One empty seat too many for Bouis

Section 108, Row 7, Seat 1.

It looks, on the surface, like any of the 7,128 chairbacks inside Germain Arena. The view is pretty good — a man could make eye contact with the Florida coaches from there, especially if one of the coaches happened to be his son — though, to be honest, there isn’t a bad seat in the house.

But Kevin Bouis has a special place in his heart for Section 108. Especially Row 7. Especially Seat 1. And it’s not because he, as a season-ticket holder, owns the rights to the spot for every Firecats game.

It’s where his dad sat.

Don’t be surprised if Bouis finds himself looking in that direction tonight, as the Florida coach begins his first Father’s Day weekend without Pierre Bouis to cheer him on.

Bouis is sure to sneak a peek, probably after the Firecats make a big stop on defense. Or maybe after Chris Wallace strikes for his first touchdown pass.

And it won’t be the first time.

No matter where his career in football has taken him, Bouis invariably made a point to find his father in the stands.

Even now.

“I catch myself every once in a while,” Bouis said, “but it’s a tough thing.”

It’s tough because there’s no assurance. Bouis always knew where Dad stood on Florida’s performance, whether it was how he responded in the crowd to a certain play or what he said on the field after the game.

Bouis misses that. The Florida coach is sure his father, who died July 25 of a heart attack, is following every play from up above — from the best seat of all — but he still starves for feedback from the man who was his lifeline.

Whenever Bouis had questions regarding football, he generally called home for advice. The guy has been involved with arena football since the late ’90s, enough time to make plenty of big-name contacts.

But he still called home.

He called to quiz the father who seemed to have all the answers, even though his playing career was over by the time he started college.

“We used to talk throughout the week,” said Bouis, whose Firecats (7-2) play Macon (4-6) to end a three-game homestand. “I would tell him what was going on and bounce things off of him. Even through my college days he’d be there. He let me make my own decisions, but he gave me input.”

It wasn’t always rosy, either. If Bouis wanted someone to lift his spirits after a long weekend, he knew better than to waste his father’s time.

Pierre Bouis, a New Orleans native, provided opinion the way his son played the game: full-speed ahead, no punches pulled. Which is why Kevin kept calling, never concerned that the truth would tackle his pride.

It probably made him a better man, but it certainly made him a better coach. He doesn’t mind calling someone out if they start to lag behind, a quality the Firecats can thank his dad for instilling.

But Bouis, a former defensive back, is way ahead of the curve. He sports a 22-5 record since his promotion from defensive coordinator before the 2005 season, making him the second-winningest coach in af2 over that stretch.

And he’s only 30.

“Everyone’s accountable,” said Florida kicker Brandon Kornblue, who has been on the team for six seasons. “He has certain expectations for each player.”

The coach’s other strength, the Firecats will tell you, is preparation. It seems that he works harder than any coach in the league, be it studying film before practice or altering schemes between games.

But there is no zone defense for emptiness. It was tough enough when his mother, Janice Bouis, succumbed to liver disease on Easter Sunday in 2003, less than 24 hours after Florida played Greensboro in Week 3. She had been sick, though, so the shock of her death carried less of a blow.

The same could not be said for Pierre Bouis, who was Florida’s proudest fan one day and an empty seat the next. When Kevin made one of those calls home on the morning of July 25, the 61-year-old assured his son that it was a typical day. The background noise, he said, was nothing.

Only later did Kevin learn the truth. Pierre was in the hospital the last time they spoke, awaiting diagnosis after reporting there with chest pains. He died roughly five hours later, just before entering emergency triple-bypass surgery.

But the coach, as always, kept right on coaching. Three days after Bouis buried his father, he was on the sideline for a thrilling, 28-27 victory in Birmingham, watching Wallace complete a last-second score.

“He was still the same,” Florida receiver Brent Burnside said, “even right after it happened.”

That’s the way Bouis operates. He figures he’s the man who sets the mood for the Firecats, so he never lets his disposition reflect an ounce of uncertainty.

Tonight won’t be any different, no matter what the coach is feeling inside. He won’t tell the players to win this one for his dad, choosing instead to focus on the game-by-game mantra of any other week.

But watch the eyes.

You can bet that Kevin Bouis, like so many times before, will look to the southeast corner of Germain Arena — Section 108, Row 7, Seat 1 — after a big play, finding the spot where even a packed house can sometimes seem empty.

NOTES: Macon offensive coordinator Ricky Foggie began the season as the head coach of the expansion Everett Hawks, but he was fired after six straight losses to start the year. ... The Knights have won two straight, climbing within a game of Birmingham for third place in the South Division standings. ... Chavis McCollister caught nine passes for 136 yards in last week’s win, days after being traded by Oklahoma City.

af2 tonight

What: Macon Knights (4-6) vs. Florida Firecats (7-2)

Where: Germain Arena

When: Tonight, 7:30

Radio: WGUF 98.9 FM, online at www.floridafirecats.com, www.abc-7.com and www.nbc-2.com

Of Note: Tonight ends a three-game homestand for Florida, with the Firecats winning the first two by a 138-61 margin. ... Bouis is 12-2 in Germain Arena. ... The Firecats have the No. 1 scoring offense in af2, averaging 60.4 points per game.