South Hamilton’s Noah Gunderson (34) and Aiden Johnson (80) celebrate a touchdown on Friday in Jewell. The Hawks dismantled Ridge View, 54-12. (DFJ photo by Angela Hewitt)

JEWELL — It didn’t take Paul Skartvedt long to coach the South Hamilton football team to a postseason victory.

In his first season at the helm, the program’s long-time assistant guided the Hawks to a 54-12 victory over Ridge View (4-5) on Friday night.

This is the third straight postseason trip for the Hawks (8-1 overall) and 12th overall in school history.

South Hamilton is now in Pod D, and will face seventh-rated Pella Christian (8-1) for a spot in the Class 1A quarterfinals. The other matchup pits ACGC (7-2) against No. 3 Underwood (9-0).

“I think we came out a little nervous, but that was to be expected for our first playoff game,” Skartvedt said. “We did a great job of getting into into a rhythm that fit our players after the first couple plays.

“We had another great game running the ball. Our backs are running hard and doing a lot better job of blocking for each other. Our offense and defensive lines perform very well, too. We had our linebackers and defensive backs taking away big plays from them. And we did a great job of team tackling.

“We want to make sure every time we step on the field we are playing Hawk football, which is just being mentally and physically tougher than the other team.”

After a tight first quarter, The Hawks scored 46 unanswered points in the second and third periods combined. The Hawks churned out 437 yards rushing on 46 carries at nearly 10 yards per tote with six rushing touchdowns.

Noah Gunderson was the groundhog for the Hawks. Gunderson carried the ball 11 times for an average of 13.5 yards per carry.

Gunderson ran for 148 yards and three scores, with a long of 52 yards.

Nick Severseike also passed the 100-yard plateau, going for 112 with an 18.7 per carry average. Severseike had a 75-yard touchdown burst.

Tjerdan Johnson had a 19-yard touchdown, and Landen Skartvedt added a four-yard scoring scamper.

Landon Greufe led the special teams with an 80-yard kickoff return to paydirt on the opening play of the contest.

“It’s always great to start off the game with a kick return for a touchdown,” Skartvedt said.

Teagan Trask and Gunderson both had interceptions. Severseike led the defense with 5-5 tackles. Skartvedt and Gunderson had 4.5 tackles each. Owen Renaud had 2.5 sacks and Skartvedt had two.