South Hamilton’s three-headed backfield beast is probably fine with either. Besides, Trevor Thompson, Lane Swenson and Brock Galetich were too busy churning out yards and touchdowns to worry about a moniker Friday night at Taylor Field.

Thompson and Swenson — the aforementioned thunder — rushed for 164 and 80 yards, respectively, between the tackles, and Galetich — hello, lightning — galloped for 147 and a pair of scores on the perimeter to carry the Hawks to a woodshed beating of longtime rival Roland-Story, 42-8.

The trio combined for all six of the Hawks’ touchdowns — three by Thompson, two by Galetich and one by Swenson.

“They compliment each other really well,” South Hamilton head coach Corey Klemp said of his backfield. “Trevor is a load to handle, Brock is just as shifty as can be, and Lane is a combination of the two really.”

South Hamilton halfback Brock Galetich (9) sprints past Roland-Story’s Adam McIlrath (15) on a 52-yard touchdown jaunt on Friday in Jewell. DFJ photo/Angela Hewitt

South Hamilton (1-0) entered the contest expecting to have to throw the ball some, but that game plan quickly went out the window when the backfield started to chew up yards in chunks. The trio averaged 7.8 yards per carry, as the Hawks ran the ball 28 consecutive times to start the contest and didn’t attempt a pass until late in the second quarter.

“Our style is no secret, we want to play really physical,” Klemp said. “But we really honestly were prepared to throw the ball a lot more. The running game was working though, so we stuck with it.”

The offensive line played a big role in making the backfield look good. Thompson and Swenson were both able to gain a head of steam through the line of scrimmage before first contact throughout the battle, and Galetich found wide running lanes on sweeps to the outside.

“That whole until played really, really well for a Week 1 game,” Klemp said. “And (quarterback) Freddie (Lewis) just managed the game really well. He kept his poise and had command of the huddle.”

South Hamilton piled up 417 yards of offense, 399 coming on the ground. The Hawks’ defense was equally imposing, as it stuffed Roland-Story’s running game early and gave up just 166 total yards.

South Hamilton’s Austin Busch (21) throws a block on Roland-Story’s Adam McIlrath on Friday. DFJ photo/Angela Hewitt

Touchdowns on back-to-back possessions early on set the tone for the rout. After a defensive stand that gave South Hamilton the ball at the Norsemen 26, the offense needed just four plays to reach the house on a Galetich 4-yard run.

A 12-play, 70-yard drive that Thompson capped with a 3-yard burst through the middle extended South Hamilton’s lead to 12-0.

Thompson showed his own breakaway speed in the second quarter with a 47-yard sprint over the left side to give the Hawks an 18-2 lead at the half. The cushion could have been bigger, but a holding call wiped out a long Galetich gain on the final drive that eventually stalled out at the Norsemen 3.

“There were a couple drives that we didn’t finish off and we had some penalties, so I don’t think we played anywhere close to where we’re capable of playing,” Klemp said. “But for Week 1, I was very pleased overall.”

A 1-yard TD by Thompson and a 52-yard jaunt by Galetich extended South Hamilton’s lead to 32-8 after three quarters. Roland-Story’s lone trip to the end zone was capped by a 9-yard quarterback sneak by Luke Patton in the period.

DFJ photo/Angela Hewitt

Swenson joined the touchdown fun early in the fourth quarter when he scored from 7 yards out.

Lewis attempted just two passes and he completed one — an 18-yard hook-up with tight end Carter Hewitt.

Patton completed 11 of 27 passes for 103 yards with one interception — a fourth-quarter pick by Galetich, last season’s Class 1A leader. South Hamilton’s defense limited University of Iowa recruit Zach Twedt to 17 yards rushing on 11 attempts.

“All three (defensive) levels played well,” Klemp said. “Our defensive line did great, our linebackers looked really sharp, and then our secondary is just phenomenal.”

Thompson and Austin Busch made 51⁄2 tackles each. Swenson had four, Dominic Summers 31⁄2, and Tycin Barkema three.

South Hamilton will be at Madrid on Friday.

South Hamilton 42, Roland-Story 8

Friday at Jewell

R-S 0 2 6 0 — 8

SH 12 6 16 8 — 42

Scoring Summary

First Quarter

SH — Brock Galetich 4 run (kick failed), 9:38.

SH — Trevor Thompson 3 run (run failed), 2:38.

Second Quarter

R-S — Safety, 10:51.

SH — Thompson 47 run (run failed), 9:23.

Third Quarter

SH — Thompson 1 run (Galetich run), 7:53.

R-S — Luke Patton 9 run (pass failed), 4:53.

SH — Galetich 52 run (Landen Skartvedt run), 0:28.

Fourth Quarter

SH — Lane Swenson 7 run (Galetich run), 10:36.

Individual Statistics

Rushing — R-S: Luke Patton 10-48, Zach Twedt 11-17, Caden Sporleder 1-1. SH: Trevor Thompson 22-164, Brock Galetich 13-147, Lane Swenson 15-80, Freddie Lewis 5-17, Landen Skartvedt 2-5, Gavin Swenson 1-3.

Passing — R-S: Patton 11-27-1 103. SH: Lewis 1-3-0 18.

Receiving — R-S: Carter Flattebo 5-41, Adam McIlrath 2-34, Will Bunn 3-18, Kaleb Brendeland 1-10. SH: Carter Hewitt 1-18.

Tackles — SH: Thompson 51⁄2, Austin Busch 51⁄2, L. Swenson 4, Dominic Summers 31⁄2, Tycin Barkema 3, Elijah Balderas 21⁄2, Nic Flaugh 21⁄2, Kyler Hodnefield 2, Carter Hewitt 2, Galetich 11⁄2, Skartvedt 11⁄2, Blake Harris 11⁄2, Colton Willis 11⁄2, G. Swenson 1, Jack Moline 1, Preston Stoecker 1⁄2, Carter Balvanz 1⁄2.

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