AUBURN, Ala. — Both sidelines brought a September intensity to the final play of Auburn's A-Day game, when the defense tipped a pass on a two-point attempt to preserve a 10-9 victory for Team Auburn over Team Tigers Saturday at Jordan-Hare Stadium.
"It was fun to have the opportunity to end that way," Auburn coach Bryan Harsin said. "That's really been the theme of spring. It's just been competition. Moving forward, it's going to be about execution."
Early enrollee freshman quarterback Holden Geriner led the Tigers on a 15-play, 80-yard, fourth-quarter touchdown drive, completing 9 of 11 passes for 71 yards, including a 19-yard touchdown pass to Landen King with 24 seconds remaining.
"As soon as he walked in the building, I knew he was going to be special one day," said junior quarterback T.J. Finley of Geriner. "I just tell him to keep pressing, keep building, keep grinding. We're working together. The kid is special."
Finley led the first-team offense on a 13-play, 80-yard touchdown drive to start the scrimmage, connecting with Malcolm Johnson Jr. for a 20-yard score.
"Every quarterback on the team wants to take over the team," said Finley, who was 5 of 7 for 60 yards on the drive and finished 11-for-19 for 137 yards and a TD. "I'm just doing my job and doing everything I can putting myself in a position to win the job."
Robby Ashford answered for the second-team offense, completing all three pass attempts on his first drive for 38 yards while adding 11 rushing yards.
Ashford earned offensive Most Valuable Player honors by going for 12-for-16 for 132 yards.
Cam Riley earned defensive MVP recognition, making five tackles and a sack. Fellow junior linebacker Wesley Steiner made a game-high six tackles.
"Day in and day out, he's been a guy who always flashes across the screen when it comes to highlight plays," senior edge linebacker Derick Hall said of Riley. "He's been the defensive player of the day, special teams player of the day, multiple times. He's doing really well. We knew since day one he could do that."
Ben Patton kicked field goals of 23 and 38 yards, adding an extra point to be the special teams MVP. Patton's 23-yarder as the first half ended gave the Tigers a 10-0 lead. His 38-yarder late in the third quarter accounted for Auburn's first points, making it 10-3 going to the fourth.
Recent scholarship recipient Sean Jackson led Auburn in rushing with 23 yards on six carries.
Ze'Vian Capers tallied 47 receiving yards on two catches before a crowd 29,346 on a sunny, cool spring afternoon.
Tight ends John Samuel Shenker, Brandon Frazier, Tyler Fromm and Luke Deal combined for 11 receptions for 119 yards.
"I thought today everything came together for us," said Shenker, who averaged 17 yards per reception on his two catches. "We had new guys who learned a new offense with Coach Harsin. Today it all came together and it was a beautiful thing to see."
After post-spring evaluations, final exams and some time off, the Tigers will resume summer conditioning in May before beginning preseason camp in early August.
"In the last 15 practices, I've been proud of our guys," Harsin said. "I think they've worked hard. I think they've taken advantage of the opportunities to go out there and get better at their position and to get better as a team. That needs to continue.
"It's really the mental side of the game. What are they going to do from now until summer, and how much better can we get before we step out there and play so that we can play fast?"