Game Preview: Mona Shores @ Detroit King

We have a rematch of the 2019 DII State Championship on our hands as Mona Shores travels to King. With multiple division 1 recruits, a defending state champion, plus a 5-star 2023 QB, this is going to be fun. Let’s take a look at what it’s going to take for both teams to come out with a W. <span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>King</strong></span> Last week, King lost an absolute thriller to one of Indiana’s best teams, Carmel, on a walk-off hail mary 42-40. This should tell you that 0-1 means absolutely nothing to King as they played an incredible game and got unlucky in the end. If you’re at all familiar with King you know of their uncanny success and supreme talent, plus they’re a team loaded with seniors. Let’s take a look at some difference-makers for King. QB [player_tooltip player_id="30316" first="Dante" last="Moore"] - How could I not mention [player_tooltip player_id="30316" first="Dante" last="Moore"]? A 5-Star QB with countless power-5 offers, Moore is looking to show out against a great Mona Shores team. Though I have absolutely no worries as King’s offense averaged an astounding 35.5PPG last season, with any of their games being against supreme talent. Unless Mona Shores can cook up some sort of genius gameplan, [player_tooltip player_id="30316" first="Dante" last="Moore"] is going to absolutely ball out. DT [player_tooltip player_id="30181" first="Terence" last="Maize"] - The key to winning in the trenches, Maize is going to play a huge role in King’s success. At 6’0 300lbs, Maize has surprisingly good mobility and finesse moves than others at his size. As an interior D lineman on a defense that seems to be boom or bust, Maize is going to have to play well to hold off Mona Shroes. <p class="uni-headline--1">MLB [player_tooltip player_id="30213" first="Blake" last="Bailiff"] - He surely has the body for MLB at 5’11 220, and plays great MLB for King. Just like Maize, Bailiff needs to have a great game if they want to hold off the Mona Shores offense. I’m looking for Bailiff to make his read then run like a freight train to wherever the ball is. As long as Bailiff is ready to go, King has a great shot at winning.</p> <strong><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Mona Shores</span></strong> Coming off 19 straight wins and 2 straight state championships, Mona Shores is truly in a class of their own in DII Michigan Football. Dominance is the word that comes to mind. Sound, clean, well-coached football is the name of the game for Mona Shores with Matt Koziak looks to lead his team to yet another state title. QB [player_tooltip player_id="93664" first="Mark" last="Konecny"] - Filling some big shoes, Konecny looked great in last week’s matchup going 8-11 on over 200 yards passing and a TD. It’s vital that Konecny plays at this level and leads the Mona Shores offense to many scores. As demonstrated by many teams in the past few years, you aren’t going to win a defensive battle against King. If you arent scoring at least 28 points, it’s going to be difficult to defeat King. C <a href="https://www.hudl.com/profile/13244258/Sam-Wahlberg">Sam Wahlberg</a> - Anchoring the interior Offensive line, Wahlberg is a great blocker to have on a state championship-caliber team. Standing 5’9, 225 he’s a shorter center that is still incredibly effective at what he does. His main job for Friday is to block Terrence Maize, which of course is no light task. A great game from Wahlberg likely means a poor game from Maize. Let’s see who takes the cake this Friday. CB <a href="https://www.hudl.com/profile/12935532/Jaylen-Vinton">Jaylen Vinton</a> - The Mona Shores secondary needs to play out of their minds if they’re going to stop the King passing attack. With an 80-yard pick-6 in last week’s game, Vinton needs to come up big for the sailors on Friday. &nbsp; &nbsp;