Even with the boost of alumnus and current Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Andre Ethier’s presence in the stands, Phoenix St. Mary’s needed a perfect game if it wanted to defeat Phoenix Brophy Prep on Friday at Phoenix College.

St. Mary’s was far from perfect, though. Brophy romped to a 58-6 win, forcing a running clock early in the second half to claim another victory in the 53-year-old rivalry.

“They beat us two years ago,” Brophy coach Scooter Molander said. “It’s a rivalry game. You better come prepared. St. Mary’s is a good football team with a long tradition. I respect the heck out of those guys.”

That Brophy (7-2) would coast to a lopsided win over a depleted St. Mary’s squad with 43 fewer players on the roster wasn’t exactly a surprise. What might have caught some off guard is how well St. Mary’s played to start the game.

Early on, St. Mary’s inability to score had less to do with Brophy and more to do with itself. A fumbled handoff prematurely halted the opening drive of the game. St. Mary marched from its 32 to the Brophy 9 on its second drive, but back-to-back false starts pushed it back and resulted in a missed field goal.

St. Mary’s (3-5) gave the ball away five times. Brophy jumped on almost every opportunity en route to a 38-0 halftime lead.

Brophy prep quarterback Tyler Bruggman completed 12 of 19 passes for 187 yards and four touchdowns. Running back Marche Dennard ran 13 times for 123 yards and a score. Devon Allen caught five passes for 84 yards and two scores.

For St. Mary’s, Lester Smith ran 26 times for 133 yards and Lukas Treffers carried the ball 12 times for 98 yards and a score. Treffers also added six catches for 49 yards and now needs just nine catches to break the Division I single-season record of 81.