Final five seconds: Seabreeze protects lead in 8-7 win over rival New Smyrna Beach

Seabreeze linebacker Tristan Miller broke up a pass with five seconds left to secure the Sandcrabs' victory a year after they lost to NSB in double overtime.

  • By Michele Meyers
  • | 11:30 a.m. October 1, 2026
  • Ormond Beach Observer
  • Sports
  • Share

On the last play in the game against New Smyrna Beach, Seabreeze middle linebacker Tristan Miller was supposed to rush the kick. 

“Everyone was down,” he said. “We thought they were going to kick the field goal, but the pressure got to the kicker so quickly. I saw that tight end go out for a pass, so instead of rushing, I just went out with him, and I ended up being in the right spot at the right time.”

With five seconds remaining in the game, Seabreeze defensive back D’Marion Pompey tackled New Smyrna’s Aiden Smith as he threw to tight end Calvin Blount from the Sandcrabs’ 20-yard line. Miller broke up the pass just shy of the end zone, giving Seabreeze an 8-7 win.

Seabreeze improve to 3-2, 1-1 in District 6-4A. New Smyrna Beach fell to 4-1, 1-1.

Seabreeze head coach Mike Klein said the Sandcrabs had spent the past year saying “should’ve, should’ve, should’ve” following last season's 28-27 loss in double overtime to the Barracudas. He said he did not want to leave the New Smyrna Beach Sports Complex on Sept. 25 saying “should’ve” again.

“We know it’s a big win,” Klein said. “Similar scenario, reversed. I’ve been telling the guys for two weeks, we need to go take care of business. We had a great game plan. Our guys played their freaking butts off and did just that. So proud of how they kept fighting all night. They knew we were going to win the game, and they finished.”


So proud of how they kept fighting all night. They knew we were going to win the game, and they finished.
— MIKE KLEIN, Seabreeze head football coach

Part of Seabreeze's game plan was to contain New Smyrna Beach running back Todd Cutler Jr., who came into the game with 8-1 yards rushing and nine touchdowns. Cutler rushed for 1,416 yards and 12 touchdowns last year and also won a state weightlifting championship in May.

“Their running back is a beast,” Klein said. “Coach JT (Joshua Thornhill) was our scout team running back all week. We had him trying to run people over, running fast and running hard. We did everything in the book to get our guys ready to play, and you know we told them we have to swarm [Cutler]. It’s hard to take him down with one man, so we just have to swarm to the football, and they did.”

Cutler ran for a 71-yard touchdown in the second quarter, giving New Smyrna Beach a 7-0 advantage at the half. 

“It’s hard to solo tackle him,” Miller said. “He’s shorter, but he’s really strong. He’s got a good center of gravity, and he’s really athletic. Stat-wise, the best running back in Volusia County. We knew that was their main player, and if we could put a stop on him, we would be in a great spot to win the football game.”

Seabreeze defensive back Sebastian Tocco (8 solo tackles, 3 assists, and an interception) was instrumental in defending the end zone along with AJ Brown in the last nine seconds of the game. Brown also prevented two pass completions.

Miller was moved to middle linebacker after teammate Cameron DiBernardino tore his ACL in the Tocoi Creek game. The position is familiar to Miller, who started there his sophomore year. He finished the game with 9 tackles, a forced fumble, a fumble recovery and the game-winning pass break-up.

“I felt great,” he said. “I haven’t beaten New Smyrna Beach until Friday in my whole high school career, and last year they were the main reason we didn’t make playoffs. So it felt great to win.”

The Daytona Beach Quarterback Club recognized Miller as the Defensive Player of the Week.

Seabreeze’s Jeremias George ran for a 43-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter. Beckett Fowler followed with the 2-point conversion run to put the Sandcrabs on top, 8-7.

George said they started off a little slow, but kept fighting.

“I had good blocks,” George said. “Thanks to my O-line, I got through the line. All thanks to my team. I can only give praise to them. Can’t take it all for myself. It’s a group effort that I even scored. I’m thankful for them and happy to have them as teammates, as a family.”

George rushed for 87 yards and caught a 4-yard pass. Fowler finished with 59 rushing yards.

Klein said he reminds his players that big games have ebbs and flows. 

“I tell my players they have to keep playing, go to the next play,” Klein said. “Beckett fumbled the one ball, then ran his tail off in the second half. We missed Jeremias on a couple open ones, but I told him, ‘second half, you’re going to get your shot.’ He got that back with that big run down the sideline.”

Fowler said it meant a lot to beat New Smyrna Beach, especially on the ’Cudas' homecoming night.

“I couldn’t do it without my line, my quarterback and my coaches — I love them,” he said. “We had a lot of mental mistakes, but we fixed it in the second quarter. We gave it our all and came back. We were never out of the game.”

Seabreeze wide receiver Danny Spada said that going into the game, the Sandcrabs’ mindset was that it was a must-win game. They treated it like a playoff game, he said, because if they lost, their playoff hopes would be gone with two district losses, including the loss to Orlando Bishop Moore on Sept. 11.

“We went at it with a chip on our shoulder from last year,” he said. “Losing a double-overtime is never good. After the Bishop Moore game, we realized our identity as an offense was more like a pound-the-ball offense. We changed some things, and it seemed to work.”

Spada said beating New Smyrna Beach his senior year felt good. No one on the team had experienced a win against the ’Cudas.

The Sandcrabs return home on Friday, Oct. 2, for a game against Oviedo Hagerty (3-1). Spada said they have to stay positive, go out and win that game.

“I always tell [my teammates] that as soon as you get negative with yourself, that is when you’ll start doing bad, so it’s just important to keep a positive mindset because everyone makes mistakes. You need to have a goldfish memory and move on to the next play.”

 

×

Your free article limit has been reached this month.
Subscribe now for unlimited digital access to our award-winning local news.