CICERO - A little more than two years ago, it was the Auburn football team that was huddled on their sideline, waiting and hoping on a last-second kick to give them the most important win in program history.

It might not have been of the same magnitude of the 2006 Class AA state title game against Monroe-Woodbury, but the last-second 27-yard winning field goal by Cicero-North Syracuse kicker Andrew Falvey brought a considerable amount of devastation to the Maroons, who dropped to 0-2 with a 9-7 loss Friday night.

“Is this what Monroe-Woodbury felt like then?” said Maroons head coach Dave Moskov. “What a battle this was. The kids just fought so hard tonight. It's hard to slip to 0-2 when you know you have a damn good team.”

The Maroons had the game in hand for 46 minutes but couldn't hold on down the stretch. The Northstars marched 44 yards in the final drive, for once not getting in their own way in the process, to set Falvey up for the winning kick.

The lanky senior had an opportunity to tie the game with four minutes left, after Ryan Lacey hit Chad Dubiel for a 53-yard touchdown strike, but Falvey slipped on the slick carpet that lines Michael J. Bragman sports complex.

Heavy rains contributed the sloppy play, mostly on the part of the Northstars, who were bullied by the Maroons. Auburn's defensive line tormented the Cicero-North Syracuse sophomore quarterback, to the tune of eight sacks and countless hurries. Lacey also fumbled two snaps, but managed to fall on both.

“Our D-line played great, they brought just a ton of pressure,” Moskov said. “The linebackers did great too. Matt Wild at safety came up and made some huge plays. Just all around, did their jobs and they did it with a lot of passion.”

Auburn allowed 30 passing yards and 38 more on the ground in the second half, but Lacey was able to hurl 94 yards in the final 24 minutes. The Northstars, who racked up 63 points in the first week of play against Central Square, managed just 73 yards on the ground. But this was quite a difference for Auburn as well, after it allowed 56 points in the opener against West Genesee.

“I have to give all the credit to our defensive coach, Matt Moskov,” Dave Moskov said. “We started focusing last Saturday on films and we said that we had to fix some of these things. A week of practice in high school football - they grew up a lot today. That's a credit to him and this defensive unit. They did just a tremendous job today.”

Auburn had just as much trouble with their footing, though quarterback Dave Jacobs wasn't sacked once. Jacobs finished 3-for-11, with 53 yards, an interception and a touchdown. The Maroons' lone score came on a 35-yard touchdown pass down the middle of the field to Malcolm Bryant late in the first quarter.

Manny Brooks played well, but wasn't as effective as he was against the Wildcats, when he ran for over 200 yards. Brooks finished with 63 yards, but none of his carries were longer than eight yards.

Wild was everywhere for the Maroons and played with perhaps the coolest of heads. With a slippery ball, the snaps were shaky at points and as the punter, Wild prevented sure disasters. In the first half, one snap sailed over his head deep into Maroons territory, but Wild recovered the ball and managed to kick it back onto the C-NS side of the field.

“He was all over the field tonight,” Moskov said. “You have to put the kids where they have their talents. He fielded that ball, settled his hips and kicked that ball, preventing surefire disaster.”

Now, Auburn tries to prevent another disaster - dropping to 0-3 - as it heads to Corcoran Friday night.