The orange-and-blue clad celebration began in the parking lot at the corner of Fourth and H streets in the form of a tailgate party.

That festive atmosphere continued for Auburn Mountainview on the field and culminated with a boisterous locker room in the aftermath of a 34-20 win Friday against rival Auburn Riverside at Auburn Memorial Stadium.

Credit a ball-hawking Lions’ defense for the result, which moved them into a tie for first place with Auburn in the North Puget Sound League 4A Olympic Division. Auburn Mountainview (2-2 overall, 2-0 league) forced three Ravens turnovers in a contest where the kickoff was delayed by 30 minutes because of a power outage.

“There were some big momentum swings throughout the game,” Auburn Mountainview coach Jared Gervais said. “Those things worked in our favor. It was nice to be on the right side of that.”

But turnovers were not the only issue for Auburn Riverside (2-2, 1-1). The Ravens had to settle for Andy Starkel’s 30-yard field goal on their opening drive after a holding penalty. A third-quarter interception by quarterback Talan Alfrey also was negated when Auburn Riverside was flagged for a personal foul.

“Every time something positive happened, we followed it up with a negative,” Auburn Riverside coach Bryant Thomas said.

The mistakes helped the Lions finish the first period on a 14-0 run. They responded to Starkel’s field goal with a six-play, 80-yard drive that culminated with Bitner Wilson’s 13-yard touchdown run. Then, linebacker Michael Kramer scooped up a fumble and returned it 50 yards for a touchdown.

“We practice ripping the ball a lot,” Wilson said. “We want the ball back for our offense because we know we will score.”

Despite that, Auburn Riverside appeared to recover during its next two possessions when Talia Malietufa found Isaiah Prescott for a 10-yard touchdown pass. Malietufa, who finished with 81 yards on 20 carries, then scored on a 4-yard run to give the Ravens a 17-14 lead with 7:52 minutes left in the first half.

That is when the momentum permanently shifted back to Auburn Mountainview. Wilson, who finished with 78 yards and three touchdowns on 17 carries, scored on a 6-yard run. And after holding the Ravens to a three-and-out and recovering a botched punt attempt at Auburn Riverside’s 7-yard line, the Lions needed just three plays to take a 27-17 lead into halftime on a 3-yard run by Alfrey.

The third quarter was characterized by more missed opportunities for Auburn Riverside. It began with a failed fourth-and-7 at Auburn Mountainview’s 8 and continued three players later when a penalty negated Prescott’s interception. That play would have given the Ravens possession inside the Lions’ 20. Auburn Riverside’s other possession during the period ended on a fumble at Auburn Mountainview’s 45.

That resulted in the Lions’ fourth touchdown on a turnover when Wilson scored on a 24-yard run to give his team a 34-17 lead with 11:17 left in the contest. Starkel responded with a 22-yard field goal for the Ravens on the ensuing possession to complete the scoring.

Auburn Mountainview has won three consecutive meetings against Auburn Riverside since the series resumed on an annual basis in 2014. The Lions now have a 3-2 lead in the overall series.

This one might have been the most difficult, though. After all, the Lions won the previous two meetings by a combined score of 74-19.

“Riverside has gotten a ton better since last year,” Gervais said. “Their kids are playing hard; they’re physical and well-coached. They gave us a fight.”

Auburn Mountainview also was hit with many significant graduation departures after last season and lost quarterback Sui Daniels indefinitely after he fractured his collarbone during a Sept. 9 loss at the Lincoln Bowl.

“Sui not being able to play has forced us to reevaluate what we want to do offensively all of the time,” Gervais said. “But Talan’s doing a great job. Talan and Bitner are great players to have around and help cover up some of the growing pains the other guys have gone through.”

And he is seen it happen in rapid fashion.

“We’re getting a little more mature and experienced,” Gervais said. “They’re growing up and doing it really quick.”

Wilson shared similar sentiments.

“We get one-day smarter every day we go to practice,” he said.

Both teams will have one less day of that this week as they play at 7 p.m. Thursday. The Lions host Thomas Jefferson, while the Ravens play Todd Beamer at Federal Way Memorial Stadium.

“We’ll bounce back,” Thomas said. “We’ve got a strong team.”