Kia AutoSport Athletes of the Week: Auburn High Football

Auburn, AL (WRBL) – The Auburn High Tigers and Opelika Bulldogs squared off for the 99th time in their historic rivalry series. In a back and forth showdown at Duck Samford Stadium, the Tigers were able to hold off the Bulldogs with a 28-21 win. It’s just the 3rd game of the season, Head Coach Keith Etheredge says his team’s character that stood out in a grind out rivalry game like that.

“Just they’re going to fight and they’re going to scrap. they’re going to do whatever it takes to win a game like that. those close games like that show you what kind of character your team has. we’re going to need that in this region. it’s a brutal region. there’s going to be a lot of games that come down to one or two plays,” said Coach Etheredge.

“We always keep our composure. no matter the situation. We worked on this all the time. We’re always going to outfight the other team. We can play tired and nobody else can. I had no doubt in my mind the whole game,” said senior wide receiver Peyton Plott.

At one point, Opelika had a 21-14 lead. The Tigers never lost confidence in each other, and they firmly believed they could complete a comeback. Their faith paid off because with the score tied at 14 Auburn quarterback Jackson Kilgore connected with wide receiver Josh Askew for the go-ahead touchdown with just over 5 minutes left in the game. It was a big moment in the game, but Askew relied on the work he put in.

“We talked about that play every day in practice. ‘that play is going to be open and it’s going to be you josh, so go make a play,” said Askew.

While Askew made one of the biggest plays of the game. Auburn’s strength this season is in their numbers. Head Coach Etheredge says he has the luxury of plenty of playmakers all over his roster.

“We have playmakers all over the field. Charlie Ward came in and scored a touchdown. You know our other running back. I call him our Christian McCaffery plays receiver too. Cash Reed, Tony Wells all those guys made big plays for us. You’re going to need them down the stretch in this region,” said Etheredge.

Congratulations to all those players and the Auburn High School Tigers for their big win over their rivals. The Tigers are also our Kia AutoSport Athletes of the Week.

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