WALL LAKE — The South Hamilton Hawks football team returned to action on Friday night, as they made the trip west on Highway 175 to take on the East Sac County Raiders in Class 1A, District 2 action at the Wall Lake Athletic Complex. South Hamilton entered at 0-4, while East Sac County entered at 1-3.
East Sac took the football first and would march down the field and score on a 5-yard touchdown pass from Weston Julin to Zach Jacobsen to put the Raiders ahead 6-0. South Hamilton would march down on their opening possession and punch in a touchdown with a 3-yard run from Wyatt Gelder to put the Hawks ahead 8-6 after a 2-point conversion. East Sac would punt the football on their ensuing possession, as South Hamilton put together another long touchdown drive, capped off by a 2-yard run by Maddux Becker to put the Hawks ahead 16-6 after another 2-point conversion. The Raiders put together a quick drive of their own in response as Westin Julin scored on a 10-yard to bring the score to 16-14. Penalties thwarted the Hawks following drive, which resulted in a turnover on downs, as Westin Julin put the Raiders in the endzone through the air with a short touchdown pass to Carson Schmitt to put East Sac ahead 20-16 at halftime.
South Hamilton got the football out of the halftime break and would capitalize, as Wyatt Gelder got loose for a 31-yard touchdown run as the Hawks reclaimed the lead at 24-20. East Sac responded on their opening drive of the 2nd half as Carson Schmitt on a short touchdown run to put the Raiders ahead 26-24. South Hamilton then took the football and scored on drive that took the game into the 4th quarter on a 5-yard touchdown run from Jose Babcock as the Hawks took a 30-26 lead. East Sac then took control from there, as Carson Schmitt scored on a 22-yard touchdown run as the Raiders went ahead 32-30. The Raiders then got a 4th down stop on the Hawks, before forcing an interception on the ensuing South Hamilton drive and punching in the deciding touchdown to cap a 40-30 win.
Wyatt Gelder finished the game with 30 carries for 187 yards and 2 touchdowns, while Maddux Becker had 22 carries for 89 yards and Jose Babcock had 10 carries for 67 yards.
South Hamilton football returns to action on Friday Night, when they travel to Pocahontas to take on the Indians in Class 1A, District 2 action with kickoff at 7 PM.