Hays Post Sports
The TMP-Marian Monarchs used a big first half to cruise to a 48-0 win over the Sacred Heart Knights on Friday night at Lewis Field in Hays, improving to 8-0 on the season.
The Monarchs (8-0) won the toss and elected to receive the opening kickoff.
They wasted no time putting together an opening drive that covered 58 yards in just six plays, thanks to a long return by Jackson Gillespie that gave the Monarchs good field position to start the game.
Grant Nehls put the Monarchs on the board first with a 33-yard touchdown run. After a successful two-point conversion, TMP led 8-0 with 8:34 left in the first quarter.
On Sacred Heart's first offensive play of the game, TMP's Jacob Seib intercepted a pass and set up the Monarchs at the Knights' 14-yard line.
Three plays later, Gillespie scored his first touchdown of the night on a 9-yard run. Another successful two-point conversion put TMP ahead 16-0.
On their second offensive possession, the Knights drove into TMP territory, but three consecutive penalties stalled the drive. TMP took over at its own 37-yard line with three minutes left in the first quarter.
Gillespie ran for 21 yards on the first play of the drive, then capped the five-play possession with a 1-yard touchdown run on the first play of the second quarter, putting TMP ahead 22-0.
Less than two minutes later, Colby Schmeidler intercepted a pitch from the Knights' quarterback and returned it 30 yards for a touchdown, extending TMP's lead to 28-0 with just over 10 minutes left in the first half.
After another long Sacred Heart drive ended in TMP territory, the Monarchs took over at their own 21-yard line. They wasted no time, as Austin Liles found Jacob Seib for a 79-yard touchdown on the first play of the drive. The score put TMP ahead 36-0 with a little more than three minutes remaining in the first half.
TMP added its final score of the half on a 21-yard touchdown run by Liles with 39 seconds remaining, sending the Monarchs into halftime with a 42-0 lead.
With a running clock in the second half, Sacred Heart had the ball for the entire third quarter. TMP forced the Knights to turn the ball over on downs, keeping them off the scoreboard.
TMP's younger players took over in the fourth quarter, and Kayden Tiernan scored on a 5-yard touchdown run to close out the 48-0 victory.
The Monarchs outgained Sacred Heart 300-187 in total yards.
Gillespie rushed for 90 yards and two touchdowns on 11 carries.
TMP's 8-0 start is its first since the 1977 season and just the sixth undefeated start through eight games in program history, dating back to the 1920s.
The Monarchs also clinched a district title for the first time since 2020 and claimed their first-ever Mid-Continent League football title.
TMP will host Bluestem on Thursday night in Hays in the first round of the Class 1A playoffs.