Auburn prepares for postseason action against Edmonds Woodway; Riverside loses 49-14 to Graham-Kapowsin in pigtail playoff qualifier | Football
Published 5:32 pm Wednesday, November 3, 2010
Auburn opens the postseason at 7:30 tonight with a first-round district 4A playoff against Edmonds Woodway at Troy Field.
The Trojans, who finished 7-1 in the South Puget Sound League North and 7-2 overall, is riding a 43-home-game winning streak. Auburn enters as the SPSL North’s No. 2 seed.
Edmonds Woodway, meanwhile, is the WesCo’s No. 4 seed supporting a 6-3 overall record.
The Trojans are coming off a sporadic 28-14 win over crosstown rival Auburn Riverside last Thursday.
“We played a good first half, then we relaxed a little in the second half,” said Trojans coach Gordon Elliott. “We were in control the whole game. It was just a little tough for our guys to keep the hammer down in the second half because they were thinking ahead to the playoff game.”
The Trojans will be more focused on the task at hand tonight, Elliott promised.
“We’re looking pretty good coming into the game,” he said. “We’re healthy and almost up to full strength.”
That means the return of lineman Danny Shelton, a top college recruit who missed last week’s game because of a suspension. Shelton was ejected for committing illegal personal contact with a Kent-Meridian player during the Trojans’ Oct. 21 meeting with the Royals, resulting in a one-game suspension.
The Trojans, however, will be without the services of running back Austin Embody, who suffered a separated shoulder against Kent-Meridian. But Elliott expects senior Tarin McDonald to continue to provide an option to workhorse Alphonse Wade in the backfield.
The key for the Trojans will be the same as always – controlling the game with their time-consuming ground attack, while stopping the Warriors’ scoring machine, tailback Zack Berg, who has 15 rushing touchdowns and averages more than 140 yards a game.
“I don’t have any concerns,” Elliott said. “You’re playing a playoff team, so you’ve got to keep it up for 48 minutes. You can’t let down. We just have to do what we do well and keep the football away from them.
“They’ve got a pretty good tailback, so we’ve got to keep him under control and be a good team on defense and tackle well.”
ELSEWHERE:
Auburn Riverside failed to grab the final playoff spot out of the SPSL, losing 49-14 to Graham-Kapowsin in a pigtail playoff game Tuesday at Spanaway. The Ravens managed to tie the game in the third quarter, 14-14, with Jordan Moore scoring on a 36-yard run. The Eagles grabbed the lead in the third, however, and piled up 28 points in the fourth quarter to put away the Ravens, who finished the season 5-5. Senior quarterback John Hakala also ran for a touchdown.
