Winning in your own back yard against rugged rivals is important to Jared Gervais and his football team.

“It’s a big deal for our kids,” said Gervais, coach of the Auburn Mountainview team. “For a lot of them, when they were in elementary school, Mountainview didn’t exist. So it’s a pretty cool experience for these kids. … It’s obviously huge. It’s a crosstown rivalry.”

For the second straight season, the Lions from Lea Hill have secured the all-city championship, neighborhood bragging rights, and the Fugate Trophy for taking the two-game, three-school series.

Gresch Jensen ran for three first-half touchdowns and later passed for a fourth as Auburn Mountainview defeated rival Auburn 42-30 in a South Puget Sound League 3A game last Friday night at Auburn Memorial Stadium.

Earlier this season, the Lions beat Auburn Riverside 36-17.

Against Auburn, the Lions owned leads of 14-0, 35-14 and 42-21, then defused a Trojans’ comeback.

“They’re our hometown rivals, so it means a lot to beat these guys,” said Lions wideout Vaughn Daggs.

Auburn Mountainview (4-2 in league, 6-2) improved its playoff position, while the Trojans (2-4, 2-6) are all but eliminated.

For the Lions, it was good to get back to winning after a disappointing 34-20 loss at Peninsula two weeks ago.

“It’s bouncing back after a tough loss,” Gervais added. “We talked to them all week about making choices, to do more than just enough to get by and making choices to trust each other and have faith in each other. And they came out tonight and they did it. I’m extremely proud of the way they played tonight.”

Auburn, fraught by injuries all season, gave it their best shot.

“They played very hard. They’re a good team,” Gervais said. “They’re a better team than what their record shows. Coach (Gordon) Elliott always does an amazing job in getting their guys ready to play. … Losing is never fun, but they played hard, and they should be proud of that.”

Jensen shows the way

Jensen, a University of Montana commit, scored on keepers from 1, 2 and 4 yards out and later found Ryan Lacey on an 11-yard slant for a TD that gave the Lions a 42-21 lead with 7:23 left in the third quarter.

On the night, Jensen completed 29 of 38 passes for 281 yards. He has thrown 26 TD passes this season.

“Auburn’s a good team. They’re well coached,” Jensen said. “Our guys came out tonight with an emphasis. I was proud of them coming back after (a) tough loss, regrouped and refocused.”

Jensen connected with six different receivers, including Corey Barnes who finished with a team-high 10 receptions for 89 yards. Daggs had eight catches for 51 yards.

On what might have been the Lions’ best drive of the night, Jensen took his team 88 yards in a minute and 38 seconds, scoring on a quick count to dart into the end zone from the 2 with seven seconds left on the clock in the first half.

Auburn had trouble slowing down Jensen and the Lions’ no-huddle, spread attack.

“They’re a real talented team and, for a lot of the game, we played right with them,” Elliott said. “We showed that we belong against a team like that.”

Jensen was difficult to stop, Elliott said.

“It doesn’t have anything to do with Xs and Os, it has to do with having a quarterback like that,” Elliott said. “He’s really good.”

Meanwhile, Auburn senior Kevin Clay enjoyed a breakout game, scoring four touchdowns on explosive runs of 8, 12, 54 and 65 yards to keep the Trojans in the game.

“It wasn’t just me, it was my team,” Clay said afterward. “We tried our best against these guys, our rivals, guys I played against when I was younger. We came out and gave them our best and hope they gave their best, too.”

Auburn lost quarterback Justin Ioimo to a concussion late in the first half. The Trojans turned to Gavin Strojan, who played well in relief. An injury also prevented Ioimo from finishing last year’s game against the Lions.

“Gavin did a great job, but still Justin’s our guy,” Elliott said, “so not having him hurts on both sides of the ball.”

Bitner Wilson and Jackson Sele scored on runs in the first half for the Lions. Wilson got the tough yards, carrying the ball 21 times for 98 yards.

“Our line played really well. Our running game really opened everything up for us,” Jensen said. “And (Wilson) is a beast. He’s a little underrated, but he’s my guy.”

Auburn Mountainview hosts Enumclaw on Thursday. Auburn travels to Lakes this Friday.

Elsewhere

At Peninsula 14, Auburn Riverside 9: Tiano Malietufa hit Dennis Beard on a 14-yard touchdown pass, and Andy Starkel kicked a 26-yard field goal in the Ravens’ loss to the Seahawks at Gig Harbor on Oct. 22.

Peninsula improved to 3-3 in the SPSL 3A, 4-4 overall. Auburn Riverside dropped to 0-6 and 0-8.

The top four teams in league advance to the playoffs, which begin next week.