Auburn Riverside made full use of its ground attack against Tahoma Sept. 20, piling up 344 yards rushing in a 49-35 South Puget Sound League North 4A victory at Auburn Memorial Stadium.

Auburn senior quarterback Kevin Thomson led the way with 178 yards on 13 carries with two touchdowns and junior running back Cole Huckaby added 96 yards on 21 carries with two TDs.

After trailing 28-21 at the intermission, the Ravens (3-0 league, 3-0 overall) mounted a comeback, outscoring the Bears (1-1, 2-1) 28-7 in the second half.

Junior Gavin Hettinger and senior Joey Galeno each added a rushing touchdown for Auburn Riverside and senior Drew Wallen found himself on the receiving end of a 13-yard touchdown pass from Thomson.

Thomson finished with 7-of-18 passing for 65 yards, two interceptions and a TD.

Defensively, the Ravens feasted on four Bears turnovers, with Michael Lucchesi picking off quarterback Shane Nelson and Alex Riley, Joshua Turner and Marcus Atafua all recovering fumbles.

Derek Hart added two sacks and Vinny Le, Riley and Artem Deyenka chipped in with one each.

The Bears were led offensively by Jerome Woods, who had 87 yards on 17 carries with two touchdowns and quarterback Shane Nelson, who was 15-of-31 for 275 yards and three touchdowns.

Auburn Riverside will look to hold its perch atop the SPSL North 4A standings against Kentlake (0-2, 0-3) at 7 p.m. Thursday at Auburn Memorial Stadium.

SPSL North 4A Week Three Scores:

Kentwood 50, Mount Rainier 0

While Mount Rainier has improved since it first moved up to 4A and joined the SPSL four years ago, it couldn’t contain Kentwood’s offense which scored 27 points in the first quarter en route to a shutout victory.

Senior running backs Brandon Sytsma and Derrick Bell each rushed for a pair of touchdowns while sophomore quarterback Brian Campbell went 7-for-15 for 101 yards with one touchdown pass.

Defensively for the Conquerors Kyle Capperauld seemed to be all over the field getting tackles, causing turnovers, putting pressure on the Rams quarterback and scoring a touchdown on a recovered fumble. Terrence Grady covered a number of gaps, too, tallying seven tackles and a sack as well as a pair of safeties.

Kentwood takes on Kent-Meridian at 7 p.m. Friday at French Field.

Puyallup 41, Kentlake 20

Kentlake struggled on the road against Puyallup Sept. 19 particularly with keeping the ball in the first half as the Vikings ran out to a 27-7 lead as the second quarter came to a close.

Puyallup struck on its initial drive on a touchdown pass with 6:53 left on the clock in the first quarter. The Vikings started on their own 45, marching 55 yards down the field and chewing up almost half of the period. The Falcons took their first drive down to the Vikings 37 but a Kentlake fumble recovered by Puyallup led to a 28 yard touchdown and it continued to go downhill from there.

Kentlake got on the board with 4:52 left in the first half when quarterback D’Marye Dedrick pulled the ball in on fourth and goal on the one yard line then punched it in.

Thomas Jefferson 35, Kent-Meridian 9

A fourth quarter touchdown and safety weren’t enough to help Kent-Meridian claw its way back from a 35 point deficit, and the Royals lost to the Thomas Jefferson High School Raiders 35-9. Despite their best efforts, Kent-Meridian defenders weren’t able to contain senior wide receiver Tyrell Williams and Cordae McAfee, who blew by the Royals’ defenders for three runs in excess of 60 yards.

Kent Meridian tallied 171 yards on the ground thanks to junior running backs Robert Nelson III and Vinnie Malietufa. Nelson ran for 91 yards and scored the single touchdown on a four yard rush and Malietufa ran for 43 yards, while Robinson threw for 23 yards. Kent Meridian fumbled three times with a single recovery.

Auburn 17, Kentridge 14

Kentridge lost to Auburn by a field goal as the Trojans to came away with a 17-14 victory. The heated game came down to Auburn’s slippery offense which ran its way past a more organized Kentridge defensive line.

Kentridge wide reciever Carter Johnson ran the ball into the end zone twice and wide receiver Connor King complemented the goals with two extra point gains.

The Chargers ran for 125 yards and threw for 38 yards. Quarterback Jordan Lawson completed four pass attempts for all of Kentridge’s passing yardage, while Johnson put down 105 rushing yards.

Kentridge’s defensive line kept Auburn on its toes during the game, with fullback Scott Moore making an interception and defenders Braiden Beckman and Malik McFerrin recovering a fumble each.

The Trojans ran for 311 yards and threw for 31 yards, with two rushing touch downs and a single field goal putting them ahead of Kentridge.

Kris Hill and Ross Coyle contributed to this report.