SYRACUSE - Corcoran never saw Darnell Murphy coming Friday night. And how could they, Murphy never even saw it coming, he said. In just his second game back from a strained knee he suffered Sept. 1 against West Genesee, the Auburn quarterback didn#'t always do the little things well in the Maroons 28-24 win, but he did the big things superbly.

With two minutes left in the fourth quarter, Murphy took the ball from his own 35-yard line, trailing 24-21 after a Corcoran touchdown. It was the first time the Maroons trailed all game. It was also the first time the Corcoran crowd came to life. After a minimal gain on first down, Murphy went long on second down. He recognized single coverage on the sidelines and hit Matt Hoey, who made an over-the-shoulder catch, for a 61-yard reception inside the Corcoran five-yard line.

After a Murphy scramble to the one-yard line, the clock was now down to 15 seconds. Without any timeouts, the game came down to a third-and-goal from the one. Murphy got enough of a push from his offensive line to score on a quarterback sneak. Hoey tacked on the extra point to make it 28-24 with less than 10 seconds left. Murphy went 11-for-15 for 205 yards, three touchdowns and one rushing touchdown.

“I really didn#'t expect this kind of performance from myself,” Murphy said. “We wanted to come in and get a big upset for the guys.”

Corcoran fumbled the first snap and the recovery by Maroons' defender Colin Parry sealed the upset victory for Auburn (3-2). It was the first victory for the Maroons over the Cougars (3-2) in 25 years.

“We had 1981 written on the chalkboard all week,” Moskov said. “We told the kids we have an opportunity for something special. I was playing JV football the last time we beat them, that#,s how long it#'s been.”

It could have been even longer. Auburn might have gone into overtime for the second straight week had Corcoran connected on all four extra-points. The Cougars opted for two-point conversions. They were stopped every time.

That almost didn#,t matter, though, as Auburn almost blew another lead late in the game, just like they had against Liverpool and Cicero-North Syracuse. Leading 14-12 at halftime, Murphy hit Hoey for his second touchdown of the game to put Auburn up 21-12.

The Maroons looked to blow it open on their next drive, but a 17-yard touchdown run by Quendel Ellison, who finished with 165 yards rushing, was called back for holding. On the next play Laquan Rouse picked off Murphy in the end zone.

A fake punt eventually set up a 10-yard touchdown pass on fourth-and-goal from Darin Hickson to Rouse, to make it 21-18 at the end of the third quarter. Hickson went 19-for-28 for 221 yards and three touchdowns.

A fumble by Murphy gave the Cougars the ball at midfield at the beginning of the fourth quarter. They had momentum and a solid rushing attack on the drive but were stopped inches short on a fourth down from inside the Auburn five-yard line.

Auburn couldn#'t run out the clock and it looked like they would have yet another collapse.

Auburn was leading C-NS last week before the game had to be called due to lighting problems and re-started on Saturday. They lost 35-28.

“We sat down with our captains on Monday and put our feelings on the table,” Moskov said. “We said #‘fellas, that#'s it, this thing is over, let#'s put it behind us.#' And it showed in practice.”

Matt Hoey showed in practice, Moskov said, just like he always does. He had five catches for 98 yards and two touchdowns, including the first score of the game.

“The kid is a rock,” Moskov said. “He doesn#'t say a lot, he just makes big plays.”

The usual receiving playmaker for Moskov, Brandon Tape, also scored. His 48-yard catch in the second quarter gave Auburn a 14-6 lead. That drive was set up by a Murphy interception. A quick two-minute drill by Corcoran, led to Tykel Gunter-Byrd#'s second touchdown reception to make it 14-12 at half.