- December 13, 2025
Flagler Palm Coast’s football team had expected to be included in this year's inaugural Florida Invitational Tournament, but when the brackets were released on Nov. 6, the Bulldogs were left out.
FPC finished the season with a 3-7 record, but its strength of schedule was rated seventh toughest in Class 7A and its ranking seemed to indicate it would be included.
Coach Patrick Turner said the Florida High School Athletic Association had informed schools before the season was over that there would not be regional brackets in the tournament and teams could opt out if they didn’t want to travel. But when the parings were announced for the Class 4A-7A tournament, the bracket was divided into north and south divisions.
The Bulldogs had conversations with the FHSAA, Turner said, but no changes were made.
“It just didn’t work out,” FPC athletic director Scott Drabczyk said. “We wanted the kids to play, but at the end of the day, it didn’t work out with the postseason this year.”
FPC’s season ended on Nov. 3 with a 26-25 loss to Fleming Island on a last-minute touchdown by the Golden Eagles. The Bulldogs continued to practice the following week.
“We were looking forward to it, giving the kids another opportunity to play,” Turner said of the tournament. “On Senior Night, we let (the game) slip away. It was a bad note to end on. Being in the FIT would have given the kids an opportunity to end better.”
The Bulldogs dealt with a rash of injuries throughout the season, but the positive side to that, Turner said, was a lot of players who will be returning got game experience.
“For a while it was a revolving door, who was in or who was out,” Turner said. “But several players stepped up, playing out of position or playing multiple positions. The kids fought extremely hard against really good teams. I’m proud of how they progressed throughout the season.”
Turner said the first day of offseason weightlifting began on Monday, Nov. 10.
“We came into the season with no one on offense having scored a touchdown for this team,” he said. “One of the advantages of having a lot of injuries is a lot of guys got a lot of experience, and we did a really good job of spreading the ball around. Even though we’ll be losing 15 really good seniors, we won’t be starting from ground zero.”
