It didn’t take long for the No. 3 ranked Trojan football team to dispell the Kentlake Falcons of any notion that an upset was in the cards Oct. 8.
After a couple of early miscues, the Trojans rolled to a 57-7 South Puget Sound League 4A North Division victory over the Falcons at Auburn Memorial Stadium.
Although, Auburn (6-0 league, 6-0 overall) jumped out to an early 2-0 lead in the game, Kentlake (2-3, 2-4) managed to make the Auburn fans’ hearts skip a beat with an early 7-2 lead after a 66-yard touchdown run by senior tailback Delon Lewis.
“I think we tried to make a game of it early, but I think they just wore us down as the game went on,” Kentlake coach Mike Shepard said. “There is a reason why they are the number three team in the state.”
“They’re a good team, they broke that one long run on us and that kind of woke the guys up a little bit,” Auburn head coach Gordon Elliott said. “It’s October and if you’re going to be a good football team you have to play good football in October. And we’re starting to do that now.”
After Lewis’ score the Trojan machine got rolling, with senior Austin Embody capping an 80-yard drive with a nine-yard touchdown run. Embody finished the game with a touchdown run and 105 yards rushing on 12 carries.
Auburn would not relinquish the lead again in the contest, as the team ran their way to their sixth victory of the season with 385 rushing yards and eight touchdown runs.
“We started off a little bit slow and turned the ball over a couple of times,” Elliott said. “But we kind of straightened it out and controlled the ball real well.”
University of Washington-bound senior Chris Young finished the game with four touchdown runs and 129 yards on 11 carries. Junior Alphonse Wade added 106 yards on eight carries and a TD. The Trojan’s second string also got in on the act with junior Tarin MacDonald and Josh Harris both scoring rushing TDs.
“They have great athletes and a great offensive line and coaching staff,” Shepard said. “I thought we would be able to run some of our quick stuff inside. And I think we found we could pass the ball a little. But we couldn’t put together a drive and two snaps on the ground on punts – you can’t give a team that is that good easy points. We’re a little frustrated, but there is stuff to build on.”
Shepard said Lewis’ performance, stepping in for sophomore tailback Latrelle Dukes, who had a high ankle sprain, was a bright spot for the Falcons.
“He is kind of believing in himself a little bit,” he said. “Unfortunately we have an injury to Latrelle Dukes (starting sophomore tailback). But that creates an opportunity for another kid to step up and play.
Kentlake will host Tahoma (3-2, 3-2) at 1 p.m., Saturday, at French Field.
