Slain teachers remembered
LAKE LINDSEY –
Mike Imhoff was their coach.
Mike Bristol was their teacher.
The two men were more than co-workers and friends to each other. They worked as a unit to make their students and players perform better in the classroom, on the gridiron and beyond.
They made a lasting impression on Fabian Burnett and Eric Riggins, who played football at Hernando High School when Imhoff and Bristol were gunned down 14 years ago by another student off a secluded highway.
Burnett and Riggins conjured memories of the two men during a memorial service Saturday morning at the site of where their mentors were killed – the intersection of Lake Lindsey Road and U.S. 98.
“He was really excited about his baby, man,” said Riggins, recalling the personal conversations he had with Imhoff. His head coach was about to become a dad.
Burnett, who eventually graduated from St Leo University, earned solid marks on his SATs because of the tutelage and encouragement from Bristol.
Bristol was killed before Burnett received his scores.
“I was hurt,” Burnett said about not being able to share his victory with his math teacher.
Bristol was close to the football team. He filmed their games and stayed close to the players due to his friendship with Imhoff.
One night in January 1996, Imhoff and Bristol were riding together when they saw 19-year-old Jimmy Dale Smith alongside the road.
The two men were forced from their car by the rife-wielding Smith and executed.
Smith was caught later that night during a shootout with deputies. He is serving a life sentence.
Riggins said he was feeling a lot of pressure at school and the constant phone calls from college recruiters made life more stressful. During his last conversation with Imhoff, his coach promised him he would make some calls and make things better for him.
“There was a big loss out of my life when he died,” Riggins said.
The former running back said he went on to play football at a junior college before playing a year at the University of Southern Mississippi.
He played at a higher level because of the lessons instilled by Imhoff, but it was really the life lessons that carried him further, he said.
Burnett said the same.
He is an active member of the All Pro Dads, a group that encourages strong father figures at home.
Burnett said he learned those skills from Imhoff and Bristol.
“Those guys were good to us,” Burnett said. “I still use what they taught me to push forward.”
Saturday’s memorial service was organized by Vi Coogler, who was Imhoff’s assistant coach.
A new cross replaced the old one. Riggins guessed the dry-rotted wooden cross had been there for 14 years.
The new one posted Saturday was painted purple and had yellow lettering, matching the school colors at Hernando High. There were yellow daisies lying nearby tied with a purple bow.
T.V. “Chief” Chambers also was on the football staff. He attended the memorial and spoke about the two men, preferring to share some of his funniest memories.
Some of the emotions of losing his friends crept back toward the end of the ceremony. He called coaching at Hernando High with Imhoff and Bristol “the best years of my life.”
“There are so many memories,” he said. “They’re hard to talk about
“This was a good tribute,” Chambers said afterward. “Words can’t describe how much they meant to people.”
Joe Solomon taught math with Bristol. He remembered him as a “long-haired, earring-wearing” funnyman who knew how to connect with students.
“He was one of the smartest men I’ve ever known mathematically,” he said. “He was a genius, really.”
Imhoff earned the same level of respect among the staff at Hernando High. They connected with everyone, Solomon said.
Fourteen years don’t seem like a long time. The fond memories remained sharply in the minds of those 30 or so people who attended Saturday’s ceremony and either worked with Imhoff and Bristol or were taught by them.
“I probably miss them everyday,” Solomon said.
Reporter Tony Holt can be reached at 352-544-5283 or [email protected].
