Auburn Mountainview High coach Jared Gervais has been telling his players that they are good enough to hang with anyone in the SPSL 3A.
Maybe they’re starting to believe him.
The upstart Lions matched Bonney Lake big play for big play on Saturday night at Auburn Memorial Stadium, eventually holding on for a 33-28 win over the 10th-ranked Panthers in the league opener for both teams.
“I feel like this is finally going to make the kids believe,” Gervais said. “Bonney Lake moved the ball and did some nice things, but we’re every bit as good as they are.”
Nursing a 19-14 lead, Auburn Mountainview’s Ryan Jensen recovered a fumble at the Bonney Lake 31 after the Panthers fumbled the opening kickoff of the second half.
Halfback Victor Korchemniy burst through the line of scrimmage and ran for a 31-yard touchdown on the next play, giving Auburn Mountainview (4-1 overall, 1-0 SPSL 3A) some momentum.
The Lions added another score when quarterback Domenic Rockey tossed a 20-yard touchdown pass to J.J. Lacey, making it 33-14 with 5 minutes, 54 seconds left in the third quarter.
“Biggest game in my life … everyone played perfect, and I couldn’t have asked for anything more from my teammates,” said Rockey, who passed for 242 yards and two touchdowns. “We just need to believe in ourselves no matter what now. We know we can score every time we have the ball, no matter what.”
Bonney Lake (4-1, 0-1) mounted a comeback behind quarterback Chris Brown. He tossed an 18-yard strike to Kaleb Zahnow late in the third quarter and led another drive that resulted in a 3-yard touchdown run by Joey Surber with 4:14 left, but the Lions were able to run out the clock.
Brown finished 34-of-65 for 343 yards and two touchdowns, and Surber finished with 130 rushing yards and two scores. Zahnow added 14 catches for 143 yards.
“We didn’t stop them that well,” Gervais said. “They’re a good team. They had some big plays; we were able to bounce back and make some big plays.”
Korchemniy rushed for 137 yards on 28 carries.
After the Lions’ opening possession ended at Bonney Lake’s 44 with a turnover on downs, the Panthers struck quickly. Surber charged into a massive pile at the line of scrimmage and somehow got through, eventually sprinting 56 yards for a touchdown.
But Auburn Mountainview answered on its next possession. Korchemiy took a screen pass from quarterback Rockey and dashed 37 yards for a touchdown. The extra point failed.
After a Bonney Lake fumble in the second quarter, Rockey hooked up with Joey Cassano on a slant across the middle, and Cassano took it 43 yards for a touchdown.
Brown’ 20-yard TD pass to Lucas Bright put the Panthers back in front, but Korchemiy scored on a 16-yard run to give the Lions a 19-14 halftime lead.
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