Busch, a senior, was expected to be a key figure in the backfield this season, both blocking and running the ball, but a preseason ankle injury kept him off the field during much of the non-district portion of the schedule.

Busch returned to defense in Week 3 and then made his debut on offense in Friday’s Class 1A District 2 opener against Belmond-Klemme, and to say he made an impact would be an understatement.

Busch rushed for 92 yards and a pair of touchdowns, and served as the lead blocker for Skartvedt and Barkema, who rambled for 160 and 98 yards, respectively, and two more scores in the Hawks’ 38-7 pummeling of the Broncos.

The backfield trio lugged the ball 54 times and accounted for 350 of South Hamilton’s 353 total yards. Busch, Skartvedt and Barkema combined to average 6.5 yards per carry.

South Hamilton halfback Landen Skartvedt (23) throws a stiff arm on Belmond-Klemme’s Tate Sander to create space on Friday in Jewell. Skartvedt rushed for 160 yards and scored two touchdowns, one on an interception, in the Hawks 38-7 victory. DFJ photo/Angela Hewitt

“It probably gave everybody a renewed confidence,” South Hamilton head coach Corey Klemp said about Busch’s offensive debut. “In the first half, I think he was kind of getting his feet wet again, and then in the second half he really showed the physical runner that he can be and that’s when we took control of the game.

“His ability to run the ball inside is going to help Tycin and Landen both, and then the guys up front really had a step forward this week as well.”

Coming off back-to-back losses, the Homecoming rout was exactly what South Hamilton (2-2, 1-0 District 2) needed as it embarks on the most important stretch of the season.

“It was great to be playing back at home and then just having that renewed life with the start of district play,” Klemp said. “I thought the kids played with more emotion and confidence … I think that’s extremely important with this group because they’re so young and inexperienced in a lot of places. Replacing the fears or nerves with the emotion is really important for them.”

Skartvedt reached the end zone from both sides of the ball in the first half to help the Hawks storm out to a 16-0 lead. He shoved his way into the end zone from 4 yards out midway through the first quarter, and in the second he stepped in front of a Brian Duran pass for an interception that he returned 37 yards to the house.

South Hamilton put Belmond-Klemme (0-4, 0-1 District 2) away in the initial 14 minutes of the second half. Busch’s first touchdown of the season, a 1-yard burst, provided the only third-quarter scoring and Barkema brought the energy with a 53-yard sprint through the defense for a score early in the fourth.

Busch added another 1-yard TD with 3:10 remaining.

Belmond-Klemme avoided the shutout with a 20-yard TD run by Clayton Pletsch in the final minute, but the Broncos were unable to sustain much offensively while the game was still in question. South Hamilton limited them to 165 yards, 142 of which came on the ground.

“The guys really flowed to the ball well and at all three levels we played well,” Klemp said. “(Broncos’ tailback Tate) Sander was a real physical type kid again, but we were able to key on that.”

Skartvedt had a team-best 51⁄2 tackles, and Stellen Willis made 41⁄2 stops, two of them in the backfield.

Sander churned out 68 yards on 13 carries, while Pletsch led the Broncos with 75 yards on eight totes.

South Hamilton will travel to Woodward on Friday to take on Woodward-Granger (3-1, 1-0 District 2) at 7 p.m.

S. Hamilton 38, B-Klemme 7

Friday at Jewell

B-K 0 0 0 7 — 7

SH 8 8 8 14 — 38

First Quarter

SH — Landen Skartvedt 4 run (Tjerdan Johnson run), 5:10.

Second Quarter

SH — Skartvedt 37 INT return (Tycin Barkema run), 3:08.

Third Quarter

SH — Austin Busch 1 run (Skartvedt run), 5:32.

Fourth Quarter

SH — Barkema 53 run (Skartvedt run), 9:56.

SH — Busch 1 run (run failed), 3:10.

B-K — Clayton Pletsch 20 run (Brian Duran kick), 0:39.

Individual Statistics

Rushing — B-K: Clayton Pletsch 8-75, Tate Sander 13-68, Cameron Roberts 2-0, Brian Duran 2-(-1). SH: Landen Skartvedt 22-160, Tycin Barkema 12-98, Austin Busch 20-92, Tjerdan Johnson 2-3.

Passing — B-K: Sander 3-7-0-0 8, Duran 2-6-1-0 15. SH: Johnson 0-2-0-0 0.

Receiving — B-K: Pletsch 1-8, Brody Paulsen 1-8, Robert Naranjo 1-7, Nicholas Jenison 1-5, Roberts 1-(-5).

Tackles — SH: Skartvedt 51⁄2, Stellen Willis 41⁄2, Busch 31⁄2, Gatlin Johnson 31⁄2, Brent Greenfield 31⁄2, Tucker Clabaugh 21⁄2, Nicholas Severseike 2, Prestin Van De Pol 2, Landon Greufe 11⁄2, Noah Gunderson 11⁄2, Jack Moline 11⁄2, Dylan Oskvig 1, Carter Stolee 1, Adley Peters 1⁄2.