- November 28, 2024
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“That’s why the players are trying to run and do extra things to prepare themselves to finish ballgames,” Seabreeze coach Marc Beach said.
BY ANDREW O'BRIEN | SPORTS EDITOR
Day No. 7 of football practice came and went for Seabreeze on Tuesday, and that means the Sandcrabs are one day closer to putting last season behind them and focusing on a new year — a year the players and coaches hope ends much differently than the last.
Seabreeze finished 5-5 last season, missing the playoffs. But four of the team’s losses came in the fourth quarter, something coach Marc Beach wants to fix this season.
“We could have easily been 9-1 last season,” Beach said during practice Tuesday. “A handful of plays here and there changes the entire season.”
Seabreeze’s fourth-quarter woes began in Week 2, when the ’Crabs lost to Flagler Palm Coast, 11-7, late in the fourth quarter. Week 3 wasn’t much different: DeLand knocked off Seabreeze with a Hail Mary pass.
Seabreeze had a grueling offseason, including taking third in a 7-on-7 tournament at the University of South Florida. And several players have returned from injuries, including senior athlete Charles Nelson, who looks to ignite the offense.
Under new Florida High School Athletic Association rules, the first five days of the fall football season are non-contact. And so, Tuesday was just the second day players were in full pads and allowed to knock each other around. And they did.
The Oklahoma drill — a common football drill when players line up in a small lane and crash into each other as a ball-carrier tries to make it to the other side — highlighted the early part of Tuesday’s practice in the heat. There was no shortage of hard tackles and sound effects as helmets crashed into other helmets.
“We threw a lot at the players last week because we couldn’t do much with the new rules,” Beach said. “It becomes a lot of teaching.”
Now it’s about increasing the physicality and getting better on both offense and defense.
This year, Beach said, the players are running and doing “extra things” to avoid the fourth-quarter collapses.
“That’s our goal: We want to try and finish ball games,” Beach said. “And our schedule is tough; it’s not going to be easy. We have a lot of work to do. We have good kids.”
Beach said the team doesn’t have a lot of depth on both the offensive and defensive lines. “That’s the scary part,” he said.
Although it’s early, the team is healthy. And that’s good news.
Seabreeze will host St. Augustine 7 p.m. Aug. 23, in its kickoff classic. Then, it’s déjà vu of last season: home vs. Spruce Creek in Week 1 (Thursday, Aug. 29), and then home vs. Flagler Palm Coast in Week 2 (Friday, Sept. 6).
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