In Friday night’s Grand River Conference opener at C.F. Russell Stadium, the Trenton Bulldogs found the win column for the first time since a 42-29 victory at Maysville on October 25, 2019, with junior fullback Sam Gibson rushing for six touchdowns and 369 yards in a breakout performance over Princeton.
Despite Trenton’s overwhelming running performance, the visiting Tigers stayed close in the first half, with a 37 yard scoring pass from Logan Smith to Talan Holt, 72 yard kickoff return by Andrew Rhoades, a 5 yard pass from Rhoades to Holt, and a 55 yard touchdown pass from Smith to Luke Kelly keeping Princeton within a score of Trenton at the break, trailing 34-28.
The Bulldogs opened the night quickly, with Gibson scoring on a 56 yard run early into Trenton’s first possession of the night, before adding an 82 yard scamper with 6:11 to go in the 1st, leaving Trenton up 12-0. Tom Johnson had the play-by-play calls on Hot Country Z 101.7:
Sophomore Gabe Novak, returning to the offensive backfield after missing the Week 2 loss to East Buchanan with a shoulder injury, returned to Trenton’s starting lineup and added a 1 yard touchdown run midway through the second quarter. Gibson had a 37 yard touchdown run with 1:35 to go in the first half, before adding a 30 yard touchdown run just 3 1/2 minutes into the second half.
Trenton dominated the second half, using a run-heavy, ball-control offense to keep the football away from the Princeton offense, outscoring the Tigers 25-0 after the break. Coleman Griffin had a 16 yard touchdown run with 2:18 remaining in the third quarter, with Gibson finishing his career night with a 4 yard touchdown run, his 6th of the night, with 8:15 to go. Trenton’s defense finished the scoring with 2:38 remaining, tackling a Princeton runner in the end zone for a safety.
The win pushes Trenton’s record to 1-2 overall, and 1-0 in the Grand River Conference, with Princeton dropping to 0-3 overall, and 0-2 in GRC play. Next week, Trenton welcomes Putnam County to C.F. Russell Stadium for the Bulldogs annual Homecoming game (on KGOZ FM 101.7), with Princeton hosting the Milan Wildcats (1-2, 1-0) on KTTN FM 92.3.
Here is the high school football scoreboard from Friday, September 10, 2021:
Milan 49, Putnam County 6 (Heard on KTTN FM 92.3)
Gallatin 20, South Harrison 18
Polo 17, Maysville 11
Penney 49, North Platte 0
West Platte 35, Plattsburg 16
Mid-Buchanan 36, Lawson 0
East Buchanan 35, Lathrop 14
Maryville 36, Chillicothe 25
St. Pius X 48, Cameron 0
Kirksville 34, Savannah 28
Lafayette 28, Benton 14
Palmyra 40, Macon 21
Centralia 30, Brookfield 12
Monroe City 48, South Shelby 8
Highland 38, Clark County 0
Notre Dame (Quincy, IL) 49, Marceline 7
Fayette 56, Slater 26
Marionville 24, Westran 0
Harrisburg 54, Salisbury 16
Lone Jack 15, Carrollton 12
8-Man:
North Andrew 70, Pattonsburg 20
Stanberry 34, King City 32
Worth County 80, Schuyler County 12
Rock Port 72, Concordia 34
East Atchison 48, South Holt 0
Southwest Livingston 90, DeKalb 40
St. Paul Lutheran 30, Northwest (Hughesville) 8
Braymer 62, Keytesville-Brunswick-Northwestern 36
North Shelby 64, Norborne-Hardin Central 0
Santa Fe 68, St. Joseph Christian 18
