The South Hamilton Hawks football team returned to action on Friday night, as they welcomed longtime Heart of Iowa Conference rivals West Marshall to Bill Taylor Field in Jewell. The Hawks entered at 1-0 with a 20-14 win over South Hardin, while West Marshall entered at 0-1 after a season-opening loss to 31-0.
After a sluggish start in their win over South Hardin in Week 1, the Hawks would come out of the gate swinging, with Tjerdan Johnson scoring on a 36-yard touchdown run to put South Hamilton up 8-0. West Marshall would answer with a long-sustained drive lasting from 8 minutes to go in the 1st, until 10 minutes to go in the 2nd, capped off by a Michael Lechnir 3-yard touchdown run to make it 8-6 after the failed 2-point conversion. South Hamilton would respond quickly, using chunk yardage runs to quickly move down the field, before Noah Gunderson sprinted home for 28-yard touchdown run to put South Hamilton up 14-6. Following a West Marshall punt, the Hawks used a shorter field to move quickly, punching in a 2-yard touchdown run from Ashton Williams to put South Hamilton up 22-6 at the halftime break.
West Marshall would open up the 2nd half with a 3-and-out, and South Hamilton wasted little time in breaking the game open, as Nick Severseike broke off a 60-yard touchdown run to put South Hamilton up 30-6 after the two-point conversion. After another West Marshall punt, the Hawks turned to backup quarterback Braden Young, who got some needed repetitions, and made the most of it, scoring a 32-yard touchdown run to put South Hamilton up 36-6. Following another stop by the Hawks defense, Nick Severseike would deliver the proverbial back-breaker, breaking off a 74-yard touchdown run to put South Hamilton up 42-6 late in the 3rd quarter. South Hamilton would get their final score off a Preston Van De Pol 1-yard touchdown run to make the score 48-6. West Marshall would get a late garbage-time touchdown to make the final score 48-13.
Nick Severseike had the outstanding night for South Hamilton, carrying the ball 8 times, but for 186 yards and 2 touchdowns, averaging 23.3 yards per carry. Ashton Williams, Braden Young, Tjerdan Johnson, Noah Gunderson and Preston Van De Pol would all score as South Hamilton ran for 469 yards as a team on the night. The Hawks return to action on Friday night, as they take on long-time rivals Roland-Story at Gilbert High School at 7 PM, and can be heard on 95.7 KQWC or online at kqradio.com.