Gabriel Birnbaum. {Jake Stepehns}
By: Matt Rothman
Even without their starting quarterback, the Knights rallied for an impressive 26-7 win over Marjory Stoneman Douglas on Friday.
Monarch was without their starting quarterback, AJ Hairston, but still came through behind Jayden Phillips, who tossed three touchdown passes. Samari Reed caught two of them for scores, while Terrell Lo-ray had one. Malik Kelsey added a rushing touchdown as well.
The Knights moved to 4-1 for the second straight season and will play Olympic Heights on Thursday, September 28 at 6:30 p.m. The Lions won their first two games this year, scoring 84 points, but lost 62-0 in their only meeting last season against Monarch.
The Knights also had another star defender commit in Gabriel Birnbaum, who will attend Florida Atlantic University.
“It feels like a weight lifted off my shoulders because now I can just focus on playing and not worry so much about where I’m going.”
FAU has always been a dream school. I wanted to go to it because it’s right next door, close to my family and parents. I’m super excited to be able to golf every week and play football.”
Birnbaum began playing football in eighth grade and played for East Boca Tackle before starting high school at Boca Raton Community High School. After not getting much playing time and the head coach stepping down, Birnbaum transferred to Monarch, where he helped lead the Knights to their second District Championship in school history. He recorded 62 tackles and 12 sacks and already has eight this season.
Before going to college, Birnbaum hopes to lead the Knights to a State Championship. He hopes to continue to improve recognizing plays before playing for a college football team that is 1-3 this year.
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Author Profile
- Matt Rothman is a 2018 graduate from Florida Gulf Coast University receiving his bachelor’s degree in journalism and then graduated from the University of Florida as a graduate student. He also works for the Mohave Valley Daily News in Bullhead City, Arizona covering high school sports.
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