The speed of Rushford-Peterson proved to be too much for Southland as the Rebels fell 45-14 in their Three Rivers Conference Southern Division opener on homecoming Friday night in Adams.

The guest Trojans (4-0) racked up 343 total yards for scrimmage, which does not include special teams. Wade Thompson put R-P on the scoreboard in the first quarter with a 70-yard punt return for touchdown, and a battered Rebels squad could not keep up throughout the remainder.

Injuries to leading receiver Tim Schneider and his backup Jared Lewison gave Southland problems in throwing the ball. Quarterback Adam Nagele still managed to throw for 102 yards, but the Rebels could not move the ball with a sustained drive.

"We were outsized, we could not move the ball," said Southland coach Dick Strand. "We struggled on the offensive side of the line.

"Our defense played fantastic, Rushford-Peterson is an excellent football team with speed and size."

Southland's defense held Thompson under 100 yards rushing for the first time in four games this year, limiting him to 45 yards on 14 carries. But the Trojans had enough to grind out some drives against the relentless Southland defense.

Rushford-Peterson finished with 246 yards rushing, while Southland countered with 169. Steve Snyder led the host Rebels with 72 yards on seven carries. Pete Churchill chipped in 61 yards on three attempts.

Nagele scored Southland's first touchdown of the fourth quarter on a 2-yard run, while Alex Padilla added the second on a 3-yard rumble.

Greg Retterath stepped in as the leading receiver for the Rebels, racking up 77 yards on three catches.

Churchill and Steve Medinnus had a hand in 19 tackles each, and Travis Schneider recorded one quarterback sack.

The Rebels (2-2, 0-1) go to Caledonia (2-2, 1-0) Friday night to face the Warriors.

Summary:

Score by quarters

Rush.-Pet.10714 14 -- 45

Southland000 14 -- 14

Scoring summary

RP -- Thompson 71 punt return (O'Hara kick)

RP -- FG 27 O'Hara

RP -- Dessner 3 run (O'Hara kick)

RP -- Hall 27 pass from Merchlewitz (O'Hara kick)

RP -- Anderson 1 run (O'Hara kick)

S -- Nagele 2 run (Snyder run)

RP -- Anderson 1 run (Colbenson run)

S -- Padilla 3 run (run failed)

RP -- Colbenson 72 run (run failed)

Team statistics

R-PSol

Rushing yards246169

Passing yards97103

Total offense343272