to be together and share some stories and just talk to one another," Tsilimos said of his players.
A brighter future;improved state
Lisbon is scheduled to play host to Division I opponent Pittsburgh Allderdice on Friday night, and Tsilimos is optimistic the game will go on.
"We've gone through some injuries and illnesses, and [Monday] was the first day we had everyone back," Tsilimos said. "They're looking forward to playing."
Coming off a playoff season in which they went 11-2, the Blue Devils will be anchored this season by seniors Dom DeFilippo (OG/DE), Andy Garwood (TE/LB) and Tyler Heath (QB/DB) -- the three captains -- and Adam McCullough (UB/LB) and Brian Moore (RB/OLB).
In Lisbon, kickoff of its first football game will signal an improved state of affairs.
"I've been coaching since 1975 -- 20 years as a head coach -- and you learn something new every day," said Tsilimos, who's never been through such a trying experience as a football coach.
"You learn how to adapt."
XBrian Richesson is a sports writer for The Vindicator. Write to him at richesson@vindy.com.

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