PAULLINA — Not only will the physical toughness of the St. Edmond football team be put to the test over these next four weeks.

The mental toughness will also be challenged.

The Gaels (1-2 overall, 1-0 in Class A, District 2) embark on a stretch of three road games over the next 22 days here Friday night vs. South O’Brien.

Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.

St. Edmond got in the win column last Friday with a 27-20 victory over MMCRU to open district play. The victory was the first at SEHS for head coach Jon Borer.

Charlie Shelly, a sophomore, had his first 100-yard rushing game, recording a career-high 109 and a score on 20 carries. Senior Isaac Lursen had his second 100-yard receiving game, hauling in seven passes from Andrew Gibb for 118.

“We had a pretty rough practice on Tuesday, but talking with (Fort Dodge head coach Matt) Miller and (Iowa Central head coach Kevin) Twait, they said the same,” Borer said. “We came back out Wednesday and Thursday, though, with two good days and I feel good about our plan for Friday.

“We’ve got a good group of kids that prepare each day like it is a game and that helps to get us set for the week.”

Lursen ranks first in Class A in receptions with 18 and is third in receiving yards with 309. Gibb, a junior, ranks 11th with 374 yards passing and is 30 of 70 passing.

Shelly leads the Gaels with 221 yards on 49 carries, with Cade Naughton adding 128 and Gibb 114. All three are averaging better than 4.5 yards per carry and have scored seven touchdowns.

“I’m excited to have another opportunity to go out and play,” Borer said. “This is a road game like will test our kids and a long trip, but we need to get another one.”

Borer once again was impressed with his defensive unit, which allowed just a single touchdown in the first half vs. the Royals and forced three turnovers.

Jack Rasmussen, who led the entire state in tackles last year, is fourth in his class with 33.5 stops. He accounted for 10 against MMCRU, with Sean Newell and Jackson Bemrich each making seven.

“We had kids just flying to the ball,” he said. “We made some nice plays and really got after it. Even the kids that weren’t making tackles were in on plays.”

As a team, St. Edmond had six tackles for loss, with senior Sean Flaherty recording two of them.

South O’Brien (0-3, 0-1) opened with back-to-back road games at Woodbury Central (25-0) and Sheldon (48-14). They started district play with a 27-14 home loss to Hartley-HMS last Friday, but were leading 14-13 late in the fourth.

Clayton Leng leads the Wolverines with 348 yards rushing and three scores. Senior Carson Louscher is back at quarterback, but he has just 36 yards passing and another 96 on the ground.

Leng had 183 of those yards last week against HMS and Louscher had 34 in the same game.

Leng and Drew Faust anchor the defense with 26 and 22.5 tackles. Louscher also has a pair of interceptions.

Last year, South O’Brien went 6-4 and finished second in the district with a 5-1 mark. They were knocked out of the playoffs by West Sioux, 49-20.

That included a 27-6 victory over St. Edmond in which all-stater Sam Nelson ran for 212 yards on 43 carries.

Next week, the Gaels travel to Ridge View before returning home to face Hartley-HMS. On Oct. 6, they head to Armstrong for a date with North Union.