JDHS coach checks into hospital

The Juneau-Douglas High School football team is getting ready for the state playoffs this week.

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But the Crimson Bears are doing it without their head coach, who checked into a Seattle hospital Sunday with what team members described as "multiple health issues."

Reilly Richey, who was diagnosed in 1988 with an incurable, small-cell variety of lymphoma, was undergoing medical tests on Monday and his son, senior wide receiver-defensive back Naash Richey, said he had yet to hear back from his father. In the interim, special teams coach Jeep Rice is running the team.

"I don't really know yet. They've got to check everything," Naash Richey said during Monday night's weightlifting and film session at the high school. "He's doing good, but I haven't heard back from him since he left."

The No. 4 Crimson Bears qualified for a state playoff berth with a 61-40 victory over the Bartlett Golden Bears on Saturday, and they are tentatively scheduled to play the defending state champion East Anchorage Thunderbirds at noon Saturday at Anchorage Football Stadium. No. 3 East beat Juneau 33-15 in last year's state championship game.

The Alaska School Activities Association, which runs the state playoffs, still hadn't released an official bracket on Monday. But Juneau Youth Football League president Karen Lawfer said the game will be at noon Saturday.

"Right now, we're assuming he'll be there for the week. But if he's released, he will go up to Anchorage," Rice said of Richey. "Our focus has been pretty good the last couple of weeks, to be honest. We've kind of known this was coming, and Reilly's been fairly up front about it. We're taking his spirit with us."

While Reilly Richey could not be reached by the Empire on Sunday and Monday, when he called in his vote in the state football poll on Sunday he told the Anchorage Daily News he was getting a blood clot examined. Richey has been having health problems all season, and he almost went to Seattle about seven weeks ago for more tests and treatments.

"Everybody knew this was coming," Richey told the Daily News. "There isn't a lot of information to sound off yet."

"He's held up for awhile. He'll do all right," Naash Richey said.

The Crimson Bears (5-3 overall, 4-2 Cook Inlet Football Conference) said they were trying to keep their coach's health from being a distraction. But there was another major distraction that dominated Monday's team meeting - paying for the playoffs.

Because Juneau is the third-seeded team from the CIFC, it will be on the road for the entire playoffs. If the Crimson Bears reach the championship game again, that means they'll have to pay for three trips to Anchorage at higher, last-minute-purchase airline prices.

"The money, that is a distraction," Rice said. "I'm going to have to let these guys out early because we have to have our last $100 of raffle tickets sold by tomorrow."

Last year, Juneau was one of the top two CIFC seeds in the state playoffs, so the Crimson Bears were able to host a first-round playoff game. The JYFL, which sponsors the Juneau-Douglas High School team, was able to keep the gate receipts from that game and that helped fund the next two rounds of playoff travel. This year, the Crimson Bears don't have that luxury.

"You look at the East game (a 35-28 loss earlier this season), and two plays cost us $18,000," said James Lockwood, the JYFL's treasurer. "Something as little as a few key plays cost us."

Lockwood said this week's trip to Anchorage is costing $11,200 for air fare, plus there are other expenses like $800 for four rental vans and another $850 for radio rights to have the game broadcast in Juneau.

Lawfer said the team will be traveling on the cheap, and will take just 35 players and five coaches (teams are allowed to have 48 players on their state playoff rosters). Due to the high cost of travel, the JYFL is not taking cheerleaders to the game. The Crimson Bears will be sleeping on a floor, either at one of the Alaska Club locations in Anchorage or at Lumen Christi Catholic School.

"We're going to beg, borrow or steal housing space," Lawfer said.

"These back-to-back-to-back games are killing us. It's going to cost us about $13,000 for each trip, and we're going for three of them. If you plan for one, you have to go for three. We're planning on an extra $30,000, and that's bare bones."

Local businesses have helped sponsor some of the travel expenses during past trips to the state playoffs, and Lawfer said she'll gladly take similar calls this year. Also, each player is selling an additional $100 worth of raffle tickets. Tickets are $10 each with a grand prize of $2,500 cash to be drawn at the team's banquet on Nov. 19.

For information on raffle tickets or to make donations, Lawfer can be reached at 364-3642.

• Charles Bingham can be reached at charles.bingham@juneauempire.com.