DAPHNE — Daphne’s playoff run ended abruptly Friday night, falling 40-0 to 7A powerhouse and the No. 4 team ranked in the state in the Auburn Tigers. 

A wave of turnovers, field-position woes, countless penalties and constant backfield pressure buried the Trojans in the second-round loss. What began as a competitive opening few series turned into an uphill climb the Trojans never recovered from.

Daphne head coach Kenny King commented on what went wrong for the Trojans in the blowout loss. 

“A lot of turnovers, a lot of mistakes that were made that put us in a bad situation,” King said. “The two fumbles (to start the game), we also talked about getting that safety — just a bad situation, a bad night for us offensively. That is a great team (Auburn) and that is what playoff football is about. They came out and executed.” 

Daphne opened the game with promise as quarterback Christian Segar used his legs to move the sticks on the opening drive, but a holding penalty stalled things and forced a punt. 

That was when field position became a problem immediately. After the Trojans defensive line got after Auburn quarterback Cason Myers, the Tigers dropped a perfect punt inside the 5-yard line, and Daphne went three-and-out again. However, the defense delivered once more, pushing Auburn backward with a penalty and then stuffing a fourth-down attempt after a hard hit on Myers.

Set up near midfield after taking over on downs, Daphne couldn’t capitalize. Segar fumbled just a few plays later to put the Tiger offense right back on the field. On the ensuing play, defensive end Malique Franklin sacked Myers, knocking him out of play for the remainder of the night with an injury.

That brought in backup JD Pate — who wasted no time making the most of his opportunity. On his first passing attempt, Pate rolled left and floated a 50-yard touchdown across his body for the game’s first points. A blocked extra-point made it a 6-0 Auburn lead late in the opening quarter.

Another Daphne fumble followed the Tigers’ score — this one by running back Izick Johnson — and set Auburn up at point-blank range. Pate and running back Jaden King needed only a couple snaps before King plunged in, and the Tigers converted a two-point conversion to make it 14-0 in a hurry.

Johnson responded to his fumble with a 40-yard run into Auburn territory shortly after, but penalties and a sack of Segar derailed what could’ve been a stabilizing drive for the Trojans.

Auburn punted early in the second, but again flipped the field — this time pinning Daphne at its own 1-yard line. On the first snap, running back Jamir Alcius was hit in the backfield by a pack of Tigers and dropped for a safety, pushing the deficit to 16-0.

Auburn kept their foot on the gas as King broke loose for 20-plus yards before he and Pate marched the Tigers to the goal line to allow Pate to power in from two yards out to make it 23-0 midway through the quarter.

Daphne found some life when athlete LaBrayln Williams ripped off a long run inside the Auburn 30, but the drive stalled once more as Segar continued to deal with relentless pressure from the Tigers’ front anchored by Kollin King, Elijah Scott and Alex Gamston.

A trade of punts followed, but Auburn’s return unit set them up near midfield again with around two minutes left in the half. Pate made the Trojans pay for the short field, dropping another deep, on-target touchdown while rolling out — this one to Antonio Welch — stretching the halftime lead to 30-0.

Auburn opened the half with a fake punt that worked but was erased by a penalty, giving Daphne a bit of early life. The Trojans moved the ball past midfield behind quick throws to CJ Gardner and Williams, but ended up facing a 4th-and-short and chose to punt.

The defense forced another stop, but a roughing-the-kicker penalty revived Auburn’s stalled drive. King eventually closed it with a 15-yard touchdown run, making it a 37-0 lead as the third quarter expired.

A pass-interference call and a chunk gain to Williams put Daphne near the Auburn 30 early in the fourth — the Trojans best scoring chance of the night. But a backward pass from Segar slipped away and was recovered by the Tigers, ending hopes of avoiding the shutout.

Auburn added a 45-yard field goal with three minutes left in the game, and Daphne’s final possession ended in its fifth fumble of the night, allowing the Tigers to drain the clock. 

The Trojans finish the 2025 season 9-3; the program’s highest win total since 2020. This was the end of year 10 as the head coach at Daphne for King. He stated it was a big season for him and that he believes his team exceeded all the preseason expectations. 

“This team was projected to not even be .500,” King said. “A group of no superstars. The guys came out this summer and worked. They did an awesome job and they reaped the reward of winning nine games this year — proud of them, proud of the seniors that did what they needed to do and proud of the coaching staff that molded this team into what it is.”