The Monarch Knights are taking a road trip to square off against the Piper Bengals at 7:00 p.m. on Friday.
On Friday, Monarch came up short against St. Thomas Aquinas and fell 31-20. While losing is never fun, the Knights can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Florida football rankings (they are ranked 47th, while the Raiders are ranked second).
Chris Cortinas
| 10/09/25 vs Coral Springs | 117 |
| 10/17/25 vs St. Thomas Aquinas | 86 |
| 08/21/25 vs Bolles | 66 |
| 09/18/25 vs Fort Lauderdale | 35 |
| 08/29/25 @ Deerfield Beach | 31 |
Despite the defeat, Monarch got top-tier performance from Florentino Lopez, who threw for 297 yards and two touchdowns, and also punched in one TD on the ground. A healthy portion of Lopez's aerial production (86 yards to be exact) went to Chris Cortinas, who also brought in a receiving touchdown.
Meanwhile, Piper entered their tilt with Fort Lauderdale last Friday with three consecutive wins but they'll enter their next game with four. They were the clear victors by a 38-17 margin over the Flying L's. The result was nothing new for the Bengals, who have now won three matchups by 21 points or more so far this season.
This one was won in the trenches and the lion's share of the credit has to go to Nicholas Milfort Jr and Jahnard Young. Milfort Jr rushed for 115 yards and one score while Young rushed for 75 yards and a pair of touchdowns on only nine carries. Those 115 rushing yards gave Milfort Jr a new career-high.
Piper was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 245 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 228 rushing yards in four consecutive contests.
Special teams was a major factor in the game for Piper, racking up 14 points in total. The biggest highlight from special teams (and perhaps the team as a whole) came courtesy of Alex Gammage, who ran a punt back for a touchdown.
Monarch's loss dropped their record down to 4-4. As for Piper, their win bumped their record up to 5-3.
Here's a few offensive stats to keep an eye on ahead of Friday's game: Monarch has been excellent in the air this season, having averaged 306.8 passing yards per game. It's a different story for Piper, though, as they've been averaging only 69.2 passing yards. How will they fare against such a dominant passing game?
Monarch skirted past Piper 22-20 in their previous meeting back in October of 2024. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Knights since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
