Thomas More Prep – Marian has put themselves in position again this year to win the Mid-Central Activities Association championship. A win Friday night in Hays against reigning champion Hoisington would finish a 3-0 conference schedule for the Monarch football team.
After leading 12-7 in the second quarter versus LaCrosse last week, TMP saw the Leopards score 39-unanswered points and hand the Monarchs their first loss of the season 46-12. The Herd was held to under 200 yards of total offense for the first time this year and the 12 points scored is the second fewest scored by a Jon Borer coached team so far in his two years with TMP. Even with the low score last Friday, the Monarchs still boast the 13th best scoring offense in Class 3A (34 PPG).
TMP senior Nick Hammeke has already thrown over 1,000 yards in four games but did see his interception total jump to five last week after throwing three against LaCrosse. Coach Borer believes Hammeke and the rest of the Monarchs still aren’t even close to playing their best football yet. He’ll be looking for more consistency and a better finish against a Hoisington team that enters the contest with a 2-2 record.
Hoisington suffered a 34-13 loss to undefeated Ulysses last week. The Cardinals’ other loss came against a now 4-0 Sedgwick team in week one. Hoisington is replacing Lonnie Irvin as head coach with Jason Ingram this year. Ingram spent the previous 13 years as an assistant at Great Bend.
Hoisington features a strong and experienced offensive line and a talanted running back in junior Hagan Hanzlick. Hanzlick is averaging 121 yards rushing per game and has a big fullback in front of him. Senior Cody Batt has only seen 13 touches this year but the 5’6″, 210 pound fullback is averaging 7.39 yards per carry. Coach Ingram is trying to install a new concept at Hoisington…throwing the ball. They won’t throw much, but when senior Derrick Kaiser does he’ll be looking for his 6’8″ tight end, Cody Stetler, who leads the team with nine receptions this year.
The Cardinals have struggled with turnovers so far this season. Hoisington turned it over five times last week against Ulysses and have 15 total turnovers on the year.
The MCAA conference champion will be determined this Friday night at Lewis Field Stadium. TMP (3-1) dropped a close one last year to Hoisington, losing 21-15 in a game where the Monarchs had their chance to get the win. Coach Borer describes that game last year in Hoisington as the most excited and proud he’s been of his team so far in his young career at TMP-Marian. Kickoff is slated for 7PM with our Fort Hays Auto Sales Pregame Show beginning at 6:30 on 14 KAYS.
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