Physical Lions cruise to rivalry win against Auburn | NPSL 4A football

Talan Alfrey emerged from Auburn Mountainview’s locker room as if he was preparing to watch a movie with a hot dog in one hand, popcorn in the other.

For most of the previous three hours, he treated the fans to a highlight-reel performance.

Alfrey, a quarterback, rushed for three touchdowns as the Lions defeated rival Auburn, 42-21, Friday night in a North Puget Sound League 4A Olympic Division game at Auburn Memorial Stadium. Alfrey scored on 3- and 2-yard runs, but his most impressive was a 61-yard scramble where he broke four tackles en route to the end zone.

“I saw everyone running right and I was pretty sure it was a quarterback lead,” Alfrey said. “I just saw an opening, went through it, got hit and stayed on my feet and kept running. I got blocks from my receivers and went all of the way.”

Another Alfrey highlight did not result in a score for Auburn Mountainview (4-2 overall, 4-0 league). With the Lions leading 35-7 in the third quarter, Alfrey’s pass on third-and-6 ricocheted off a teammate and back into his hands. Alfrey turned that into a 26-yard gain.

“The guy tipped it and it came right back to me,” Alfrey said. “It was awesome.”

Alfrey transitioned from wide receiver to quarterback when Sui Daniels fractured his collarbone during a Sept. 9 loss at Lincoln. Coach Jared Gervais expects Daniels to return later this season, but from now the Lions have transitioned from the pass-heavy arsenal of the past several years to more of a run-based offense led by Alfrey and Bitner Wilson. The latter rushed for 81 yards and two touchdowns on 12 carries.

Gervais noted that both play on defense and special teams, as well.

“We make them do pretty much whatever we need them to do,” Gervais said.

Auburn (5-1, 3-1) struggled to contain Alfrey and Wilson, both of whom broke several tackles, throughout the game.

“In our offense and defense, we need to control the line of scrimmage and we didn’t do that early against them,” said Auburn coach Gordon Elliott, whose program has lost three consecutive games in the rivalry. “They were just more physical than we were.”

But the Trojans had a variety of issues. They were set to receive the ball to begin the game, but Auburn Mountainview defensive end Ben Mose recovered the squib kick. The Trojans ran only eight offensive plays during the first quarter as the Lions scored on both of their possessions to take a 14-0 lead.

And, just two plays into the second quarter, Auburn Mountainview defensive back Campbell Friend intercepted Gavin Strojan and returned it for a 61-yard touchdown.

“They’re going to earn their offensive scores, anyway,” Elliott said. “To give them one on a golden platter doesn’t help.”

It appeared that the Lions would take a 28-0 lead into halftime when Wilson scored on a 6-yard run with 18 seconds remaining. But Strojan found Darius Hatcher open, and the halfback raced untouched for a 71-yard touchdown with one second left in the half.

The momentum was short-lived.

A pair of Alfrey touchdown runs in the third quarter extended the Lions’ lead to 42-7.

“He’s one of the better athletes in the league,” Elliott said. “A couple of times, we didn’t keep him corralled and he got out there and made some big plays. We had guys there and we didn’t tackle him very well.”

Auburn, which played without standout running back Joseph Fagan, who was sidelined with a concussion and a shoulder injury, added a pair of touchdowns on E.J. Brown runs of 2 and 21 yard runs in the fourth quarter.

Both teams suffered multiple injuries during the contest. Elliott said he is not sure if Fagan will return to the lineup when his squad plays at 6 p.m.Saturday at Federal Way. Meanwhile, Gervais said Mose, who suffered a shoulder injury, will undergo a magnetic resonance imaging scan.

The coaches felt the composition of the schedule during the first half of the season contributed to the outcome.

“We’ve played all of these physical teams,” said Gervais, whose team plays at 7 p.m. Thursday against Todd Beamer at Federal Way Stadium to determine first place in the Olympic Division. “I think that’s helped a lot.”

Elliott said his inexperienced team has been “fortunate” to play a schedule that enabled them to get off to an undefeated start, but added that the Trojans now must adjust to stronger competition.

“Everyone we play from now on is (playoff-caliber), so our guys needed to see that,” he said. “We didn’t adjust to the added physicality and speed.

“They needed a wakeup call.”

Alfrey, who completed 7 of 8 passes for 88 yards, reflected on what the outcome taught him about his team as he enjoyed his postgame snack.

“We’re tough,” he said. “We’re mentally tough and physically tough.”

Elsewhere

Auburn Riverside 26 at Decatur 7: Tiano Malietufa ran for two touchdowns as the Ravens (2-2, 3-3) defeated the Gators (0-4, 0-6) in an NPSL Olympic Division game Oct. 6 at Federal Way Stadium.