Kentlake ended a grueling four-game stretch to clinch the South Puget Sound League North Division with a 10-7 victory over Auburn Thursday night at French Field.

It didn’t start off well for the Falcons when linebacker Seth Mizoguchi snagged a tipped pass out of the air and ran it back 63 yards for a Trojans touchdown with 2:47 left in the first quarter to put Auburn up 7-0.

But, that was all the offense Auburn could muster.

Kentlake came out flat and head coach Chris Paulson explained that his players had been through three straight emotional games and the performance “was kind of a hangover.”

“We were lucky to get a win the way we played,” Paulson said.

The Falcons scored their lone touchdown with 4:38 left in the first half when Caleb Saulo, who was taking his first snaps at quarterback in three weeks, punched it in from the 2 yard line knotting it up at 7-7.

From there both teams struggled to put together a drive, though Mitchell Habryle put Kentlake ahead on a 28-yard field goal with 5:53 left in the game. The scoring drive was set up after Tanner Lucas intercepted Auburn quarterback Brier Atkinson late in the third quarter.

With the victory, Kentlake moved to 7-0, showing the team learned some big lessons after starting out 5-0 a year ago before dropping back to back games to Kentwood and Auburn.

Despite ensuring a new football banner in the Kentlake gym, the mood of the team was clearly subdued, especially by contrast to the previous week when students rushed the field after a gritty 17-16 victory over rival Kentwood — which went undefeated a year ago and won the North.

“Our kids understand we have a lot to clean up,” Paulson said. “The good thing is that everything that happened tonight is fixable. It says a lot about how mature this group is that we won a league title tonight and no one is happy.”

Next up for Kentlake is a non-conference game against SPSL South opponent Emerald Ridge at 7 p.m. on Thursday at French Field.