Auburn High too much for Niceville

AUBURN - Big plays from Desmond Purter and Cameron Luper and a strong effort from the defensive line helped Auburn (Ala.) take a 31-21 win over Niceville on Friday night at Duck Samford Stadium.

Purter had 215 yards and a touchdown on just 12 touches, and Luper rushed for 92 yards and a touchdown and passed for 75 and a score in the win for the Tigers (8-1).

The Tigers also held the Eagles (6-2) to just 2.9 yards per carry in their regular-season finale.

The game turned midway through the second quarter when, with the game tied at 7, Auburn’s Rashaad Hughley sacked Niceville quarterback Kyle McDorman on fourth down and gave the ball to the Tigers on their own 47-yard line.

On the very next play, Luper threw a backwards pass to Jason Webb, who then found Purter wide open behind the Eagle defense for a 53-yard touchdown to give Auburn its first lead at 14-7 with 4:30 remaining in the first half.

Purter finished with 141 yards on nine carries and 74 yards on three catches and the touchdown.

The Tigers got the ball back again with 2:17 remaining in the half and drove 59 yards in eight plays, aided by a 20-yard pass from Luper to Purter on fourth-and-8 from the Niceville 48, to set up a 28-yard field goal by Andrew Carter with 9 seconds to go before the half.

The Tigers appeared to have all the momentum, but Niceville had other ideas.

After a 21-yard run by Jon Hudson on a first-down draw play, Andrew Mitchell entered the game at quarterback and found McDorman behind the Auburn defense for a 50-yard touchdown with no time remaining to send the game to halftime with Auburn leading 17-14.

The Tiger defense took charge in the second half, forcing several three-and-outs and limiting Niceville to only two sustained drives — only one of which ended in points.

After the teams opened the half by trading punts, Auburn got up by 10 again after Luper finally got loose, taking off on a 49-yard run to get the Tigers inside the 10 and then scoring from 10 yards out on third-and-goal with 4:49 remaining in the third quarter.

The Tigers iced the contest after a seven-play, 73-yard drive that stayed on the ground throughout, featuring a 36-yard run by Purter, a 19-yard run by Luper and a wild, field-reversing 4-yard run for a first down by Marcus Harris. Harris got into the end zone from 3 yards out to give Auburn a 31-14 lead.

Niceville drove down the field for a score with a minute remaining on a 2-yard run by Spencer Pullen.

“We lost to a good football team,” Niceville coach John Hicks said. “They’re very good up front, that’s no secret.”

McDorman led Niceville with 120 passing yards and 35 rushing yards. Hudson had 39 yards on six carries, and Brandon Burke caught four passes for 73 yards and a touchdown.