King's Academy-Monterey football

Central Coast Section Division V semifinals
Saturday's game
King's Academy (9-2) at Monterey (10-1), 1 p.m.
 No doubt this will be the most potent offense the Cypress Division champion Toreadores have seen all year as King's Academy has scored 50 or more points three times.
 It feels like it has been ages since Monterey last played, having used a late fourth quarter touchdown pass from Josh Elmore to beat Monte Vista 15-10 back on Nov. 2.
 Earlier this year King's Academy thumped Monte Vista 37-14. It opened the postseason with a 42-6 win over Del Mar last Saturday.
 The Knights offense starts with running backs Bralyn Lux and Jayden Frazier, who have rushed for 28 of the teams 32 touchdowns, combining for nearly 1,900 rushing yards.
 Lux is a factor out of the backfield as well with 28 catches, eight going for touchdowns. Quarterback Caleb Tan has thrown for 898 yards and 13 touchdowns.
 While Monterey's offense struggled in its postseason opener, the defense recorded a safety and used a pick six from Javier Espinal-Perez to produce nine of its 15 points.
 The Toreadores defense recorded four turnovers, including an interception with 22 seconds left from Evans Charles to secure the win.
 Monterey's defense, anchored by Darius Gerrard, Janias Thomas and Stevie Bull, has shutout three teams and held four others to one touchdown.
 Elmore looked more comfortable with the game on the line behind center, tossing a 40-yard scoring strike to Hendrick Lusk late in the game.
 Getting tailback Tim Byrd going early is important for Monterey. While the Knights will respect the team speed of their opponent on the outside, it'll likely stack an extra defender in the box.
 While the Toreadores showcased a different look early in its playoff opener, they can not forget how they got to 10 wins this year.
 Byrd had 98 of his 114 yards in the first half in Monterey's playoff opener.