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Palm Harbor football player wins homecoming queen
Sean Barie reports
PALM HARBOR, Fla. - In the classroom, Esther Breitling is a biomedical student at Palm Harbor University High School. After class, however, she switches from studying DNA to studying game film as a senior wide receiver and cornerback on the Hurricanes' football team.
"I really never envisioned myself to be here five years ago," said Breitling.
Football isn't a new sport to her, however. Breitling has been playing flag football since middle school, but it took the encouragement of a classmate for her to trade in her flags for a full set of pads.
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"I did mention the fact that she could play tackle football. But she was like 'I don't know,'" said Hurricanes senior running back Mykehl Bobert.
Breitling and Bobert have been friends since middle school, and Bobert recognized her talent on the gridiron right away.
"She's got a lot of skill," said Bobert. "She has always been really great at catching, and she would always outrun all the other girls on the field."
So, with a little push, Breitling decided to give tackle football a shot and joined the Hurricanes her sophomore season.
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"As soon as we put pads on for the first time, we realized she was not scared," said Hurricanes head coach Michael Mullaney. "The contact didn't bother her. She can play. She can do this."
Breitling and Bobert's football journey would take an interesting turn, however, when they would go from high school football teammates to high school football royalty this season.
"It was extremely surreal," Bobert explained.
During halftime of their homecoming game, Breitling and Bobert stayed on the field during halftime to hear the results of the Hurricanes' homecoming court.
To their surprise, both were named homecoming king and queen, creating a unique photo opportunity as both accepted their crowns in full pads.
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"Us being crowned next to each other, especially in pads, it was funny seeing all the faces of the parents and stuff like that," Bobert recalled.
Becoming the first football player to be named homecoming queen in school history turned out to be a crowning achievement for a football career than Breitling never envisioned.
"It was just a cherry on top of everything," she said.
And it was all thanks to some words of encouragement from a friend-turned-teammate.