Monarch secures payback against neighborhood rival Coconut Creek in preseason clash

Buckle up, Broward County. The Monarch Knights are back and they’re fierce.

Calvin Davis looks to have another contender on his hands after his team steamrolled crosstown rival Coconut Creek 34-12 in an exhibition affair at Marjory Stoneman Douglas Friday.

Monarch’s electric receiving tandem of Samari Reed and Antwaun Parham combined for two touchdown catches in the span of 26 seconds to blow open a tight game in the fourth quarter.

The Knights may have lost last year’s starting quarterback A.J. Hairston to UMass, but their dynamic passing game looks to be in capable hands with new starter Jack Spaeder, who threw four touchdown passes -- including three in the fourth quarter.

Spaeder is just a sophomore, but he’s wise beyond his years. He knows to get the ball to Reed (who’s committed to Ole Miss) and Parham (Tulane).

The latter on Friday produced a catch of the year candidate -- and the regular season hasn’t even begun yet.

Parham needed just one hand to snare a dart across the middle from Spaeder on fourth-and-17 from the Cougars’ 27. The gasp-inducing catch went for 23 yards, and set up a scoring hookup between Spaeder and Reed on the next play.

“Unstoppable,” Parham, a three-star recruit who’s a top 200 receiver nationally in his class. “Telling you, unstoppable, me and him.”

Making their fourth quarter all the more impressive: They each needed medical attention earlier in the half after going down with what appeared to be cramps on consecutive plays. The fact that they both returned (and then scored) tells you how important this rivalry game was to them -- even if it didn’t count.

These schools clearly have beef. Trash talk began long before the opening kick, and the two teams had to be separated during warmups. Creek bludgeoned Monarch 12 months prior, and Davis clearly wanted to even the score. He continued to dial up home run balls even when the game’s result was long decided, and postgame, words were exchanged by the opposing benches.

You can forgive the Cougars if their pride was hurt. This was a team that reached the Class 3M regional finals in 2023, and has high hopes in 2024 with new starting quarterback in Devin Gonzalez, who recently transferred from Cypress Bay.

But that new-look offense couldn’t move the ball against Monarch’s defense aside from two drives in the first half. The Knights had a defensive touchdown, a safety, a goal line stand, and forced a turnover on special teams.

As a result, Monarch won in a romp despite turning the ball over on each of its first two possessions and committing a ton of penalties.

“I would say the second half was really dominant,” Davis said. “The first half, if it was cleaner, but it’s the first game since spring, right? So you’re gonna expect some mistakes, you’re gonna expect some ups and downs. But I think we cleaned it up a little bit more in the second half.”

And they decided to get the ball to their two blue chip receivers.

The Knights (now a 6A team) will need a lot more of that next week, when they face Georgia’s Peachtree Ridge in the Broward Football Showcase. Coconut Creek (5A) hosts Miami Northwestern in a game that will immediately follow Monarch’s.

“We’re always a really good passing team, but any time you could just get those guys the football, they’re gonna make any coach look good,” Davis said. “So it’s just getting those guys the ball in space, getting them multiple opportunities to make plays. Eventually, they’re going to keep making play after play after play.”