-Messenger photo by Britt Kudla Grant Galles of St. Edmond celebrates after running back a punt return against Newell-Fonda on Friday inside dodgers Stadium

REMSEN — The St. Edmond football team will see the last three eight-player state champions over the next two weeks.

That run starts here Friday night with defending champion Remsen St. Mary’s.

Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. from Sunrise Park.

The Gaels (1-1 overall, 1-0 in district) are coming off a convincing 64-28 win over Newell-Fonda inside Dodger Stadium last week, as they got on track in the district following a tough 22-20 setback at Glidden-Ralston.

Big second and fourth quarters helped St. Edmond put the Mustangs away, as they scored 30 points before halftime and finished things off with 22 over the final 12 minutes.

Kinnick Henning ran for 142 yards and two TDs, Aaron Hindt had 109 with a touchdown and both Ethan Swisher and Matthew Crimmins found the end zone. Swisher also completed 5 of 9 for 70 yards with two touchdowns to Jakob Koopman and one to Grant Galles, who scored on a punt return.

On the year, Henning and Hindt both have 142 yards rushing and two touchdowns, as Swisher has hit on 15 of 23 for 166 yards with four scores, including three to Koopman.

“It was great to get the ground game going,” SEHS head coach Matt Dillon said. “It really all starts there on offense. When we can break off chunk plays, it allows us to mix in the pass and take advantage of the weapons we have on the outside.”

Koopman and Koleman Hanson each have three tackles for loss on defense, as Koopman leads with 12.5 tackles. Blake Barlett is second with 11 stops, including nine solos, and has two tackles for loss.

Along with capturing the state title last year, Remsen St. Mary’s (0-2) won it all in 2022, ’20 and ’18, going a combined 75-6 during that span with three of those losses coming in 2018.

That 2018 year marked the last time they suffered a regular season loss, falling to Newell-Fonda on October 12.

In 2015, though, the Hawks have struggled, losing to No. 8 Audubon and GTRA on the road by a combined scored of 118-33.

“Regardless of what has happened in those first two games, that team and that program have so much pride in what they have done,” Dillon said. “I’ve tried to really push that on the kids this week. I know (Remsen St. Mary’s) is going to come out and fight with everything they have until the final whistle sounds.”

Sophomore Dalton Klein has completed 20 of 34 for 258 yards with three touchdowns, including eight passes to Beau Johnson, who has 138 yards and a pair of scores.

Johnson, Dayton Kneip and Tylen Waldschmitt are the only players to have an offensive stat this year, as all three are sophomores like Klein. As a team, the Hawks have rushed 10 times for 18 yards, as Kneip does have 10 receptions for 110 with a touchdown.

These two met twice before, with Remsen St. Mary’s winning in 2022, 63-0, and in 2021, 58-6.