- March 28, 2024
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The Sandcrabs scored first, but the Bulldogs scored last and pulled off an 11-7 victory on Friday night.
BY MATT MENCARINI | STAFF WRITER
The Seabreeze defense held Flagler Palm Coast out of the end zone all of Friday night, except for the final drive. Unfortunately for the Sandcrabs, that was the drive that gave the Bulldogs an 11-7 victory.
On fourth down and trailing 7-3, Devonti Emanuel scored on a 5-yard run. And after the Bulldogs added the two-point conversion, they were looking at a four-point lead with just 53 seconds left in the game.
“We basically scripted this game before it even started,” FPC Head Coach Caesar Campana said. “We told these guys, ‘We’re going to win this game at the end of the game. And it’s going to come down to just being patient.’”
FPC was certainly patient, trailing Seabreeze almost the entire game.
The Sandcrabs put together a 90-yard scoring drive on their first possession of the game. The Bulldogs didn’t seem to have an answer for Trey Rodriguez, Connor Blair, Charles Nelson and the Sandcrabs’ up tempo offense.
The long drive was capped off with a Blair touchdown run from inside the 5-yard line on a zone read. It proved to be the most success Seabreeze would have in the first half and for the rest of the game.
“They didn’t give us anything different,” Seabreeze Head Coach Marc Beach said of FPC’s defensive scheme after the touchdown. “And we practiced for it. We just didn’t execute.”
FPC’s offense got its first points with 7:25 left in the second quarter on John Osorio’s 30-yard field goal.
The kicking game was important for FPC all night. Osorio, who is also the punter, was able to kick the ball away from Seabreeze’s dangerous return men.
Campana said: “We were taking 25-yard, 30-yard punts and just keeping the ball on the ground without them picking the ball up and running.”
For Seabreeze, the loss may have come down to which team was more mentally prepared.
“I think we came in today, pregame, and did not focus on what we had to do,” Beach said. “And, you know, that’s my fault. But that won’t happen again."