AUBURN - Dave Moskov can make light of it, but clearly it's not all that funny to him.

Starting his eighth season as Auburn High's football coach, he has led the Maroons to the Section III Class AA playoffs four times. Each time, his team lost in the opening round.

Four times Auburn players watched opponents celebrate the thrill of advancing, while the Maroons were left with a lonely walk to the team bus, heads down and helmets dangling from their arms, followed by a lousy ride home from Syracuse.

Carl Festa has been on a couple of those lousy rides. He was part of a lopsided loss two years ago against Utica Proctor, and last year's forgettable 42-12 dressing down at the hands of Henninger, which reached the Section III finals.

The Maroons finished at 4-5.

But Festa would like to bite the head off the snake that has kept Auburn High from a hearty celebration. His quest begins at 7 tonight at Holland Stadium when the Maroons take on Cicero-North Syracuse.

Since being named the lone team captain at the season-ending banquet, the 5-foot-11, 215-pound senior has been in the weight room with teammates, tried to make a connection with the newcomers, and sought to create a bond that will keep the Maroons from perhaps losing interest as the season winds down, when momentum and togetherness mean the most.

But that's not all Festa has done.

He has watched a videotape of the Henninger game once a week for the last year.

"I like to replay it. It gives me motivation to play a little harder," he said.

"I remember going into the locker room at halftime, and everybody's head was down. There was a feeling that we couldn't do it, and it made me mad because we still had two quarters to go. I don't want to be in that situation again."

Festa returns to his strong-side linebacker position, where he was first team all-league last year.

He is also a fullback, tight end and punter, and he is determined to make his presence felt.

He has already done so; Festa got a Mohawk haircut a month ago, and could persuade others to follow suit.

"My teammates might think I'm a little crazy, but I know how to play under control," he said.

And Moskov has controlled his thoughts about bringing Auburn High to the next level.

He jokes that maybe he should have taken more psychology courses in college so he could help his team be more prepared for a big game.

In his next breath, though, he gets right to it.

Winning football games is a very good thing (Auburn is 10-8 the last two years), but winning in late October and early November is what it's all about.

"We have elevated ourselves to this point, but we want to go beyond that," he said. "We want more. We want more."