By RANDY GONZALES

rgonzales@dailynews.net

ELLINWOOD -- It's not how you start. It's how you finish.

The Thomas More Prep-Marian football team shook off a sluggish start in Friday night's season opener to win its first game in the Jon Borer era, defeating Ellinwood 27-6.

"We talked all camp ... about finishing," Borer said. "... Couldn't be happier with these kids tonight."

The Monarchs gave up six sacks in their new spread option attack in the first half, and junior quarterback Nick Hammeke missed on eight straight passes at one point. As a team, TMP was whistled for seven penalties.

Still, the Monarchs led 7-6 at halftime.

"I trusted our kids," Borer said. "Our defense was playing well. Ellinwood did a great job defensively against us. They did a lot of things we weren't quite prepared for."

After Borer's halftime adjustments, the Monarchs' offense clicked in the second half. TMP used short passes before the rush could get to Hammeke, who completed his first seven passes of the second half.

After throwing a 64-yard TD pass to junior Jacob Fouts for the Monarchs' lone score in the first half, Hammeke ran for two touchdowns and threw for another in the second half.

He finished 13-of-25 passing for 201 yards.

"I think part of it, we shifted what we were doing," Borer said of the second half. "To start off, we were asking (Hammeke) to hold it a little bit longer, then we shifted a little bit. A few more quick throws, get it out of his hands. That's what he's good at. He's got a quick release."

On TMP's first series of the second half, the Monarchs needed five plays to go 52 yards for a touchdown. Hammeke's QB sneak with 8:50 left in the third quarter made it 14-6. The big play in the drive was a 34-yard pass to senior Nathan Zimmerman, to the Eagle 1-yard line.

After the Monarch defense sacked Ellinwood senior QB Kyle Corbett on fourth-and-1 at the TMP 31, the offense put together a 13-play drive that stretched into the fourth quarter.

On fourth-and-19 at the Ellinwood 20, TMP put four receivers to the right side, with three of them running into the back corner of the end zone. Hammeke lofted a high pass, and 6-foot-4 junior tight end Taylor Pfeifer -- also a player on the basketball team -- made a leaping catch for the TD.

"I told them, nothing else, throw it up to Taylor and let him go up and get it," Borer said. "Definitely basketball skills showed there, (and) his heart and desire. He had to take it away from another kid. But Taylor just made a great play."

Sophomore cornerback Shane Zimmerman picked off his second pass of the night on Ellinwood's next series. The Monarchs couldn't move the ball, but junior linebacker Joe Roth intercepted a Corbett pass to set up the final score, a 12-yard draw play by Hammeke.

The Monarch defense held Ellinwood to 157 yards in total offense, picked off four passes, had two sacks and recovered a fumble.

"We couldn't be happier with our defense," Borer said. "Coming out, we wanted to be an attacking defense, pursuing defense. I think we accomplished that."

Ellinwood's lone score came on Corbett's 13-yard run in the second quarter after a TMP turnover gave the Eagles a short field.

Junior middle linebacker Austin Werth helped stuff the running game for most of the night, timing his blitzes up the middle.

"Just him being up there, even if he doesn't blitz," Boer said. "Austin did a tremendous job."

Nathan Zimmerman had three catches for 61 yards, with two long receptions that set up second-half scores. He also picked off a pass.

In the second half, TMP allowed one sack and had two penalties.

After the game -- Borer's first as a head coach -- the players sang "Happy Birthday" for his daughter, Emily, who turned 1 on Friday. The first-year coach had his family on hand for his first game -- and victory.

"It feels tremendous," Borer said. " ... My daughter, singing 'Happy Birthday' (for her) after a victory, it almost was too much to handle."