Preview: Santaluces Chiefs vs. Monarch Knights
The Santaluces Chiefs will head out on the road to face off against the Monarch Knights at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. Both teams come into the match bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Two teams were on the hunt for playoff glory, but only Santaluces walked away with it. They walked away with a 35-28 win over Palm Beach Gardens on Friday.
Santaluces' success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Shyeia Deveaux led the charge by throwing for 279 yards and five touchdowns while completing 75% of his passes. Jamar Browder was in the mix as well, providing Santaluces with three touchdowns.
Meanwhile, Monarch put the finishing touches on their sixth blowout victory of the season on Thursday. They claimed a resounding 40-7 victory over Stoneman Douglas at home. Given Monarch's advantage in MaxPreps' Florida football rankings (they are ranked 71st, while Stoneman Douglas is ranked 284th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Aj Hairston went supernova for Monarch, throwing for 313 yards and four touchdowns while completing 85.7% of his passes. The team also got some help courtesy of Samari Reed, who picked up 194 receiving yards and a touchdown.
Santaluces pushed their record up to 8-3 with that win, which was their fifth straight at home. Those good results were due in large part to their offensive dominance across that stretch, as they averaged 43.6 points per game. As for Monarch, the victory was the third in a row for them, bringing their record for this year to 9-2.
