DEERFIELD BEACH – Last season, Monarch head coach Calvin Davis headed to the field and sat on the bench on Thanksgiving.

The Knights weren’t practicing that day – a loss the week before to Palm Beach Gardens ended their season –  but Davis felt like they should’ve been.

Call it visualizing. Call it manifesting. Call it whatever. 

But, for the first time in program history, Monarch will be practicing on Thanksgiving. 

And then they’ll play for the Class 4M-Region 3 title on Black Friday after the Knights defeated Santaluces, 50-27.

“This has been our goal since we started this,” Davis said after the win. “… We wanted to play in a regional championship. We wanted to have an opportunity to practice Thanksgiving week and give those kids that experience because not a lot of teams get that.”

So, while other programs enjoy turkey and stuffing on Thursday, Monarch will enjoy one more practice. But who does Monarch need to be thankful for allowing this opportunity to happen?  

It was a team effort, but senior linebacker Santana Harrison is likely a good place to start.

Harrison is the anchor of Monarch’s vaunting defense. He leads the Knights in tackles and has to make plays, a right earned from constantly coming up with game-changing plays.

On Friday (Nov. 17), Harrison had a pair of those plays.

In the second quarter, Santaluces had dialed up a perfect play, which saw a player streak free over the middle of the field. Recognizing the play, Harrison broke towards the route and intercepted the ball for a touchdown, putting Monarch up 24-0.

“I saw the wing had slipped out, and he was wide open,” Harrison explained. “So, I thought to myself, ‘let me go over there and get that.’”

After the game, Davis called that play “huge” multiple times, as it helped them follow the plan they had in mind.

“We talked about all week, going down on our first two drives, getting touchdowns and then getting a defensive turnover for a touchdown,” Davis explained.

Later in the game, Harrison intercepted his second pass, ending Santaluces’ chances of mounting an unlikely comeback in the fourth quarter.

“He just makes plays all over the field,” Davis said. “Our defense is designed for him to pretty much make plays.”

Not to be outdone by his linebacker, senior defensive back Kevin Powell had an interception of his own just moments after Harrison’s for a touchdown.

Like Davis, Powell had unfinished business. He didn’t want to see his season end in the same spot as last year and was ready to do whatever it took.

“Kevin texted me this morning and said, “Coach, we’re not going home this year. We’re not crying this year. We’re going to make it happen tonight,’” Davis said. “And I knew he was locked in.” 

During the game, Powell embraced that “no more tears” mentality and pulled the defense aside to reiterate it.

“Last year, first time crying,” Powell said. “But this year, something different. I led my defense, I told them, ‘we not going out again.’”

Later in the game, though, Powell made his name elsewhere. 

Powell hadn’t played offense before his week, but an injury to a wide receiver forced Monarch’s hand. And while he didn’t get too many snaps on that side of the ball, Davis drew up a play which scored him a touchdown.

“This is his first week playing [offense],” Davis said. “I kind of drew that play up because I saw how they were playing us. I drew that play up in a timeout, and it worked.”

Speaking of offense, senior quarterback and UMass commit AJ Hairston ensured the offense worked as designed, like he has all season.

Hairston is the conductor of the offense and, as a result, is tasked with ensuring that everything moves smoothly. There’s also a trust factor between the coaching staff and Hairston, which resulted in Monarch going for it on a 4th-and-long. 

The result of that play? A touchdown to go up 30 points in the first half. 

“AJ’s been here. We’ve been through this. He’s been our quarterback for three years,” Davis said. “So, at the end of the day, I’m putting the ball in AJ’s hand, and we’ll win or we’ll lose with AJ.” 

Up next for Monarch is Palm Beach Central, the defending regional champions on Friday, Nov. 24.

It certainly won’t be an easy game, but the Knights have a chip on their shoulder as they hope to prove that 954 football is legit.

“Mostly everybody in our bracket are Palm Beach teams,” Hairston said. “So, we just want to let them know what 954 football is.”