Big plays doom Dothan in loss to Auburn

Auburn’s 36-21 win over Dothan Friday was full of big plays and bigger mistakes, but no miscue was bigger than the one at the end of the third quarter that made a two-touchdown difference in the game.

Auburn (2-0) held a seemingly-comfortable 23-7 lead and appeared to be driving for another score when a Calvin Jenkins pass floated into the hands of Dothan defensive back Mo Collins, who hauled the ball in at his own 3 and broke free down the left sidelines.

A whistle blew during the course of the play, but Collins continued to midfield, burst through a couple of tacklers and outraced the rest of the team for an apparent score.

During the jubilation, Dothan head coach Kelvis White looked back and saw a yellow flag near the place where Collins intercepted the ball. Dothan had been called for an illegal block in the back, negating the score.

Dothan retained possession at its own 4, but fumbled the ball away two plays later. Rodney Thomas recovered at the Dothan 1 and Calvin Jenkins scored on the next play to give Auburn a 29-7 lead.

It was one of three Dothan turnovers that led to three of Auburn’s five touchdowns. Auburn also returned a fumble 58 yards for a touchdown and an interception 36 yards for a touchdown.

But trailing 29-7, Dothan scratched its way back into the game. On its next possession, Dothan quarterback Jay LeGrand hurled a long pass in the direction of receiver Jordan Brooks. The ball was tipped by an Auburn defender, but Brooks caught the deflection and raced into the end zone for a 60-yard touchdown. That made it 29-13 with 1:30 remaining in the third quarter.

After forcing an Auburn punt, Dothan (0-2) struck quickly when running back Devon Fields scored on a 42-yard touchdown run. The two-point conversion cut Auburn’s lead to 29-21 with 9:04 left in the game.

Dothan got the ball back and drove into Auburn territory, but a Lazaro Aguilar fumble was scooped up by Auburn’s Brandon Jackson and returned 58 yards for a touchdown and the final margin of victory.

A 76-yard kickoff return on the next play by Brooks put Dothan inside the 10, but Auburn held Dothan out of the end zone.

“We made way too many mistakes to win the game,” White said. “We didn’t play as fast as we did last week, kind of got outphysicaled. But we went in and challenged our guys at the half and they didn’t give up. We have some things we can build on.”

Auburn outgained Dothan 218-77 in the first half, scoring on a field goal, a 17-yard pass from Calvin Jenkins to Akin McQueen and a 31-yard touchdown run by Latrell Jenkins for a 17-0 lead at intermission.

Auburn added a 36-yard interception return for a touchdown early in the third quarter before Dothan scored on a 12-yard touchdown pass from Aguilar to Brooks. That’s when the fireworks began with the 97-yard interception return negated by penalty.

Latrell Jenkins led all carriers with 86 yards on 13 carries.