AUBURN – Six years doesn’t sound like a long time. Now consider all the conditions that prevailed in 2002, the last autumn Edward Little High School celebrated a football playoff berth and a winning season.

You could fill the gas tank in your Honda with $20, approximately the same price of a hardcover book lamenting the Curse of the Bambino. And EL seniors Cody Goddard, Buddy Foss, Shane Ciriello and Sean Daigle were sixth-graders.

Everybody’s nearly an adult now, and that resurgent Red Eddies’ pigskin program celebrated another growth spurt Friday night. EL rallied with two touchdowns in the final seven minutes to escape Messalonskee, 36-27, and sew up a spot in the Eastern Class A postseason with two games to spare.

“It’s such a great feeling. It’s been a long time for this program,” said Foss, who rushed 23 times for 144 yards and two scores. “It’s a good team, good kids, good coaching staff. We’re just putting the pieces together week by week.”

Foss basked in the spotlight after Goddard spent the first half shredding the Messalonskee secondary. Goddard rolled up 243 of his 270 passing yards prior to the break, including TD passes to Daigle and Ciriello.

Goddard and Ciriello later teamed up again on a 5-yard slant to put EL (5-1) in front for good with 6:21 remaining. The two-point conversion pass failed.

The Red Eddies then avoided returning the ball to Messalonskee’s troublesome double wing offense thanks to a happy accident on special teams. Dylon Therrien topped the ensuing kickoff like a shanked golf shot. It squirted through a set of Messalonskee hands and died at the 41, where EL junior Brandon Vye cleaned up the mess.

“I think he was trying to bury another one into the end zone, and I think he just pulled his head a little and missed it,” said EL coach Darren Hartley. “It probably made me look like a genius, and I think we know the whole city of Auburn agrees that I’m not.”

Foss rambled 33 yards to set his own 3-yard TD with 5:09 left. Goddard’s extra point made it a two-possession game, and Messalonskee (2-4) went three-and-out on its final series.

Already a one-point winner twice this season, EL fell down by four, 27-23, when Messalonskee QB Dylan Foster snuck for a two-yard score with 2:53 remaining in the third quarter.

Another miscue wound up working out fabulously for the Eddies. Foster intercepted Goddard in the front corner of the end zone on fourth-and-goal with 9:45 left. Foster gambled on a return before losing his balance and stumbling out of bounds at the 2.

“I was hoping he might have knocked that down,” said Messalonskee coach Wes Littlefield. “That would have brought it out to the 20-yard line and gave us some breathing room. When we punted it, we knew we were going to be in a tough spot.”

Bruce Gerry made two solo tackles to stop the Eagles. Chris Pelletier punted cleanly from the end zone, but sophomore Teven Colon fielded it in stride and returned it to the 13.

Foss forged ahead for gains of 6 and 2 yards to soften the secondary for Goddard’s go-ahead strike to Ciriello.

“He’s a gunslinger. We’re very proud of him,” Hartley said of Goddard. “We’re proud of all our athletes. We got a couple of (Messalonskee) mistakes in the second half after we made a couple in the first half.”

Neither defense could muster a stop in a first half that featured 538 combined yards of total offense. Messalonskee rallied from deficits of 14-0 and 20-7 to move in front on Foster’s 20-yard TD pass to Pelletier. Fullback Desmond Nutter rushed for 86 of his 117 yards in the first half.

Goddard delivered a 44-yard bomb to Dominique Bailey down the visiting sideline, then kicked a 27-yard field goal at the horn for a 23-21 lead.

“That was a game-changer,” Foss said. “Not just that, but all special teams tonight. The squib kick and Brandon Vye. Personally, I think he saved the game for us.”

EL employed a more conservative attack to edge winless Cony a week ago. The Red Eddies established a different theme on their first play from scrimmage, with Goddard going deep to Daigle for a 59-yard TD.

“We tried to play this like a playoff game,.” Hartley said. “We wanted to go home tonight and say, damn it, we got to the playoffs. Now we’re going to pin our ears back, and I promise you we’re going to have fun.”