With a 39-game home winning streak on the line and a slew of prognosticators wondering if third-ranked Auburn could get it done without its premier player, it’s no wonder the Trojans had a bit of a chip on their shoulders last week.

“We were reading all the papers saying how we were going to have trouble without the three (suspended) guys, especially Chris (Young),” said junior Austin Embody. “We were kind of ticked off at how everybody thought he was our whole team. So we wanted to prove to them that we’re a team, and it doesn’t matter if you’re missing one or two players.”

Auburn, 10-0 overall, silenced skeptics with a 42-7 win over Kamiak (4-6) in a preliminary playoff game last Friday. Embody led the charge with a career-high 220 yards and four touchdowns.

The Trojans rolled up 21 points in the first quarter, with Embody scoring twice on the ground from 61 and 24 yards out. Junior Alphonse Wade added a 44-yard scoring run.

Embody added two more rushing touchdowns, from 6 and 8 yards out. Wade capped the effort with a 6-yard run in the fourth quarter.

“I’m never going to complain about getting more carries, it felt good,” Embody said. “Alphonse went out early with cramps, and they just kept feeding me and I took it as a challenge and stepped up.”

Wade still managed to rush for 148 yards on 15 carries.

Offensively, Auburn’s backs combined for 478 yards rushing. Defensively, the Trojans allowed the Knights just 130 yards of offense.

Now, the Trojans look ahead to the first round of the 4A state playoffs with a home game against No. 7 Marysville-Pilchuck (10-0) at 7:30 tonight at Auburn Memorial Stadium.

“We just look at it as another game. We don’t really look at who we play,” Embody said. “Right now, records don’t even matter. We’re both just 1-0. We look at them as just another team, and we just have to play our butts off.”

Elsewhere

Auburn Riverside fell 21-15 in overtime to South Puget Sound League South 4A Puyallup in a regular-season finale last week at Auburn Memorial Stadium.

John Hakala ran for one touchdown and threw for another – finding Cole Luckett from 17 yards out – as the Ravens finished the season 2-8.

The Ravens’ Josh Cline kicked a 25-yard field goal to tie the game at 15-15 in the third quarter. But Puyallup mounted a four-play, 25-yard drive in overtime to pull out the game.

Auburn Riverside ran the ball 47 times for 202 yards.

Connor Bjornstad led the team with 172 yards on 27 carries. Hakala added 30 yards on eight carries. Hakala also was 6-of-15 passing with 67 yards and two interceptions.