This past Sunday, the brackets for the FHSAA high school playoffs were released and for the second year in a row, the Chiefs have made it to the playoffs!
The Chiefs were ranked as the 4th seeded team in the region and will play host to Palm Beach Gardens tomorrow night at 6:30. Both teams are coming into this game with different mindsets trying to make a state championship run. For the Chiefs, history is on the line. If the Chiefs manage to win tomorrow against the Gators, it will be the first football playoff this school has had in 23 years.
Last week, Santaluces took the loss against the Atlantic Eagles 44-28 but showed a ton of heart and effort after being down in the first half of the game 28-0. Despite not winning the district championship this year, the Chiefs are still hosting a playoff game and are ranked as a top 4 team in this region.
Last year, the Chiefs hosted Stoneman Douglas and lost that game 48-44. Palm Beach Gardens, however, managed to make it all the way to the regional championship where they lost that game against Palm Beach Central 14-10. This week, Santaluces quarterback, Shy Deauvx, is expected to be back in the starting lineup, moving AnaTay Smith and Elijah Rodriguez back to wide receiver who both took snaps at quarterback in last week’s game against Atlantic.
Santaluces will look to rely on their running attack; both Tyreek Dawes and Derrick Williams scored touchdowns against Atlantic last week and both had over 100 yards rushing. Also with Shy back in the starting lineup, the Chiefs pass attack should be effective with all of the receivers back in their original positions. With everyone back, the Chiefs are looking to put up a great fight and win a playoff game for the first time in 2 decades!