BY DANIEL SCHMIDT
THE OBSERVER
AUBURN — In the rivalry between Auburn High School and Opelika High School, legendary plays abound.
A bobbled snap recovered at the Auburn 15 yard line with 1:56 left to secure the Tigers’ 17-10 win in the 100th game; C.J. Johnson’s 57-yard scoring run to seal Opelika’s 31-28 win in last year’s semifinals to end Auburn’s season and its six-game series winning streak; and countless other moments committed to memory and lore.
This time, it was Ryan Donaldson’s turn to etch his name into the history books, intercepting a pass with two minutes left after Opelika had seized momentum late and looked to score a game-winning TD.
As a result, the No. 7 Tigers (4-2, 3-1) dug deep and held on to defeat the No. 8 Bulldogs (2-3, 2-2) 14-11 at Duck Samford Stadium on Oct. 2 in a crucial Class 6A Region 2 clash and the 102nd meeting between the schools.
“What a gritty game,” Auburn head coach Keith Etheredge said. “It always comes down to the end. Whoever makes the last play ends up winning.”
Opelika took over at its own 29 with 2:37 left. On first-and-10 from the Opelika 41, Donaldson high-pointed a pass and came down with it at the Auburn 22 with 2:01 remaining, and the Tigers ran out the clock.
“I peeked at the quarterback and saw his eyes go to a different player,” Donaldson said. “I just took off running. I trusted my instincts, went up, saw the ball and got it.”
Etheredge knew the outcome as soon as he saw Donaldson go up for the ball.
“When it went up, I looked, and [there’s] No. 12,” Etheredge said. “I said, ‘It’s picked, it’s picked.’”
Leading up to the game, Donaldson had battled a nagging injury for nearly two weeks and was one of four Tigers whose status was uncertain.
“I was in a lot of pain, not sleeping well,” Donaldson said. “Our athletic trainers are some of the greatest people on earth. They threw this pad on me, wrapped me all up. Red light and ice every day, doing anything I can because it means the world to me to come out here and win for my guys.”
Etheredge praised Donaldson for his work ethic and competitive character.
“It couldn’t have happened to a better kid,” Etheredge said. “High character guy, works extremely hard. For him to actually get back and have an opportunity to make that play, I’m super proud of him.”
Donaldson, a born and raised Tiger through and through, said the win meant everything to him.
“Opelika has always been like Alabama for us. Beat Opelika, that’s the season,” Donaldson said.
Auburn’s defense sacked Opelika on its opening drive, and Max Coblentz’s 33-yard punt return set the Tigers up at the Opelika 48. After converting a fourth-and-1 by running into the teeth of the Bulldogs’ defense, Cason Myers scored on a 2-yard quarterback keeper on fourth-and-goal with 4:39 left in the first quarter.
Opelika eventually answered following Auburn’s fumble on a punt return at its own 31, as Reese Beasley’s 35-yard field goal cut it to 7-3 with 11:08 left in the half.
By that point in the game, it was evident drops would plague both teams and prevent them from sustaining promising drives at times.
“We have too many drops,” Etheredge said. “But we made the plays when we needed to make them.”
Opelika held the ball for nearly nine minutes of the second quarter and reached the Auburn 5 late with help from two Auburn penalties, but Beasley missed a 27-yarder wide right with 2:15 left in the half.
“It wasn’t incidental at all,” Opelika head coach Jonathan Chandler said when asked about the Bulldogs’ time of possession advantage. “We wanted to try and win the game within the box. We felt like that was something that we could do, and we just didn’t do that tonight. You have to tip your hat to the other team when you go into a game feeling like you can do something and then you’re unable to do it.”
Etheredge credited defensive coordinator Scott Goolsby and the entire unit, including Carter Chambley, who returned from a high ankle sprain and came back three plays after getting rolled up on.
“We had four guys who at the end of last week we didn’t know if they were going to be able to play,” Etheredge said. “Every one of those guys played tonight and made big plays.”
Camden Bowen finished as Auburn’s leading tackler with 10 total tackles and a tackle for loss, while Elijah Scott turned in nine total tackles and three tackles for loss.
“Our whole game plan was just to stop the run,” Donaldson said of slowing Opelika running back Jalen Nelson, crediting a defensive line that he characterized as “straight dogs up front.”
