STATE CENTER — South Tama did its best to hang with non-district foe West Marshall on the road last Friday night, but the home team ultimately ran away with the season-opening contest between Trojans, defeating STC 42-6.

Senior quarterback Peyton Hart led the charge for West Marshall (1-0), running for four touchdowns and tossing two more, and STC (0-1) struggled on the offensive side of the ball, finishing with just 166 total yards from scrimmage.

West Marshall got the scoring started early when they took over on offense at the STC 45-yard-line off of a short punt. Two plays later, Hart busted loose for a 32-yard run and got the home Trojans on the scoreboard first, making it 7-0 after the extra point.

Both teams then traded unproductive drives, but South Tama nearly evened it up with a long drive of its own later in the first quarter. Running back Ethan Cruikshank broke an 11-yard run to the West Marshall 33, and quarterback Gavin Bridgewater made the best of a broken play when he picked up a dropped snap and ran to the left for a first down inside of the red zone.

Unfortunately for South Tama, the drive stalled out near the end of the quarter, and after Cruikshank was stuffed on a fourth and five rushing attempt, they relinquished possession to the home team.

Later in the second, West Marshall put together a scoring drive after sophomore Ben Gonzalez found a seam and scampered for 32 yards to the South Tama 18. On a crucial third and seven from the 15, Hart found Grahm Nason and connected for 12 yards. On the next play, Hart ran into the end zone for the second time, and the score was 14-0 after the extra point.

The home Trojans flexed their muscles through the air on the next scoring drive as Hart threw a bomb to Jace Eich that resulted in a 40-yard gain to the South Tama 27. From there, Hart looked to junior Preston Reese and delivered a strike into his outstretched arms resulting in a touchdown and a score of 21-0 by halftime.

STC showed resilience early in the third quarter when Cruikshank intercepted Hart and catalyzed a temporary momentum shift. Bridgewater broke free for a 20-yard run, and a late hit pushed the visiting Trojans all the way to the West Marshall 34-yard line.

After Bridgewater ran for another first down, he found sophomore Tyrus Clegg down the left side in the end zone for the lone South Tama touchdown of the night. After a blocked extra point, the score was 21-6 in favor of West Marshall.

The score was the same headed into the fourth quarter before Hart set himself up with great field position on a punt return to the STC 42-yard line. After they were pushed backward by a penalty, Hart set up a throwback screen to Caden Vellinga, who ran straight down the field for a 47-yard touchdown to make the score 28-6.

Hart, who finished the game with 195 yards rushing and 154 yards passing, added two more late touchdowns on the ground to secure the win for the home team. Bridgewater went 6-for-9 through the air for 37 yards and a score, and he also rushed for 100 yards on 19 attempts.

Defensively, senior Damon Castellanos led STC with 5.5 total tackles, and Nolan Upah added four.

South Tama is at home this week against Saydel with a 7 p.m. kickoff.