It\u2019s never too early for a must win football game in the South Puget Sound League North Division.<\/p>\n
Especially when powerhouse rivals Auburn and Kentwood line up against each other, as they did this past Friday at French Field in the second game of the season for both teams.<\/p>\n
And although Auburn came out with the 35-28 victory, both teams showed flashes of brilliance – along with the typical miscues that occur this early in a football season.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was asked if I\u2019m happy with our performance and I\u2019d have to say no, we\u2019re not happy with our performance,\u201d Kentwood head coach Rex Norris said. \u201cWe had a lot to overcome and the kids played hard, but that\u2019s the expectation of Kentwood football.\u201d<\/p>\n
Fourth-ranked Auburn (2-0) opened the game by reeling off two big touchdowns in the first quarter, with senior quarterback Marshall Klontz hooking up with senior Austin Embody for a 35-yard score. Embody added the Trojan\u2019s next score, scampering into the end zone from 50 yards out.<\/p>\n
Down early, Kentwood was far from out.<\/p>\n
Senior Tristan Askew answered for Kentwood in the second quarter, scoring on a 57-yard run.<\/p>\n
Junior Mikell Everette added a five yard touchdown to close out the second quarter with the game tied at 14-14.<\/p>\n
At the half Kentwood had 185 yards of total offense, with 55 rushing and 130 passing yards. Auburn had 257 yards, 45 rushing and 212 passing.<\/p>\n
Auburn continued its struggles in the second quarter with Kentwood scoring twice in the third quarter. Askew, Kentwood\u2019s senior quarterback, added a 34-yard touchdown run to take a 21-14 lead. Kentwood\u2019s Matthew Hubbard stretched the lead to 14, scooping up a Chris Young fumble and rumbling in from 25-yards out to put the Conks up 28-14.<\/p>\n
Down by 14, Auburn finally got the machine rolling in the waning moments of the third quarter, with Klontz hooking up with junior Alphonse Wade for a 52 yard touchdown pass.<\/p>\n
The fourth quarter belonged to Auburn\u2019s deadly backfield of Young, Wade and Embody. Young scored twice in the final frame, helping the Trojans ice the victory.<\/p>\n
Auburn finished the game with 425 total rushing yards, with Wade responsible for 213 yards on 13 carries and Embody adding 117. Young finished with 95 yards.<\/p>\n
For Kentwood, Askew finished with two touchdowns and 123 yards on the ground.<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought we did a really nice job of not losing our composure and coming back after being down 14 points,\u201d Norris said. \u201cBut we gave up some really long plays and that\u2019s something you just can\u2019t do to Auburn. You\u2019ve got to make them earn it, and we gave them about three touchdowns they didn\u2019t earn. They worked hard and their players made the plays, but we certainly made it a little easier on them.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe played well in the first quarter and then had some not very disciplined things going on and we still did okay,\u201d Auburn coach Gordon Elliott said. \u201cWe just didn\u2019t play very well in the second quarter. We played well in the first quarter. But that\u2019s not a characteristic of us making those mistakes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Auburn will host Kent-Meridian (0-2) at 7 p.m. on Friday at Auburn Memorial Stadium. Kentwood travels to Tahoma (2-0) for a 7 p.m. game Friday.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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