But once host Southwestern found its collective footing offensively, it dominated the rest of the way.

Brody Larson and Bradyn Fuller scored two rushing touchdowns apiece; Owen Hayes connected with Brayden Potter on a 10-yard scoring pass; and football newcomer Kole Lyon was successful on all five of his point-after boots to send the Trojans to a 35-0 victory at Charles A. Lawson Field at the Sirianni Athletic Complex.

Fuller finished with 64 yards on eight carries, Larson had 63 yards on nine trips and Potter collected 26 yards on four carries; Hayes completed 7 of 13 passes for 99 yards; and Fuller led Southwestern’s defense with nine tackles.

Trojans head coach Jake Burkholder was certainly pleased with the win, especially with how the final 30 minutes went.

Southwestern’s Ayson Smith wraps up East Aurora/Holland’s Joshua Wagner during Saturday’s nonleague football game at Charles A. Lawson Field. Photo by Shelly Phillips

“They put in a ton of work (in the offseason), and they were not seeing the dividends of that in the first half,” he said of his offense. “Coming out in the second half, they wanted to get things going.”

Until that point, however, East Aurora/Holland played ball control, running 26 offensive plays to Southwestern’s nine late into the second quarter. But when the hosts took over possession with 4:21 remaining in the first half at their own 34, they used six plays to find the end zone, capped by Larson’s 16-yard run. Lyon’s point-after was good and Southwestern led 7-0, a margin it took into halftime.

After intermission, it was all Trojans, on both sides of the ball.

Fuller, who moved into the district this year after playing at Falconer previously, jump-started them with a long punt return to East Aurora/Holland’s 4-yard line. A block-in-the-back penalty on the play pushed Southwestern back to its own 44, but five plays later, Fuller scored on a 1-yard plunge. Lyon’s extra-point attempt was good, extending the Trojans’ lead to 14-0 with 6:44 left in the third quarter.

“(Fuller) is a dynamic athlete,” Burkholder said. “He runs hard, he’s a great complement to (Larson and Potter) in the backfield. I’m excited to see where things go.”

From there, Southwestern found the end zone on its next three offensive possessions — a 4-yard run by Larson, a 6-yard burst by Fuller and a 10-yard Hayes-to-Potter pass — to close out the scoring while the defense continued to pitch a shutout.

“We just try to keep it simple for the kids to play fast and not have to think,” Burkholder said. “They really take pride in keeping that zero on the guest side of the scoreboard.”

NOTES: Potter and George Marshall each collected six tackles, and Asyn Smith and Michael Carlson both had fumble recoveries for the winners. … The Trojans return to action at 7 p.m. this Friday when they travel to Eden/North Collins.

East Aurora/Holland 0 0 0 0 — 0

Southwestern 0 7 21 7 — 35

SW — Larson 16 run (Lyon kick)

SW — Fuller 1 run (Lyon kick)

SW — Larson 4 run (Lyon kick)

SW — Fuller 6 run (Lyon kick)

SW — Potter 10 pass from Hayes (Lyon kick)