Auburn wins back-and-forth thriller against Auburn Riverside to secure 3A NPSL championship
The Class 3A North Puget Sound League football title belongs to Auburn High School this fall.
Friday night at Auburn Memorial Stadium, the Trojans completed their sweep of 3A NPSL opponents with a win over Auburn Riverside in a 37-34 back-and-forth contest to secure the program’s first league championship since 2009.
“It means everything,” Auburn senior quarterback Amari Goodfellow said. “To me, the team, the coaches and the community. It means everything.”
Much like last season’s high-scoring matchup, which was decided on the final play, this season’s rivalry thriller wasn’t decided until the game’s closing seconds.
The teams were locked in a tie late in the fourth quarter before junior kicker Karlis Cakuls sent what turned out to be the game-winning 30-yard field goal through the uprights with 1:06 left to play.
“We needed a big play, and we got the field goal,” Auburn coach Aaron Chantler said.
“Everyone was so excited,” Goodfellow said.
There were three turnovers in the final minute before the buzzer finally signaled an Auburn victory, though.
Carter Rhooms returned the ensuing kickoff 41 yards to set the Ravens up in Auburn territory, but Goodfellow intercepted a pass on the first play of the drive to give the Trojans the ball back with 50 seconds left.
Auburn handed the ball off on first down, but Auburn Riverside popped it loose, and recovered the fumble at the Auburn 23 with 45 seconds left.
When a rushing attempt on first down was stuffed after a 1-yard gain, the Ravens threw on the next three. Passes on second and third down fell incomplete. The final pass of the game, on fourth-and-9, was snatched out of the air at the 7 by Auburn’s Easton Rutledge. The Trojans ran out the final 20 seconds from there.
The momentum swings in the final minute mirrored how much of the back-and-forth contest played out.
In the early moments, Auburn’s offense seemed unstoppable. The Trojans scored on their first three drives, and built a 20-7 lead by the end of the first quarter on touchdown runs of 3, 29 and 39 yards from Luvens Valcin.
The Ravens scored their first touchdown midway through the first, on a 27-yard connection between Andrew Wold and Jace Villers to cut a 14-0 deficit in half, but Valcin’s longest scoring run followed a minute later.
But, then Auburn’s fourth drive stalled in the red zone, and the Ravens answered with a scoring drive capped by a second touchdown pass from Wold to Villers, this time for 30 yards.
The Ravens found the end zone again on their next drive, too, with less than a minute left in the second quarter on a 12-yard run by Kyree Wright, sending the game to the break tied at 20-20.
“All the sudden at halftime, we’re in a ballgame,” Chantler said.
Auburn Riverside took a touchdown lead midway through the third on a 12-yard run from Thyrou Umi-Tuato’o. Auburn answered with an 8-yard keeper from Goodfellow, but a missed extra-point attempt kept the Ravens in front, 27-26.
A Wright interception in the red zone on Auburn’s next drive set up the Ravens’ final score of the game on a 1-yard pass from Wold to Rhooms on fourth-and-goal midway through the fourth quarter.
The Ravens had a 34-26 lead at that point, and recovered a fumble on the kickoff moments later. But, Auburn forced a 47-yard field goal attempt three plays later, blocked the try and returned it for a touchdown. A successful two-point conversion tied the game again.
After the Trojans’ defense forced a quick three-and-out, Auburn marched to the red zone, but was stopped short of the first-down marker on three plays, eventually resulting in a fourth-and-7. Then came the game-winning kick from Cakuls, an exchange student who joined Auburn’s program after the school year started.
“Ice in his veins,” Goodfellow said. “He’s new, he’s coming in in a clutch spot, that’s the first kick he’s ever kicked — ice in his veins.”
The 30-yard try was both Cakuls’ and Auburn’s first attempt of the season, and the decision to kick eventually lifted Auburn to the championship win.
“We just believe in the kids,” Chantler said.
Goodfellow finished 17-of-23 passing for 151 yards and the one interception, and added 127 rushing yards and the one touchdown on 22 carries, while also hauling in an interception on defense. Valcin led the Trojans in both rushing (nine carries, 144 yards, three TDs) and receiving (six catches, 71 yards).
Wold finished 16-of-31 passing for 273 yards, the three touchdowns and two interceptions, while Rhooms (eight catches, 132 yards, TD) and Villers (seven catches, 122 yards, two TDs) both eclipsed 100 yards.
FIRST CHAMPIONSHIP FOR CHANTLER
Friday’s win also completed the first league title run at Auburn for Chantler, now in his fifth season as the Trojans’ head coach.
The undefeated run through the 3A NPSL is even more special considering Chantler gets to share it with his father-in-law, Trojans defensive coordinator Gordon Elliott.
Elliott, a head coach for 34 years, retired in 2017 after 16 years leading Auburn, but returned to the program as an assistant when Chantler took over in 2018. Elliott was Auburn’s head coach for the last championship run — when the Trojans swept the 4A South Puget Sound League North back in 2009.
“It’s pretty cool,” said Chantler, who coached at Gig Harbor before joining Elliott as his offensive coordinator at Auburn in 2017. “Getting to share that with him, and having him on the sidelines and just being able to turn and give him a hug, and having my parents in the stands — this has been a long time coming for this group.”
“He’s done a great job obviously with the program, and got us back to the old days,” Elliott said. “So that’s fun. It’s fun for me to be able to hang along for the ride while he did it.”
Now, after spending five seasons building Auburn’s program to this point, the two coaches get to enjoy this league championship win together.
“There’s a lot of emotions,” Chantler said. “We just believed in what we do and the process, and it took a long time to get it, but sharing that with him and looking back and going, the last two league titles are in the family — yeah, that’s pretty cool.”
PLAY OF THE GAME
The game appeared almost out of Auburn’s reach midway through the fourth quarter, when after building the lead to 34-26, the Ravens recovered the fumble on the ensuing kickoff.
Auburn Riverside seemed in good position to squander Auburn’s comeback chances at that point, but the Trojans forced the long field goal attempt, and Kaden O’Neal’s block and Jailon Goodfellow’s recovery and 66-yard run to the end zone quickly shifted momentum back to Auburn.
The Trojans added the two-point conversion try to tie the game at 34-34, forced a three-and-out on the Ravens’ next possession, and Cakuls completed the following four-minute, eight-play drive with the winning kick.
UP NEXT
All three Auburn programs in the 3A NPSL — Auburn (8-1), Auburn Mountainview (6-3) and Auburn Riverside (4-5) — move on to next week’s district round. Seeding for the first week of the playoffs will be decided Sunday.
This story was originally published October 29, 2022 at 1:57 AM.
