AUBURN - It's no secret that the Auburn High football team was playing its best football of 2005 on Friday night.

Whether it was the 42-7 lead it held over Liverpool or the student body that rushed onto the field after the 56-23 victory, it was clear that Auburn was on solid ground.

The Maroons (1-3) scored on every first-half possession to earn their first win of a season that has otherwise been a string of improvements since a 50-12 loss to Cicero-North Syracuse in their opener.

"It's not just about tonight it's about the progression from week one, two, three and four," said Maroon coach Dave Moskov. "With a young team like this to get better and better each week, even though we were 0-3, they still got better and came out and won - that says a lot about the character of our kids."

Auburn won without starting quarterback Darnell Murphy, who is out with a high-ankle sprain and guard Ryan Hutchings. Josh Hunt filled in for Hutchings and Dan Zambito took snaps for Murphy, amassing 149 yards and two touchdowns in the air, as well as 84 yards on the ground. The senior also passed for one two-point conversion and ran for another two.

The Maroon backs also had a nice night. Quendel Ellison rushed for 116 yards and three touchdowns, and Zach Prentice ran for 82 yards, one touchdown and caught two touchdowns.

"We have so many good kids and it's just a matter of spreading the ball out and getting the ball in the end zone lots of different ways," Moskov said.

It became evident Liverpool couldn't match the versatility Auburn had on offense - at least in the first half.

While the Maroons were able to run with Ellison, Prentice or Zambito, or pass with Prentice, Brandon Tape, Dave Foltz or Jeff Richardson, the Warriors only real offense came when quarterback Cory Gionet got loose on their only first-half score, a 52-yard reverse. Liverpool opened up the passing game for 226 yards in the second half, but Auburn had already opened up a 35-point lead.

"There is a whole lot of things that we've been working on all year," Moskov said. "Being so young, things started to jell from week one to week two to week three and we started seeing things, and they really clicked tonight. We've got a lot of ways to get the ball in the endzone. We were really able to utilize all those weapons tonight."

Penalties, which have thwarted the Maroons all season, still plagued auburn early on its opening drive when a block in the back penalty nearly stalled a golden opportunity. Facing a third-and-19 deep in Liverpool territory, Zambito got out of the jam by finding Prentice with 8:06 left in the first quarter. He passed to Tape to give the Maroons an 8-0 lead. Four minutes later, Prentice scampered in from 25 yards out to give Auburn a 14-0 advantage.

Ellison gave the Maroons a 20-0 advantage, but Gionet answered for the Warriors. But Auburn started to put the game away on its next two possessions, scoring on its first plays from scrimmage for a 34-7 lead.

The Maroons kept building their lead, and by the end of the third quarter, the defense got on the board. Brandon DeBagio picked off second-half Warrior quarterback Michael Buckenmeyer for a 33-yard score.

The win has left Moskov optimistic, but admits that it's the first step.

"I think it's part of a process," he said. "We don't look at this as one win, we look at this as what's happened over the last four weeks. This is part of a much bigger plan of sticking together, believing in each other and getting better. This is part of a progression that we want to keep going."

Ellison believes that another solid week of practice will keep the Maroons on the winning track. Auburn plays Horseheads next Saturday.

"If we do what we have to do in practice, stay focused and work hard, then we'll get Horseheads," he said.