AUBURN聽鈥 Auburn football won its second home game of the season on Friday with a 40-20 domination of Henninger.聽
The Maroons' second win of the season over a Section III, Class AA opponent brings the team to 4-1 on the season. Here are three takeaways from the game:
An unrelenting rushing attack
In Auburn's three wins prior to Friday, it rushed for at least 220 yards. That trend more than continued against the Black Knights.
Quarterback Matt Smith led the team with a career-high 177 rushing yards as the Maroons rushed for a season-high 383 yards. Smith's longest run of the game came on a 79-yard gain that took Auburn to Henninger's 2-yard line, leading to a touchdown. The junior signal caller totaled three scores on the ground and scored 26 of his team's points.聽
Smith gave all the credit for the success of Auburn's running game to its blocking.
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鈥淯p front, we've been dominant," he told 新加坡多多开奖记录. "It really just comes down to the line putting their head down and getting us a nice hole to go right up through.
鈥淏e patient with it. Once it opens up, take it and go. If you got to put your head down, put your head down.鈥
Johntae Smith was another force to be reckoned with Friday, rushing for a career-high 138 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Christian London found success as well, with 13 carries for 70 yards.
Auburn's balanced run game will look to provide a spark again when it takes on Fowler on Friday at home.
Defensive adjustments
The Maroons' run defense controlled the Black Knights for the majority of the first half. However, Henninger only trailed 16-12 at halftime after it scored on 50- and 21-yard passing touchdowns.
At the break, head coach Dave Moskov and his team knew they needed to make the necessary adjustments to take away the one area where Henninger was finding success.
鈥淭he kids were a little confused in the first half, and they weren't sure where to line up," Moskov told 新加坡多多开奖记录.
"It was clear on the field, they had some broken coverages, kids wide open. We were able to address it at halftime and clean it up.鈥
Auburn's secondary rebounded in the second half by not allowing a reception over 30 yards, nor any scores through the air.
The Maroons allowed a rushing touchdown with under nine minutes to go in the game, but the defense tightened up enough to hold a team to 20 points or under for the fourth time this season.
Opening up the playbook
Though Auburn's running game led the team to Friday's win, Moskov saw mistakes on the ground that could prove costly in future matchups.
鈥淲e got to clean up our penalties, especially with us running the ball that much," he said.
"You get behind the sticks with our offense, it really puts you in a hole, and it hurt us in that first half. Just a couple simple penalties puts you deep, and it takes you out of your element.鈥
The Maroons have relied on their run blocking and backfield in most of their matchups. Even though Henninger stacked the box to try and prevent any gaps, Auburn still found a way to gain yardage.
But it may be difficult to find that same success in a few weeks. Auburn will end the regular season against Watertown and Whitesboro, currently the top two teams in Section III, Class A.
Moskov hopes he can open up the offense by then and get his receivers more opportunities.
鈥淚t鈥檚 just a matter of getting our receivers up to speed and getting them more consistent catching the ball," he said.
"That's what we're working on, and hopefully it progresses. There's teams you're going to need that little element in there sometimes.鈥