Monsignor Pace rides stingy defense to win over NMB and first district title since 2017
All season long the Monsignor Pace Spartans have flown just slightly under the radar.
Each week the Miami Herald released its Top 20 rankings, and Pace would always be in that “on the cusp” list. This week the Spartans finally broke into that Top 20 at No. 18 and proved they were worthy of the ranking on Friday night.
With a big homecoming crowd looking on, Pace hosted North Miami Beach with a chance to clinch the District 14-2A title. And that’s exactly what the Spartans did.
Even though its offense only found the end zone twice, thanks to a terrific defensive effort, that was more than enough as Pace recorded a 14-0 shutout victory, clinching its first district championship since 2017.
It was the fourth straight win for the Spartans who improved to 6-2 and will wrap up the regular season next week with a non-district contest against Goleman. Pace entered the weekend as the No. 4 seed in Region 4-2A behind Cardinal Gibbons, Booker T. Washington and La Salle, but could improve that seeding with a win over Goleman and 7-2 regular season record.
“Our defense has really been coming through for us all year, keeping us in games and tonight’s game was a microcosm of that,” Pace coach Anthony Walker Sr., father of Dolphins linebacker Anthony Walker Jr., said. “This unit has been lights out all year. Whether its shutouts or holding teams down until the offense can get going, our defensive coordinator Anthony Harris has done a great job with the kids.”
It marked the first district title for Walker Sr. who took over the program in 2018. He watched his offense come out and take the opening drive of the game 80 yards down the field to score and go up 6-0 and the defense took over from there.
Led by slippery quarterback Chris Polanco, NMB managed to move the ball on the Pace defense in between the 30s. But every time the Chargers threatened the red zone (which they never did reach), the Pace defense was there to answer the call as the Spartans, namely Daveon Black, Dante Alexander Jr. and Amaud Eddie, picked off Polanco three times. They also recovered a fumble to record a total of four takeaways.
“Our coaches have worked hard all season long to prepare us each week and tonight was just another example of that,” said senior defensive end Sincere Benjamin, who recorded one sack and four tackles for loss. “Something like this doesn’t happen overnight. We started working to become a solid defensive unit last spring and all summer and left it all on the table tonight. We rely on the offense a lot, but if the offense doesn’t do it, we go out there and do it ourselves. Tonight was Homecoming and Senior Night and we wanted to go out in style and deliver Coach Walker his first district championship.”
Walker Sr. showed some aggression on that opening drive when, with a fourth-and-three at his own 42, went for it. And got it when quarterback Sean Ponder scrambled for six yards to move the sticks. The gamble paid off five plays later when Ponder tossed a slip screen to the right to Amare Whetsell who juked three different NMB defenders to turn it into a 41-yard touchdown pass. A sloppy snap on the PAT kept the game at 6-0.
The Chargers, who had they won would’ve forced a three-way tie for first in the district with Pace and Carol City, got an opening second half kickoff return by JK Bienaime out to midfield and actually reached the Pace 15 when running back John Gray went 12 yards on a third down run. But the play was nullified by a holding call.
Two plays later, Kamari Kendrick sacked Polanco ending the drive. The Spartans then took over at their own 35 and went 65 yards in eight plays, Ponder finding a wide open Justin Fowler for a 25 yard touchdown with 4:25 left in the third. Ponder hit Gabriel Cline for the two-point conversion and all scoring for the evening was finished.
“We knew this was big tonight,” said Black, who also had three receptions on offense as a wide receiver. “We really wanted it and went out and got it. We knew we had to shut them (NMB offense) down on the ground because they really like to pound the running game. If we do that and force them to pass it, then we knew we had it because we have the best secondary in Dade and that’s exactly what happened.”
Already soaked from a water cooler bath, Walker Sr. reflected on the season so far.
“We just want to continue to build and get this Pace program back to what we’re used to and accustomed to around here,” he said. “The key has been having these kids believe in what they’re doing – teaching them about adversity. Because that’s one thing we’ve noticed about the new generation of kids, they really don’t understand how to fight through adversity. That’s what we’ve been preaching all year, whether it’s a play, in the classroom, at home, just understanding how to fight through adversity in life. I think they’re finally starting to come around and understand.”
While NMB fell to 3-6, the Chargers have faced a challenging schedule playing many games out of town including Auburn, Alabama, Lake Mary and next week a trip to Lake City to play Columbia. As a result, the Chargers are still currently the No. 7 seed in the region and a likely playoff participant.