3 takeaways: Auburn Riverside defeats Auburn Mountainview for 3A NPSL crown, 28-21
The defending champs got the 14-yard line twice in the fourth quarter, but it was Andrew Butler’s play along the sideline that turned into the game-winner as Auburn Riverside claimed the 3A North Puget Sound League Cascade title on Thursday night at Auburn Memorial Stadium.
Butler out-dueled Auburn Mountainview defensive back Taylor Davis for Payton Accetturo’s pass in front of the Ravens bench, stepped out of a potential tackle and raced 71 yards for what proved to be the winning touchdown in a 28-21 victory over the Lions.
The win secured the 3A league title and a top seed to the postseason that begins in a couple of weeks.
“I talked to the guys the entire game about, just stay ready for your moment,” Riverside coach Greg Herd said. “He stayed ready for his moment. A big play, toe-tapping on the sidelines, too, so just a ton of guts from our guys.”
And a Trophy Comes With It
Maybe the icing on the proverbial cake is that the win also returns the Fugate Trophy back to Auburn Riverside for the fourth time in five seasons. The Fugate, named for a former Auburn School District superintendent, goes to the Auburn football team that wins the series between the three district schools.
“It belonged to Auburn for the first 20 years or so,” Auburn Mountainview coach Jared Gervais said. “Lately, it’s gone back and forth between us (the Lions and Ravens, who each have won it four times in the past eight years).”
For a long period, it looked like the Ravens would take the trophy back in a walk.
Auburn Riverside scored the game’s first two touchdowns, taking a 14-0 lead with 10 minutes, 10 seconds left in the second quarter on Thaddeus Umi-Tuato’o’s second touchdown run of the game, from 15 yards out.
But the Lions (4-2 overall, 2-2 league) rose up over the final eight minutes of the first half, and when quarterback Kayde Bodine connected with Nazar Stasyuk for a 12-yard scoring pass with 11 seconds left in the half, Auburn Mountainview had closed to 21-14.
Umi-Tuato’o Has Game
The Lions managed to keep Riverside out of the end zone on the first possession of the third quarter, despite a roughing the punter call that extended the Ravens drive and helped push Riverside, ultimately, down just shy of the Mountainview 23.
That’s where a fourth-down pass completion from Accetturo to Thyrou Umi-Tuato’o came up less than a football length short on a fourth-and-four attempt. Five plays later, Johvaea Vialoa smashed his way into the end zone to complete a hard 26-yard run and tie the game at 21-21 with 5:24 to go in the third quarter.
But as they’d done most of the night, the Ravens (6-0, 4-0) just kept pounding away with Thaddeus Umi-Tuato’o. The senior finished with 164 yards rushing on 26 carries, and he had those two first-half touchdowns.
“We have a lot of seniors,” Umi-Tuato’o said. “And we’ve worked since summer to get here. Our O-Line is really good.”
“Football is about, offensively, getting the ball in the hands of your play-makers,” Herd said. “Getting that guy touches and touches so he can go do his thing. The line played really well tonight, as well.”
Bodine Tried to Play Through It
As dominant as Umi-Tuato’o was, a proud Mountainview squad and its quarterback nearly spoiled the party.
Junior Kayde Bodine did start, despite a deep bone bruise in his right throwing shoulder. It quickly became evident that Bodine was not near 100 percent, however.
He gave way to running back Vailoa, and the game became more of a power running contest than finesse. Taking the snaps, Vailoa turned the Lions offense into a version of the wildcat.
It worked for 118 yards and two touchdowns, including the game-tying score, for the emergency quarterback. However, when Auburn Mountainview’s first of two drives that reached the Ravens 14 in the fourth quarter stalled, Bodine told his coaches the shoulder felt better.
He re-entered the game for the third time to lead the second fourth-quarter drive again as far as the Ravens 14, only to have a fourth-and-six pass batted down with 1:50 to go. Bodine and the Lions couldn’t get anything started on a final, desperation possession in the game’s final 21 seconds.
“We had kind of stalled out on the one drive, and the reason we had was because of a lack of communication,” Gervais said. “Just kind of the no-huddle nature of our offense makes it hard to adjust. Kayde does so much for us, making us right even if we call the wrong play. Looking back, of course, I wish we could have stayed in it (the big set with Vailoa). But that’s kind of the reasoning about why we got out of it.”