Bitner Wilson’s 1-yard touchdown with 31 seconds on the clock lifted No. 10 Auburn Mountainview to a 17-13 win over crosstown rival Auburn on Friday night at Auburn Memorial Stadium.
“It felt good, I have to thank the line for all that good blocking,” said Wilson, a sophomore. “It just felt good to win another ballgame.”
The win guarantees second place in the South Puget Sound League 3A and district playoff home game in two weeks for the Lions (5-1 league, 7-1 overall).
“It feels pretty good,” Lions coach Jared Gervais said, “beating Auburn, and doing it in that fashion. It was kind of sloppy both ways and neither team played their best game of the season. We were pretty lucky to come out on top. It’s pretty exciting.”
Auburn (4-2, 5-3), which also qualifies for the postseason, must battle Lakes (3-3, 5-3) for third place at 7 p.m. next Friday at Auburn Memorial Stadium.
The Lions got things started on the first play from scrimmage, with junior quarterback Gresch Jensen legging it 56 yards to the Trojans’ 29.
Kicker Devon Tandberg ended the drive with a 40-yard field goal.
Auburn’s first score came after capitalizing on an Auburn Mountainview fumble, with the drive ending in Caden Borden 35-yard field goal.
On the next possession, the Lions recaptured the lead with an 8-yard TD pass from Jensen to receiver Vaughn Daggs.
Then things got a little sloppy.
After forcing the Trojans into a three-and-out, Auburn Mountainview looked intent on sabotaging the lead with penalties.
Two personal fouls against the Lions, one for roughing the punter and another a few plays later for roughing the kicker on a field goal attempt, allowed Auburn’s Avery Wade to punch it into the end zone on a 3-yard touchdown run.
The teams went into intermission tied at 10-10.
The Trojans snagged the lead on Borden’s 27-yard field goal in the fourth quarter.
Wilson then scored for the Lions.
Auburn’s attempt to come back was cut short by a Gavin Robertson interception with less than 10 seconds left on the clock.
“It was just another football game. We just had to fight through,” Wilson said. “They got a lot of extra possession because of the penalties. We just had to work together, make sure we’re still together. We did all this hard work in the summer and hard work pays off.”
Gervais added:
“For our kids, Auburn has been the big, bad boy on the block forever,” he said. “Even though most of them didn’t grow up with (the rivalry), they’re still Auburn in green and gold. Our kids were able to fight through some of the mistakes they made. It’s a pretty cool win for them.”
