By KLINT SPILLER

kspiller@dailynews.net

SCOTT CITY -- Following a lopsided loss to Scott City, Thomas More Prep-Marian football coach John Montgomery said he hopes it "eats" at his players a little bit.

The Monarchs were crushed 58-0 Friday in Scott City, as the Beavers (8-0, 2-0 district), the No. 2-ranked team in the state in the statewide media poll, steamrolled them.

TMP (2-6, 1-1 district) finished with negative five yards of total offense and allowed 500.

"If it doesn't eat at them and doesn't make them want to work harder, then they probably shouldn't play football," Montgomery said.

Only one Monarch finished with positive rushing yardage. Junior fullback Jared Gabel carried the ball once for three yards before rolling his ankle and missing the rest of the game.

Junior quarterback Shane Zimmerman might have had the best day offensively, completing 4 of 15 passes for six yards, but he lost eight yards on the ground via a sack and kneel.

Zimmerman's passing stats also were misleading, because seven of his 11 incompletions were the result of drops by his receivers. However, two incomplete passes were nearly picked off and dropped by Scott City's defensive backs.

"It was just one of those days where things didn't go our way," Zimmerman said. "It happens to everybody. We've just got to come back and work hard in practice."

Only three of Scott City's 12 possessions didn't result in touchdowns.

On one, Scott City was stopped on a fourth-and-three. On the second, TMP forced a 21-yard field goal, and on the last possession, Scott City ran out the clock in the fourth quarter.

"We definitely have got to take our lessons and look what we have to improve upon from this game," Zimmerman said.

Scott City scored 46 points in the first half in order to have a running clock in the second half.

Scott City averaged 10.4 yards per play and gained the bulk of its yards on the ground. The Beavers compiled 416 rushing yards on 44 carries divvied up between 12 different rushers.

Scott City senior running back Dalton Buehler led the way for the Beavers with 149 yards and three touchdowns on seven carries before getting pulled early in the second quarter.

Even Scott City's second and third string moved the ball easily on the Monarchs, as junior fullback Paco Banda had the second-most rushing yards, running nine times for 83 yards and a touchdown.

"Their second and third string have got our backups outsized quite a bit," Montgomery said. "That's what a solid lifting program will do for you. That's what off-season training does, and that takes time to establish."

On the positive side for TMP, this result will not decide whether the Monarchs make state. That will depend on Thursday's game against Hoisington (4-4, 1-1 district) at Lewis Field Stadium.

"There's a lot to play for -- a share of the conference title and an opportunity to go to the playoffs," Montgomery said. "... There's still an opportunity to achieve goals that we set at the beginning of the season. We have to pick ourselves up off the ground and dust our shoulders off a little bit."