Seabreeze rallies by Titusville
By BRIAN MCLAUGHLIN
Prep Editor
DAYTONA BEACH -- For a coach, winning a game in District 7-4A is a lot like getting a root canal. He goes through a lot of pain and it's a relief when it's over.
Seabreeze knows exactly that, having to endure a 20-18 come-from-behind victory over Titusville on Friday at Municipal Stadium. The Sandcrabs (5-1, 1-1) now find themselves back in the mix in 7-4A for one of the coveted playoff spots, while Titusville drops to 3-3, 0-2.
Senior quarterback Will Saffen upped his record to 2-0 as a starter in place of junior Troy Dannehower, who was knocked out of the lineup two weeks ago on a late hit. In the game-winning drive, Saffen was 3-for-4 for 77 yards, with his winning touchdown pass going to Leroy Houston for 33 yards. Daniel Pigott and David Williams also had big catches on the winning drive.
"We didn't quit, we didn't do a real good job of staying together, but we didn't quit," said Seabreeze coach Marc Beach, whose team has an off week and is expected to have Dannehower back for another big 7-4A game at Rockledge in two weeks. "To get out of this one, I'm glad. We need an off week. We've got a ton of people hurt, so we're going to go back to the drawing board and get better."
Junior defensive back Jerome Swinton solidified his reputation as a playmaker. Not only did he intercept a pass in the first half and return it for a touchdown, he also partially blocked a punt and intercepted another pass that set up Saffen's game-winning drive. His second interception couldn't have come at a better time, and he was ready for it.
"I knew we were going to come out with it," Swinton said. "They got me with that play last year, so I remember it off watching film. My speed just allowed me to get it."
Seabreeze was ahead 14-0 six minutes into the game. Saffen led his team on a 62-yard drive to put the first points up, with Demetrius Wright catching a pass for a 31-yard score. Four plays later, Swinton intercepted a Titusville pass and returned it 6 yards for another score.
Then, Titusville slowly and methodically rallied, putting up 18 unanswered points on two touchdown passes by Chris Joly, a 43-yard field goal by Chase Dornbusch and a safety. The Terriers were beginning the drive to put the game away when Swinton's heroics came into play once again with the late interception.
