- April 26, 2024
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Khamani Robinson (left), Blake Irwin (47) and Jeremiah Davis (right) prepare to face rivals the Seabreeze Sandcrabs with their Buccaneer teammates at the Daytona Stadium. Photo by Michele Meyers
Elijah Gilyard goes up for the pass as Mainland runs through a pregame warm-up. Photo by Michele Meyers
Mainland OLine coach leads the Buccaneers off the field prior to the rivalry game against the Sandcrabs. Photo by Michele Meyers
Seabreeze Allied Health Academy students team up to volunteer at every Seabreeze football game. They get experience helping the athletes throughout the games. Photo by Michele Meyers
Seabreeze Allied Health Academy students team up to help the athletic trainers at the football games. They get experience helping the trainers and athletes. Photo by Michele Meyers
Mainland coaches stand with the C.T. Spike Welshinger Trophy which is awarded annually to the winner of the Mainland versus Seabreeze football game. Photo by Michele Meyers
Mainland and Seabreeze team captains shake hands before the rivalry match-up at the Daytona Stadium. Photo by Michele Meyers
Mainland and Seabreeze team captains pause for the Star-Spangled Banner before their rivalry match-up at the Daytona Stadium. Photo by Michele Meyers
The Buccaneers head toward the sideline for the rivalry game against the Sandcrabs. Photo by Michele Meyers
Jesse Shirley runs to the sidelines with his Sandcrab teammates before the rivalry game against the Buccaneers. Photo by Michele Meyers
Sandcrab Denali Campbell goes in for a low hit on Buccaneer Malik Daniels. Photo by Michele Meyers
Mainland's L.J. McCray intercepts Denali Campbell's pass close to the end zone then runs it in for a touchdown. Photo by Michele Meyers
Mainland's L.J. McCray intercepts Denali Campbell's pass close to the end zone then runs it in for a touchdown. Photo by Michele Meyers
L.J. McCray celebrates his touchdown with teammates Demond Noelien (28) and Phillip Moore. Photo by Michele Meyers
Mainland's Jamison Holliday celebrates after L.J. McCray scores Mainland's last touchdown in the game against Seabreeze. Photo by Michele Meyers
Buccaneer Emmanuel Y'Israel watches the end of the game from a bench on the sidelines. Y'Israel scored a touchdown in the second quarter. Photo by Michele Meyers
Mainland's Christopher Rivera cheers after ripping through the "Crab roll" banner after the Bucs' win against Seabreeze. Rivera transferred to Mainland from Seabreeze. Photo by Michele Meyers
Mainland's Skyler Summer is all smiles after the rivalry game win against Seabreeze. Photo by Michele Meyers
Mainland assistant coach Terry Anthony holds up the T-shirt up that says it all. Photo by Michele Meyers
Seabreeze head coach Lester Davis engaged in some pre-game media banter before the rivalry match against Mainland, telling Buccaneers head coach Travis Roland to meet him on the 50.
Officials made that happen just before halftime when a brawl broke out between the two teams during the game on Friday, Oct. 27, at the Daytona Stadium. Coaches were called out to midfield to find out how their teams would proceed. The Buccaneers went on to romp the Sandcrabs 48-14 to improve to 9-0.
It was Mainland's 13th win in a row against Seabreeze.
This season, Seabreeze running back Denali Campbell has been on the field on both offense and defense which put him in the fray the entire game.
“It was a bit rough,” he said. “There was a lot of trash talking, of course. I feel like the brawl happened because we are close. It was a handful, especially with Khamani (Robinson). They’re Number 2 in Florida. I wasn’t expecting to beat them. I was expecting us to come out and put up a fight. We put up a fight.”
Mainland deferred to Seabreeze after winning the coin toss and quickly took over the game. Dennis Murray hit wide receiver Clarence McCloud for a 36-yard touchdown for the Bucs' first touchdown. With 7:14 remaining in the first quarter, Murray ran for a 37-yard score, giving the Bucs a 14-0 lead.
Following running back Robinson’s run to the 1-yard line at the end of the first quarter, Emmanuel Y’Israel finished the drive off with a push into the end zone at the start of the second. Minutes later, Robinson ran in for another touchdown. He said it felt good when he scored his first touchdown of the game.
“It felt good because my grandpa just passed away recently,” he said. “This game was for him — Dwight Benjamin.”
Robinson transferred from Seabreeze to Mainland this year along with fellow Sandcrabs Chris Rivera and Lawrence Campbell. He said it was strange to play against Seabreeze because his opponents were his teammates when his high school football career started.
“I had a lot of love for my brothers (out there),” he said. “I just wanted to be better (than them). It was kind of tough because I really didn’t want to hurt my brothers. I grew up with them so I couldn’t beat them too bad. All I have to say is they fought. I give them that — they fought.”
Seabreeze sophomore wide receiver Xavier Lucas intercepted Murray's pass and followed it up with a 36-yard sprint into the end zone before the half. Seabreeze became the first team to score against Mainland since September. Denali Campbell scored the last touchdown of the game.
The Sandcrabs’ top receiver, Landon Smith, missed the game due to illness. Denali Campbell said they would have been more competitive if they were not missing some of their starters but recognized that the skill level of Mainland’s defense was undeniable.
“Their defense was good,” he said. “Every run, every pass — they were there. They were flowing with the ball. I give them credit.”
Robinson scored another touchdown before halftime and Mainland’s Jontrell Edwards followed suit in the third quarter. Defensive end L.J. McCray, who recently committed to the University of Florida, scored the last touchdown for the Bucs after intercepting a pass by Campbell.
Mainland plays host to Lake Mary (8-1) in its regular-season finale on Friday, Nov. 3. The Rams lost their first game of the season on Oct. 27, 29-28 to Seminole. Seabreeze hosts North Marion on Thursday, Nov. 2.
Robinson said he is looking forward to the next game.
“The game next week is going to be a big one,” he said. “I got a thing for (Lake Mary) because they said we can’t do it against a good team. I just got to go for better than I did tonight. I’m going to show everyone what we can do against a good team.”
