Oak Mountain quarterback Jake Adams searches for an open receiver in the Eagles' 34-10 loss to Auburn on Nov. 9. (Reporter photo/Graham Carr)

By GRAHAM CARR / Staff Writer

AUBURN – The Auburn Tigers scored four second half touchdowns to pull away and defeat the Oak Mountain Eagles, 34-10, in the first round of the Class 6A on Nov. 9.

“We just got outplayed and outcoached,” Eagles head coach Cris Harris said.  “It was that simple.”

Oak Mountain forced three Auburn turnovers that kept the Eagles in it, but the Eagles inability to stop the big play proved to be the deciding factor. The Tigers had touchdown plays of 30 yards and 64 yards while also having a 40-yard interception return touchdown.

Auburn also had an ­85-yard touchdown run by quarterback Cameron Echols-Luper called back due to a holding penalty.

The Eagles were led by quarterback Jake Adams who was 7-of-17 passing for 41 yards passing.  He also added 60 on the ground on 23 attempts.

Auburn struck first as Echols-Luper hit junior receiver Blaise Taylor for a 30-yard touchdown pass to put the Tigers up 7-0.

After missing a field goal in the first quarter, Oak Mountain senior kicker Michael Cole bounced back to drill a 33-yard field goal in the second quarter, closing the gap to 7-3.  It proved to be the only scoring of the half.

The Tigers scored on their first offensive play of the second half, as Echols-Luper found a wide-open Taylor for a 64-yard touchdown strike.

Late in third quarter, Auburn senior Reuben Foster added a 20-yard touchdown, extending the lead to 21-3.

Two possessions later, the Eagles defense forced a fumble giving Oak Mountain great field possession. The Eagles offense capitalized when running back Scott Hester rumbled for a 7-yard touchdown run at the 10:06 mark of the final quarter.

Foster put the game out of reach when he scored on a 3-yard touchdown run with 2:53 left in the game.

On the Eagles next drive, Adams was intercepted by Taylor who returned the ball for a 40-yard touchdown, finishing the game’s scoring.

Auburn (10-1) advances to play McGill-Toolen High School next week in the second round of the playoffs.  The Yellow Jackets were a 56-33 winner over Enterprise High School.

Oak Mountain finishes the season with a 7-4 record, but Bell said his team played all year.

We’ve come a long way, but we got a long way to go.”