Nelson finished with 55 yards on 18 carries for the Bulldogs, which was 59 yards fewer than his previous season low of 114 yards against Hoover High School on Aug. 28.
Opelika’s Braiden Howard, who also intercepted Myers last year, picked off a pass in the end zone and returned it to the Auburn 45 as time expired in the first half to end the scoring threat.
Coming out of the break, Myers’ legs became a huge asset against a fierce pass rush for the Tigers. However, penalties stalled a third-quarter drive that began at the Opelika 28 after a bad punt, and Andrew Fligel missed a 38-yard field goal wide right with 4:07 left in the third.
Jamel Griffin turned in seven total tackles to finish as the Bulldogs’ leading tackler, and Terez Thomas had four tackles, two tackles for loss and a sack.
Pinned at its own 14 with 2:02 left in the third, Auburn put together a 13-play, 86-yard drive that consumed 6:07, capped by Myers’ tough 3-yard TD run up the middle with 7:55 left for a 14-3 lead.
“We had to go score,” Myers said. “The defense had our back all game. We had to go score for them and finish this thing. Because if we didn’t score there, we’d be having a whole lot of different feelings right now.”
Myers, an Arkansas commit, ran 15 times for 101 yards and both TDs and completed 8 of 17 passes for 86 yards and an interception.
While he didn’t manage to score a TD, Jaeden King was a driving force for the Tigers’ offense. King finished with 112 total yards on 13 total touches.
“Cason may be one of the best players I’ve coached in 27 years,” Etheredge said. “He’s going to do whatever it takes to help his team win a football game.”
Etheredge also praised an offensive line that held up against a Bulldogs defensive unit that features numerous Division I prospects, and running backs Jaeden King and Jeremiah Owens.
Yet while Opelika was down, it was not out.
The Bulldogs responded with a double pass, as Justin Patterson caught a swing pass and threw 37 yards to a wide-open Matthew Pritchett for a TD with 4:56 left. Austan Cristiaan’s rollout throwback to Jakari Walton on the two-point conversion made it 14-11.
Austan Cristiaan went 14-for-20 for 98 yards and an interception. Matthew Pritchett led Opelika’s receiving corps with four catches for 63 yards and the TD.
“Jonathan Chandler is an unbelievable young coach, and he’s going to have a lot of wins coming his way,” Etheredge said of Chandler, a former Opelika player now in his first season as the Bulldogs’ head coach. “They’ve got a great staff over there. They got us with the double pass, so hats off to him.”
Opelika’s defense then forced a three-and-out, setting up Donaldson’s heroics.
“I don’t know why, but I knew he was about to catch it,” Myers said. “He’s one of my best friends. When he caught it, I started going crazy.”
Myers said the win meant more after last year’s loss.
“You go to class, you’re not going to be able to sit down without hearing, ‘Y’all better win this weekend,’” Myers said. “It’s always a close game, and it’s always bragging rights for the whole year.”
Donaldson deflected the credit.
“What they don’t see is the [defensive line] smashing people up front, Cason running the ball down their throat, just everybody putting in their work,” Donaldson said. “I just had that one little moment that looked good.”
The win avenged last year’s semifinal loss, improved Etheredge to 6-1 against Opelika and positions Auburn for a possible first-round playoff bye. It was also the Tigers’ first home game since a 56-42 loss to Hewitt-Trussville High School on Aug. 21.
“This is the greatest rivalry I believe in the state, maybe in the Southeast,” Etheredge said. “Nothing compares to this. We’ve still got business to [handle], but we put ourselves in a good situation.”
Chandler took accountability for the loss.
“Quarters one through three, we didn’t play well enough,” Chandler said. “It’s my fault. We didn’t practice well enough Monday through Thursday, and it showed out here tonight.”
He added that his team couldn’t lean on last year’s semifinal win.
“It’s a completely different team, completely different coaching staff,” Chandler said. “You can’t hang on to the past.”
Auburn hosts J.A.G. High School (1-5, 1-3) on Friday, Oct. 9, at 7 p.m. The Jaguars are coming off a 42-14 home loss to Carver High School on Oct. 2.
Opelika travels to take on Dothan High School (2-4, 1-3) at Rip Hewes Stadium, also on Oct. 9, at 7 p.m. The Wolves are coming off a 45-0 home loss to Central on Oct. 2.
