Down by 8 points midway through the third quarter, things looked dim for the Trenton Bulldogs on a “Football Friday” in Unionville, with the Putnam County Midgets inside the 10 yard line, knocking on the door of a two-score lead. However, with adversity setting in, the THS defense caught a break, with a fumble at the 3-yard line landing in the belly of a Bulldog defender.
From that turn of momentum, the Trenton offense, and in particular, a punishing running game, took charge against a weary Putnam County defense, turning the fumble recovery into a 97 yard drive ended by a Lathan Croy 14 yard touchdown run and two point conversion, tying the game at 20.
Rebounding yet again from the adversity brought on by a 67 yard catch and run by Carson Quint that regained the lead for the Midgets (27-20), the Bulldogs scored twice by the end of the third quarter to take the lead, and twice more in the fourth quarter, both on touchdown runs by Carson Radcliff, in a 46-27 road win, broadcast live on Hot Country Z 101.7.
Turnovers were a major story in the ebb and flow of the game, with a 19 yard interception return for a touchdown for the Midgets tying the game at 6 late in the first quarter. A 26 yard strike from Ccroy to Colton Colston gave the Bulldogs a 12-6 lead after one quarter, but a PC surge late in the second quarter changed momentum again.
Carson Quint broke three Trenton tackles at the 5 yard line for a scoring run with 2:21 to play in the half, and the Bulldogs were left stunned after a fumble gave the Midgets the ball back just moments into the ensuring drive, and 68 seconds after the Quint score, a potential interception went through the hands of a Trenton defender and was caught for a 30 yard Midget touchdown, leaving THS down 20-12 at the break. With Putnam County threatening for the first points of the third quarter, momentum shifted.
Trenton had three turnovers in the first half to Putnam County’s zero, with the tables turned in the final two quarters, as the Midgets had three turnovers to the Bulldogs zero.
In a familiarly frustrating refrain for the Midgets, the Unionville squad wilted in the second half, worn down by the Bulldogs renewed second half rushing focus. Carson Radcliff finished with an unofficial total of 276 yards and three touchdowns, all in the second half. Matthew Sibbit had a first quarter touchdown run, with the Croy to Colston combination, in Colton’s first action of the 2017 action, proving critical for the Trenton passing attack, with two scores. Carson Quint scored twice for Putnam County, once by ground and once by air.
The win pushes Trenton’s record to 1-2 overall and 1-0 in the Grand River Conference, while dropping Putnam County to 0-3 overall and 0-1 in the GRC. Trenton will host unbeaten Princeton next Friday night on Hot Country Z 101.7, with Putnam County traveling to play border rival Milan in the game featuring a pair of 0-3 squads on KTTN FM 92.3.
The Princeton Tigers stayed blazing hot in the 2017 season, routing the visiting Milan Wildcats on Friday night at Eddie Allen Field. In action heard on KTTN-FM 92.3, Princeton won 52-7. The South Harrison Bulldogs came close to grabbing their first regular season win since 2015, but came up two points short at Polo, falling 26-24, while Gallatin opened conference play with a decisive victory at Maysville, 30-8.
Here is the complete high school football scoreboard from Friday, September 1, 2017:
North Andrew 60, Pattonsburg 20
Stanberry 92, King City 58
Worth County 82, Braymer 12
Mound City 54, Albany 6
Chillicothe 24, Maryville 0
Bishop LeBlond 42, Cameron 0
Smithville 48, Savannah 18
Lafayette 36, Benton 26
Lathrop 21, Hamilton 20
East Buchanan 36, West Platte 6
Lawson 10, Plattsburg 6
North Platte 35, Mid-Buchanan 32
Marceline 28, Brookfield 0
Lexington 46, St. Pius X (Festus) 12
Higginsville 49, Summit Christian Academy 14
Cole Camp 20, Carrollton 13
Southwest Livingston 58, DeKalb 6
North-West Nodaway 44, Platte Valley 34
Norborne 64, North Shelby 14
