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 Friday night at Auburn Memorial Stadium.

The Lions owned leads of 14-0, 35-14 and 42-21, then defused a Trojans’ comeback to retain the Fugate Trophy as the winner of the three-school all-city season series.

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

“It’s obviously huge. It’s a crosstown rivalry. It’s winning the Fugate Trophy two years in a row,” said Lions coach Jared Gervais.

For the Lions, it was good to get back to winning after last week’s disappointing 34-20 loss at Peninsula.

“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.”

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 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 senior Kevin Clay enjoyed a breakout game, scoring four touchdowns on 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.”

Bitner Wilson and Jackson Sele scored on runs in the first half for the Lions.

Auburn Mountainview hosts Enumclaw on Thursday. Kickoff is 7 p.m. Auburn travels to Lakes next 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 Thursday night.

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