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Deerfield Beach - Monarch observations
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BY LARRY BLUSTEIN
Sometime during the fourth quarter of last Friday night’s 27-24 overtime District 12-8A thriller between Deerfield Beach and Monarch, the sellout crowd at Coconut Creek High Stadium realized that this was not your ordinary football game.
While senior Brandon Powell and the Bucks prevailed in the battle of the unbeatens, Monarch head coach Calvin Davis and his talented Knights left that stadium as a new player on the football scene.
What happened in to three hours on Friday night may have changed the perception of football in Broward County. No longer would the Monarch’s and Cardinal Gibbons’ of the world be viewed by Miami-Dade County and in other parts of the state as “pretenders” in the playoff race.
Moral victories are hollow when you just stood toe-to-toe with a state-rated team for over four quarters. Davis and his team have felt they belonged since last year. The 2015 class backs that up in a major way with several key prospects.
After years of toiling among the worst teams in south Florida, Davis and this coaching staff gave them plenty to look forward to last season; beating McArthur was the game that started this turnaround.
With all the big play athletes on that field on Friday night, Powell was the player who everyone came to see. The University of Miami commitment was indeed the price of admission as he ran for 140 yards and scored the game-winning touchdown in overtime. But as dominating as he was on the offensive side of the ball, it’s his defensive skills that really made a huge difference. Powell limited the state’s premier junior receiver Calvin Ridley to just a pair receptions. That was huge in the outcome of the game.
Monarch junior quarterback Michael Harris was really impressive. The leading passer in the state never got in a groove, but he did keep his team in the game with his leadership. He will be one of the top players for the next two years.
This was indeed one of those games – with nearly 5,000 fans – that make you feel that when two undefeated teams get together football people will recognize that there’s good football everywhere.
Sometime during the fourth quarter of last Friday night’s 27-24 overtime District 12-8A thriller between Deerfield Beach and Monarch, the sellout crowd at Coconut Creek High Stadium realized that this was not your ordinary football game.
While senior Brandon Powell and the Bucks prevailed in the battle of the unbeatens, Monarch head coach Calvin Davis and his talented Knights left that stadium as a new player on the football scene.
What happened in to three hours on Friday night may have changed the perception of football in Broward County. No longer would the Monarch’s and Cardinal Gibbons’ of the world be viewed by Miami-Dade County and in other parts of the state as “pretenders” in the playoff race.
Moral victories are hollow when you just stood toe-to-toe with a state-rated team for over four quarters. Davis and his team have felt they belonged since last year. The 2015 class backs that up in a major way with several key prospects.
After years of toiling among the worst teams in south Florida, Davis and this coaching staff gave them plenty to look forward to last season; beating McArthur was the game that started this turnaround.
With all the big play athletes on that field on Friday night, Powell was the player who everyone came to see. The University of Miami commitment was indeed the price of admission as he ran for 140 yards and scored the game-winning touchdown in overtime. But as dominating as he was on the offensive side of the ball, it’s his defensive skills that really made a huge difference. Powell limited the state’s premier junior receiver Calvin Ridley to just a pair receptions. That was huge in the outcome of the game.
Monarch junior quarterback Michael Harris was really impressive. The leading passer in the state never got in a groove, but he did keep his team in the game with his leadership. He will be one of the top players for the next two years.
This was indeed one of those games – with nearly 5,000 fans – that make you feel that when two undefeated teams get together football people will recognize that there’s good football everywhere.
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