Kiilsgaard leads Auburn's rout of Shorecrest

The Auburn High Trojans, the No. 1 team in the Class 3A rankings, showed Shorecrest why they are the top-rated team in the state, handing the Scotties a 42-7 loss Friday night.

"We played well, " Auburn coach Gordon Elliott said. "It took us some time to get started because they have a good defense that slowed us down, but we got our momentum going."

Neither team did much in the first quarter as the defenses for both sides shut down the opposing offenses.

"They are clearly better than their record shows, " Auburn senior quarterback Kellen Kiilsgaard said. "Their defensive line played well and disrupted some of the plays that we like to run."

The Trojans figured out how to move the ball in the second quarter as Auburn put together a nine-play scoring drive set up by a 38-yard run by junior Anthony Perry. With the ball on the 1-yard line, Kiilsgaard plowed ahead to give the Trojans a 7-0 lead.

After forcing Shorecrest to punt, Auburn went to the air and added another touchdown when Kiilsgaard connected with senior Aaron Johnson on a 20-yard pass with 15 seconds left in the first half.

"Kellen is a big-time player, " Elliott said. "He gets his numbers when he needs to, but he really steps up in big games."

The Scotties started the second half with the ball. On their first play, senior Pierce Rankin delivered a would-be touchdown pass down the right sideline, but the ball bounced off his intended receiver's hands, taking the last bit of wind out of Shorecrest's sails.

From that point on Auburn flexed its muscle, scoring 21 points in the third quarter, with Kiilsgaard accounting for two more TDs (one rushing, one passing).

Auburn advances to play Timberline next week.

This story was originally published November 11, 2006 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Kiilsgaard leads Auburn's rout of Shorecrest."