By JONATHAN ZWEYGARDT
Hays Post
BELOIT - The TMP-Marian Monarchs entered week eight of the high school football season knowing that a win over Beloit would guarantee them a first-round home game next week in the first round of the 2A playoffs.
But there was always the chance that if they lost and Russell lost to Norton, that the Monarchs would punch their ticket to the postseason for just the eighth time in program history.
And that’s exactly what happened.
Friday night in Beloit the Monarchs could not overcome sloppy play and lost a defense battle 14-6.
TMP (4-4, 4-2 MCL, 1-3 2A-D8) was able to force Beloit to punt the ball on the Trojans first offensive possession but a penalty on the return set TMP deep in the shadows of their own goalposts.
The Monarchs lost yards on three plays and had to punt but a 13-yard Griffin Schumacher punt gave Beloit the ball at the TMP 14-yardline. The Trojans took advantage, scoring two plays later for a 6-0 lead.
TMP, on their next drive, got inside the Trojans 30-yardline but a penalty pushed them back and the drive stalled.
Neither team was able to get anything going the rest of the first half as Beloit held on to a 6-0 lead at halftime.
The third quarter was more of the same with TMP punting two more times. The Monarchs also turned the ball over twice in the game while forcing Beloit into two turnovers of their own.
Beloit (4-4, 1-2 NCAA, 3-1 2A-D8) scored their second touchdown of the game with just under three minutes to play in third quarter with the two-point conversion making it 14-0.
At the end of the third quarter Beloit threatened to score when their running back broke free for a 40-yard run before Schumacher punched it out from behind and Logan Baalman scooped it up give TMP the ball back at the end of the third quarter.
TMP opened the fourth quarter with a touchdown drive, sparked by a 40-yard run on fourth down by Schumacher that set up a one-yard touchdown two plays later for Schumacher, cutting the Beloit lead to 14-6.
The Monarchs got one more chance in the fourth quarter but they turned it over on downs and the Trojans ran out the clock on a 14-6 victory.
But that eight point margin was just good enough for the Monarchs to secure a playoff spot and when Norton completed their 20-9 win over Russell it gave TMP the three seed out of 2A district 8 and also allowed Phillipsburg to sneak in as the four-seed, eliminating Russell from postseason contention.
You can find the 2A playoff bracket HERE.
TMP will travel to Larned next week for a matchup with the Indians who finished second in 2A district 7.