Auburn High rallies past Opelika for region title

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Fourth-ranked Auburn was gone and done for.

The undefeated Tigers were done for when starting running back Latrell Jenkins went down with an injury in the second quarter and quarterback Calvin Jenkins came up gimpy in the fourth.

They were done for when No. 6 Opelika scored on a 57-yard pass to take the lead with 6:31 to play.

There was one problem, though. Someone failed to tell that to Auburn.

After Opelika took the fourth-quarter lead, Calvin Jenkins began marching his offense down the field.

Thirteen plays later, backup running back Augustus Brooks bulled his way into the end zone from 3 yards out.

Auburn’s defense then held Opelika, stopping David Thomas a yard short on a fourth-and-7 play to give the Tigers a thrilling, 26-22 win in front of a jam-packed Duck Samford Stadium on Friday.

The win secured the Class 6A-Region 3 title for the Tigers and gave Auburn its first win over Opelika at home since 1990.

“Unbelievable,” Auburn head coach Tim Carter said. “With all the guys we have hurt — Latrell goes down in the second and Calvin’s on a bum ankle the whole fourth quarter — I couldn’t be prouder.

“This team has done this all year. Someone always steps up for us at a different time.”

And Friday, it was Andre Crowell and Brooks stepping up big after Latrell Jenkins went down after just six carries.

Brooks rushed for all 57 of his yards and two touchdowns after Latrell went out and Crowell had 36 of his 39 after the injury.

“How ’bout Augustus Brooks?” Carter said. “He just ran the ball so strong, and Andre Crowell was great for us in the first half. Those two guys did a great job just keeping the ship steady.”

For the game, Auburn rushed for 203 yards, but 104 yards and two touchdowns of that total came in the game’s final period.

“We couldn’t stop their running game, and that was the key. I think anyone here could see that,” said Opelika coach Spence McCracken, who dropped just his third game to the Tigers in his 14 years at Opelika. “We can’t ask our offense to go back out there every time and score.

“They had a great plan for us, and we just couldn't get it done."

It was McCracken’s final regular-season game of his career, as the veteran coach will retire after the season.

The final dramatic minutes of the game were just the finale to what was a wild fourth quarter.

Trailing, 13-7, Opelika took the lead two plays into the fourth on a 2-yard run by Corey Grant.

But behind its ground game, Auburn marched right back — going 80 yards in 11 plays in nearly four minutes.

Brooks capped the drive with his first touchdown of the night, this one coming from 7 yards. Auburn failed on a 2-point try, keeping its lead at 19-14.

That lead lasted just two plays.

After Grant was stopped for no gain on first down, Thomas dropped back and hurled a bomb down the middle. With a step on a defender, Kent Heard hauled in the pass, slipped through a tackle and raced to the end zone to finish the 57-yard scoring play. The kick put Opelika up, 22-19, with 6:31 to play — and left the Auburn side of Duck Samford in shock.

But Auburn wasn’t done.

Running almost exclusively behind 6-foot-5, 320-pound left tackle John Sullen, Auburn quickly moved right back down the field.

And with 2:29 to play, Brooks sent the Auburn side into a frenzy when he pushed his way into the end zone from 3 yards out with the go-ahead score.

Opelika took over with 2:29 left and gained 7 yards on its first play.

But Auburn nailed Grant for a 4-yard loss and Thomas had a pass dropped on third down.

On fourth-and-7, Thomas couldn’t find anyone open and ran. But his desperation run was stopped just 1 yard shy of the first down, giving Auburn the ball back with just 1:16 left.

From there it was simply time to kneel on the ball and start celebrating.

“There was never any doubt,” said Calvin Jenkins. “I just knew, with all these teammates, that we could come in here and get this win.”

Auburn will end its regular season next week at home against BTW. A win will finish off the Tigers’ first unbeaten regular season in school history.

Opelika, the Region 3 runner-up, is off next week.

tpeavy@oanow.com | 737-2568