In the autumn months of 2007, under head coach Wes Croy, the Trenton Bulldogs enjoyed their finest football season in more than a generation, rolling through an unbeaten regular season and reaching the Class 2 state quarterfinal round, where a loss at Blair Oaks ended a magical campaign two wins shy of a trip to the state championship game. The star that shone brightest on that Bulldog squad, particularly in an overwhelming breakthrough performance against Brookfield to clinch the district championship, was DeAndre Vandevender. However, a key piece of that backfield as starting halfback was Scott “Scotty” Stevens, who, following his college graduation, credited Coach Croy for his decision to go into the coaching ranks. A brief stay as an assistant coach at Trenton in the early to mid-2010s was followed by a golden opportunity, as Stevens replaced Nile Thudium as head coach of Brookfield, the very program he battled on the field so fiercely years prior.
The Brookfield job that Stevens inherited was a bit different than the one from ten years earlier. Notably, Brookfield was now in the Clarence Cannon Conference, a tough grouping of northeast Missouri football powers that includes Centralia, Palmyra, South Shelby, Macon, and Monroe City. Along with being in a community where football had great importance, Brookfield’s job also throws coaches into the den of pressure known as the “Bell Game”, the Bulldogs annual grudge match with nearby Linn County rival Marceline. With conference play and the Bell Game taking greatest importance on the BHS schedule, a return match with Trenton did not materialize.
That changes this week, as Trenton chose another scheduling route last year instead of the titanic task of dealing with KCI powerhouse Lathrop in the season opener, and this Friday night, in the first contest of a two-game home-and-home contract between the schools, Brookfield comes to C.F. Russell Stadium to take on the Trenton Bulldogs (7 PM / Hot Country Z 101.7).
Stevens has great familiarity with Trenton’s home stadium, but admits that seeing the north sideline while wearing Brookfield blue will take a moment to get used to:
The Trenton-Brookfield rivalry grew quickly in intensity in the 2000s, built upon two great programs playing late in the season with high stakes. However, more than a decade removed from those games, Stevens admits that his Brookfield players may have been too young in that era to understand the importance of the game between the schools:
Brookfield’s intensity meter will need to be up early this season, as the Bell Game at Chester Ray Stadium in Marceline looms next week. Trenton, following its Week 1 test against Brookfield, sees another “Bulldog” in Week #2, traveling to Gower for a meeting with the KCI Conference’s East Buchanan Bulldogs.
Coverage of Brookfield at Trenton this Friday night, on Hot Country Z 101.7, begins with “Football Frenzy” at 5:30, with the weekly Trenton Lady Bulldog coaches interviews running from 6:10 to 6:30. You can hear the complete interview with Coach Stevens Thursday night at 7 o’clock, following the live running of “Dawg Bites” from the Trenton Hy-Vee on Hot Country Z 101.7, with a re-air at 6:35 on Friday night, during Bulldog pregame for the season opener.
Dawg Bites, tonight at 6, will start with a THS golf interview with juniors Mari Atup and Josie Chumbley, from approximately 6 o’clock to 6:15, followed by the football interview with coach Kevin Hixson and his selected student-athletes from 6:15 to 6:30. A live interview with Trenton’s softball, tennis, and volleyball teams will follow, closing out the show from 6:30 to 7:00.
