Milan’s Wildcats, stinging after a third one-point loss on the season, this one coming Monday night to rival Putnam County (14-13 in overtime), came back just four days later with the physicality shown by Milan on full display, in a 30-14 Grand River Conference win against Trenton, broadcast on Hot Country Z 101.7.
The Wildcats took the game’s opening kickoff, and buoyed by a third-down pass completion from Ryan Dabney to Eddie Gonzalez, were able to put eight points on the board just 3 minutes and 35 seconds into the opening quarter, with junior halfback Dominic Dabney scoring on a six-yard run, with Deric Doporto adding the two-point conversion on the ground.
Milan added six more points to the advantage just five seconds into the second quarter, as Doporto went in on a six-yard carry, while the two-point conversion attempt was dropped in the end zone, spoiling a splendid pass by Ryan Dabney. The Trenton defensive woes on long-distance scenarios came up again on one of the game’s most decisive plays, as Milan, facing 4th down and 23 yards to go, from the Bulldogs 30 yard line, got Dre Morehead open behind the Trenton secondary, with Dabney hitting him for a 30 yard scoring strike, with the Dabney to Dabney two-point scoring pass giving the ‘Cats a 22-0 advantage.
While the Morehead catch could have demoralized Trenton, instead the Bulldogs showed fight in the middle portions of the game, with Jaren Whitney scoring on an 8-yard run with 2:09 remaining in the half. Mark Trump was stopped just short of the goal line on the two-point try, leaving the score, after a Bulldog defensive stop to end the half, at 22-6 Milan.
Trenton took the opening kickoff of the second half with hopes of another score that would have exerted pressure on Milan, and the Bulldogs drove the ball from the THS 12 all the way to the Milan 30 over a 6 1/2 minute drive. However, the drive stalled, Milan was able to stem the Trenton momentum, and the third quarter stayed scoreless.
The Wildcats put the game away with 6:46 remaining in the final quarter, on a 9 yard play-action strike from seniors Ryan Dabney to Hunter Shaw, with the Doporto two-point run giving the ‘Cats a 30-6 lead. Trenton added eight points late, on an eight-yard quarterback keeper by Sam Schilling, and a two-point run by Trump.
Milan Coach John Dabney spoke about the rewarding win for the Wildcats:
For Milan, Doporto had 26 carries for 154 yards with a touchdown and a pair of two-point conversions. Trenton had Mark Trump with 17 carries for 64 yards while Whitney had 17 carries for 65 yards.
The win leaves Milan at 3-3 overall, and 2-2 in GRC play, with a road trip to Gallatin coming up on Friday, October 11th, with coverage of that contest on KTTN FM 92.3. Trenton, now 0-6 overall and 0-4 in conference play, will host the unbeaten South Harrison Bulldogs on Friday night at 7 o’clock at C.F. Russell Stadium, with coverage on Hot Country Z 101.7.
South Harrison beat Gallatin in a showdown at the top of the GRC standings, 22-14, while Princeton stayed even with South Harrison, at 4-0 in conference play, with a 19-4 win at Putnam County, heard on KTTN FM 92.3. Princeton will play at Maysville this Friday night, with Wolverines coming off their first win of the season, 49-0 at Polo. Princeton Coach Nathan Powell spoke about the Tigers five game winning streak:
South Harrison Coach Chris Schoning confirms it was defense that played the critical role for his team in the victory in Bethany:
Other scores from Friday, October 4, 2019 were:
Penney 7, Plattsburg 2
Mid-Buchanan 46, East Buchanan 6
North Platte 44, West Platte 26
Lathrop 38, Lawson 13
Savannah 55, Cameron 7
Maryville 47, Benton 7
Chillicothe 14, Lafayette 13
St. Pius Tenth 48, St. Joseph Christian 7
Knob Noster 22, Lexington 14
Higginsville 42, Holden 14
Richmond 57, Carrollton 8
Marceline 41, Schuyler County 0
Salisbury 21, Knox County 0
Scotland County 44, Westran 7
Harrisburg 56, Missouri Military Academy 26
Moberly 10, Marshall 7
Platte County 15, Smithville 0
Fayette 21, Paris 8
Clark County 20, Macon 0
Monroe City 38, South Shelby 12
Brookfield 33, Highland 0
Centralia 13, Mexico 10
Palmyra 33, Kirksville 6
8-Man
Pattonsburg 82, Rich Hill 48
Albany 86, Braymer 0
North Andrew 52, Stanberry 12
Worth County 28, Orrick 6
Rock Port 36, King City 16
Southwest Livingston 58, Platte Valley 12
East Atchison 58, Mound City 50
South Holt 57, Stewartsville 12
DeKalb 42, Northwest Nodaway 14
North Shelby 62, Chilhowee 12
Osceola 36, Norborne 34
