Defenses dominate in Seabreeze's 9-6 flag football win over Flagler Palm Coast

Madison Opalewski's fourth-quarter touchdown provided Zeke Adkins with his first win as the Sancrabs' coach.

  • By Michele Meyers
  • | 9:40 p.m. February 25, 2026
  • Ormond Beach Observer
  • Sports
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Madison Opalewski ran for a long touchdown early in the fourth quarter and then added the extra point to lift Seabreeze to a 9-6 flag football victory against Flagler Palm Coast on Thursday, Feb. 19, at the Ormond Beach Sports Complex.

Zeke Adkins won his first game as Seabreeze's new head coach. The Sandcrabs lost to Matanzas 7-6 in their first game of the season on Feb. 17.

“I think these girls do a great job and care for each other, and I saw it tonight,” Adkins said. “Especially in the second half when we were down, they came together as one unit, and teams like that can be very dangerous in the future.”

Adkins said he was thankful for what Opalewski brought to the game and her teammates.

“Maddie Opalewski was a big game-changer for us,” he said. “I can’t say enough about her. She put the team on her back.”

It was a really good game. Seabreeze is going to have a great season. I think we will too, but it’s a process for us. I’ve got to teach them the game, and then we’ve got to clean up some of our mistakes on offense, but we’ll get there.
— JOHN KING, FPC head coach

Opalewski attributed the win to a lot of repetition, hard work and extended practice. The guidance she receives from her coaches has made her a good player, she said.

“Everyone worked hard, and we couldn’t have done it without each other,” she said about the win. “We really like each other and just have a lot of good friendship throughout the team. I played basketball with (quarterback) Rani (Gupta) when we were really little, and our dads coached us. We’ve been playing sports together for a while, so I think that really helps.”

This is also FPC head coach John King’s first year coaching his team, but he brings 20 years of experience playing and coaching flag football in the military. Both he and Adkins are assistant tackle football coaches at their schools. King is also an assistant boys basketball coach.

Neither coach got a chance to practice with a full team until the basketball and soccer players finished their seasons. Adkins said the entire team only practiced together twice before the game against FPC. King had two practices before the Bulldogs' 6-0 win against Spruce Creek in the season opener.

King said he was impressed with Opalewski’s speed. 

“She’s really quick,” he said. “She’s fast. We saw her on film against Matanzas, so I knew she was quick. She did a good job of running through. We missed the flag a couple of times, and she took it to the house.”

FPC salvaged a safety they relinquished to Seabreeze in the first few minutes of the game with an interception by Tori Spann in the second quarter. She followed with a touchdown just under two minutes before halftime.

“Tori Spann is a very, very special athlete,” King said.  “She’s a next-level athlete who also stars on our basketball team.”

King said the defenses dominated the game. FPC has a young defense with one senior, two sophomore rushers and two freshman corners.

He credited the Seabreeze coaching staff with making a couple of adjustments at halftime and capitalizing on the Bulldogs’ mistakes.

“It was a really good game,” he said. “Seabreeze is going to have a great season. I think we will too, but it’s a process for us. I’ve got to teach them the game, and then we’ve got to clean up some of our mistakes on offense, but we’ll get there.”

Seabreeze lost 15-0 to Atlantic on Feb. 23, and 7-0 to Pine Ridge on Feb. 24. FPC rebounded with a 25-6 win against rival Matanzas on Feb. 24 and shut out Palatka 14-0 on Feb. 25. Seabreeze visits Mainland at 6 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 26.

 

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