Monarch bounces back, secures statement victory over Georgia powerhouse
Monarch knows everyone thinks about it.
The Knights know people poke holes in the schedule they play or scoff at the region they play in, comfortably away from most of the powerhouses in the rest of Broward and Miami-Dade counties.
They know their name might have looked a little out of place in the lineup for the second Broward County Football National Showcase, slotted right into the schedule alongside championship programs like St. Thomas Aquinas, Plantation American Heritage, Cardinal Gibbons and Chaminade-Madonna.
Monarch wanted the test it got Thursday from Cedar Grove of Ellenwood, Georgia. Calvin Davis pushed hard to get his Knights into the Broward County National Showcase, to line up a meeting with one of the 100 best teams in the country, according to MaxPreps, and try prove just how good Monarch can be this year.
And they made the statement they were hoping to by winning a 50-42 thriller at Don Conkel Stadium in Coconut Creek.
“This is huge for us,” Davis said. “We asked to be in this showcase, so the fact that we were given an opportunity, and actually came out and did what we were supposed to do ... we can’t ask for any more.”
It took just about everything for the Knights to pull it out -- 50 points, nearly every one of them meaningful; a two-touchdown fourth-quarter comeback; a successful onside kick, a fumble recovery on a muffed punt and touchdowns in all three phases; and a truly spectacular, unforgettable three-phase performance from Clayton Cannon II -- and yet they somehow did for one of the bigger wins in program history.
Less than a week earlier on the same field at Coconut Creek High School, Monarch got blown out by rival Coconut Creek in a weather-shortened preseason game. Even this week, the Knights were down 42-30 at the start of the fourth quarter -- after blowing an early two-score lead of their own and leading for the entire first half after Cannon ran back the opening kickoff for a touchdown -- before storming back with 20 straight points to pull off the upset.
The comeback started with a 20-yard heave from star quarterback AJ Hairston to Cannon in the back of the end zone to get Monarch back within striking distance, down 42-38 with 10 minutes left. The Knights, who had trouble with kickoffs all day, followed the touchdown by trying an onside kick and safety Leonard Ester recovered all the way at the Saints’ 36-yard line. Monarch moved into the red zone and nearly stalled there, only for Hairston to make a pinpoint throw to star wide receiver Jabari Brady on fourth down to keep the drive alive. On the next play, running back Malik Kelsey scored from a yard out and the Knights took the lead for good, 44-42 with 7:30 left.
“It was like momentum,” said Hairston, who’s orally committed to UMass and went 15 of 30 for 223 yards and four touchdowns, plus a two-point conversion. “Once we get the ball back, we needed our defense to get a stop. They got a stop, then we go down and score.”
Nothing was easy the rest of the way, though. Monarch didn’t pick up another first down until the final minute, when the Knights were running out the clock, and needed three fumble recoveries to survive.
The first came after Cedar Grove and Monarch traded three-and-outs, when Brady’s punt banged off Saints running back Boden Walker’s chest and edge rusher Landon Bolding recovered. This time, Monarch followed it with a turnover on downs and again the Knights recovered a fumble on the next play, as athlete Kevin Powell knocked the ball out of star quarterback EJ Colson’s hands, and safety Antonio Ward picked it up and ran it back 45 yards for a touchdown.
Monarch, though, committed a penalty before the point after attempt and couldn’t convert, so Cedar Grove was still within one score with 2:31 left.
On their final possession, the Saints got all the way inside Monarch’s 20 before Cannon made one last play to seal the win.
Cannon started the game with a kick return for a touchdown and then, on his first offensive touch of the game, he took a short pass and ran 69 yards for a touchdown to put the Knights up 16-7.
The athlete finished with six catches for 135 yards and two touchdowns, a kick-return touchdown and finally a forced fumble and fumble recovery with a little more than a minute left to win the game.
Cannon quickly read Cedar Grove’s screen pass and doubled back toward the line of scrimmage after starting to follow a wide receiver deep from his spot on the outside of the defense. He thought about what he saw on film from Walker and how the junior liked to cut plays inside with his ball in the outside hand. Cannon grabbed Walker’s right shoulder to make sure to wrap him up and then swung his left arm down at the ball, knocking it to the ground and sending Walker spinning to search for it.
By the time Walker hit the deck, Cannon was already on top of the fumble, and his teammates and coaches were starting to celebrate.
After the final seconds finally ticked away, the Knights stormed onto the field and jumped around. Players started to lift Davis into the air.
Eventually, the coach just stood there and smiled while his players celebrated. Another school employee walked by and joked he was going to name his next son after the coach. Players took turns talking about what this win meant. It was something Monarch was waiting for and it felt every bit as good as the Knights hoped.
“We never got our respect because of our schedule, so we said, Put tougher teams on the schedule so they can hear about us,” Cannon said. “They’re going to know about Monarch, for sure.”
THURSDAY’S SCORES
South Dade 50, Carol City 0
Krop 28, Miami High 14
Goleman 47, Mater Academy 0
South Miami 28, Coral Reef 6
Edison 17, Hialeah 6
La Salle 38, Palm Glades Prep 0
Ferguson 47, Hialeah Gardens 0
Cypress Bay 20, West Broward 7
Pembroke Pines Charter 42, Northeast 0
South Plantation 20, Coral Glades 14
McArthur 26, Stoneman Douglas 15
This story was originally published August 25, 2023 at 12:57 AM.