Auburn Secures Semifinal Spot with Narrow Win at Bluejays' Nest
ASHLAND, NE - The Auburn Bulldogs' football squad won a second-straight nailbiter in the Class C1 playoffs Friday night, taking the lead in the fourth quarter of a 20-19 win at two-seed Ashland-Greenwood.
Auburn held a 14-13 lead at halftime after each team ran it into the end zone twice, but the Bluejays missed one extra point. With about six minutes left in the third quarter, the host squad took its first lead of the game on a three-yard TD toss from Derek Tonjes to Landon Mohs that made it 19-14 after another missed PAT.
Still 19-14 in the fourth quarter, Auburn turned the ball over on downs at AG's 12-yard line with just over six minutes to play. On the next snap, Lance Binder intercepted Tonjes to set the Bulldogs up in great field position at the Bluejays' four-yard line. Auburn converted with another TD run for a 20-19 lead. On AG's next possession, Auburn would get a turnover on downs at their own 28-yard line before running out the final two minutes of the game.
Auburn's Nixon Ligouri ran it 29 times for 150 yards and two scores, while also going 8/12 for 57 yards through the air. Brant Gulizia helped out with 13 carries for 40 yards and another score, plus he had three grabs for 24 yards.
Auburn moves on to the Class C1 semifinals on Friday night with a 7 p.m. kickoff at three-seed Wahoo. Catch all the action on Today's Best Country, B103.