BY DANIEL SCHMIDT
FOR THE OBSERVER
AUBURN – Going into the first game of the season, Auburn High School head football coach Keith Etheredge knew the Tigers needed to shake off some rust after not playing a spring game or fall jamboree.
Now, Etheredge knows just how much WD-40 his team needs after the Tigers (1-0) secured a 24-6 victory over Booker High School (0-1) on Aug. 22 that saw Cason Meyers connect with Joshua Askew for two touchdowns, the AHS defense and special teams force four turnovers and the Tornadoes commit 29 penalties.
Despite the at-times ugly nature of the game, Etheredge acknowledged his team did enough to come out on top against an extremely athletic and physical team that traveled more than 400 miles from Sarasota, Florida.
“We’ve got to get in the film room and get better. Of course, we made some mistakes tonight. But like I said, I knew we were going to make some mistakes,” Etheredge said. “I thought defensively, we played really good. I thought we flew around the football field. And offensively, I told everybody, we’re going to get better as the year goes on. We’ve got some young guys over there, and we’ve got to find that core group of guys. And I saw some good stuff tonight.”
According to Meyers, who completed 10 of 16 passes for 138 yards, two TDs and an interception in his first game after transferring from Pike Road High School, there are plenty of things he needs to work on as the season progresses.
But for now, his first win in royal blue and white was enough to keep him happy temporarily.
“It feels great,” Meyers said. “You know, coming over here, I guess there’s a lot of expectations, and coming out here just being able to experience this, and it’s a great stadium, great fans, great team and great coaches. And I was glad we were able to come out here and get a good win tonight, first win in a new stadium. I can’t be mad at the first win at a new school, so I’ll take it.”
From the very beginning, it was evident that both teams were playing their first game of the season.
After BHS won the opening toss and opted to start the second half with the football, AHS slowly marched down the field with a long, grinding 14-play, 49-yard drive that consumed seven minutes and 44 seconds.
For a moment, it appeared that hard work would result in a TD after Antonio Welch’s 30-yard catch on third and long and two offsides penalties set the Tigers up on the Tornadoes’ 1-yard line. However, a false start penalty and the second sack allowed by AHS on the drive forced the Tigers to settle for a 22-yard Joseph Daniel field goal.
Following the disappointing end to that drive, AHS was gifted possession of the ball after Carnell Jackson, Jr., who recovered two fumbles in total, recovered Joel Morris’ fumble at the BHS 21-yard line. That excellent field position did not pay off as the Tigers quickly burned two timeouts and turned the ball over on downs after failing to convert on fourth down.
With the offense sputtering, the AHS defense and punt return units gave the Tigers some breathing room. After Greg Williams and Caleb Hicks forced a fourth down with two excellent tackles on back-to-back plays, a wild snap sailed over the BHS punter’s head into the endzone, which Cameron Creighton recovered for a TD with 11:54 left in the second quarter.
According to Williams, the stop-and-start nature of the game due to the sheer volume of penalties called against the Tornadoes did little to deter the AHS defense.
“We just came to compete like we’ve got another game to win,” Williams said. “I just keep my head on a swivel and just keep going, play-by-play. I just get back in my position and act like nothing ever happened. I just go shoot my gap or drop in coverage.”
While there was not enough separation for the Tigers to let out a sigh of relief, it did provide some crucial cushion and took some pressure off the offense.
Following an AHS fumble sandwiched between two hapless drives from the Tornadoes, the Tigers’ offense began flexing its muscles through the air as the ground game stalled. That success came in the form of a beautiful 40-yard pass from Meyers to Askew on a post route that saw the slippery receiver create just enough separation to waltz into the endzone virtually untouched.
With the score now 17-0 with 5:43 left before halftime, AHS had finally given itself some breathing room.
Despite being down by numerous possessions and having already committed 10 penalties by this point, BHS refused to lie down and marched all the way from their own 20-yard line to the Tigers’ 2-yard line.
With the pressure on their backs, the AHS defense stood tall after a blitzing Aiden Parker sacked Morris for an 11-yard loss and the secondary forced three straight incompletions to force a turnover on downs less than two minutes before halftime.
After halftime, the Tigers’ defense picked up right where it left off, forcing a three-and-out from the Tornadoes on their opening possession of the second half.
A haphazard punt from BHS then gave AHS possession at the Tornadoes’ 43-yard line 39 seconds into the third quarter. From there, the Tigers methodically marched down the field, aided by three straight BHS penalties.
The culmination of that drive came in the form of a gorgeous 18-yard pass from Meyers to Askew into the very back left corner of the end zone on a fade route with 8:53 left in the third quarter. Despite some self-criticism from Meyers after the game, it was a nearly perfect high, looping ball that only Askew could have caught.
That pass highlighted a potentially potent chemistry between the two players that could pay dividends all season.
“Me and him have a great connection,” said Askew, who finished the game with 69 receiving yards and the two TDs on four receptions. “We go to the field all the time, even on Sundays. You know, we have to go because we’re trying to build a connection, like last year with my last quarterback.”
From there, neither offense was able to accomplish much until the Tornadoes scored their only TD of the game late in the fourth quarter and after AHS had made mass substitutions on defense.
After picking apart the backup secondary, BHS finally avoided the shutout after Kobran Waters outran the defense on the away sideline for a 12-yard TD reception from Morris with just under three minutes left to play.
What’s Next
The Tigers will hit the road to take on Vestavia Hills High School (1-0) for a non-region game on Thursday, Aug. 28. The Rebels are coming off a 49-7 home victory over Westside (S.C.) High School.
Last year, VHHS finished 6-6 overall and 4-3 in 7A Region 3 play. The Tigers defeated the Rebels 52-17 at Duck Samford Stadium last year.
VHHS is located at 2235 Lime Rock Road in Vestavia Hills.
