The high school basketball season begins across Missouri on Thanksgiving week, with the Trenton Bulldogs, on Tuesday, November 20th, hosting the East Buchanan Bulldogs in a varsity doubleheader to be broadcast on KTTN FM 92.3.
In preparation for the hoops season, the Missouri State High School Activities Association has released district pairings for the 2018-2019 season. From Trenton’s perspective, particularly with a girl’s program expected to be among the state’s elite in Class 3, there are three storylines developing from the pairings.
Firstly, Trenton, instead of being locked into District 15 or 16 in Class 3, moving the Bulldogs into postseason potential games with teams the likes of Maryville, Bishop LeBlond, Lathrop, or Penney, the Lady Bulldogs, this year, will be in a more-centralized District 14. This grouping of eight will have much-more of a north-central Missouri flavor, in comparison to northwest Missouri.
Last year, a one-loss Trenton team lost in a district final on the floor of the Penney Lady Hornets, ending the hopes of back-to-back playoff appearances for Brian Upton’s squad. This year, the same scenario will not play out, with Penney moving down from Class 3 to Class 2, as Hamilton lands in Class 2, District 16, a group of schools that includes Maysville and Gallatin.
However, while one potential “Hornet roadblock” for Trenton moves down, another moves down as well. The Chillicothe Lady Hornets, a team on the rise after somewhat of a rebuilding season under Coach Darren Smith in 2017-2018, are back down to Class 3 after two seasons in Class 4. Chillicothe, along with Trenton, is in Class 3, District 14. The other schools in the district will be Brookfield, Carrollton, Higginsville, Lexington, Richmond, and St. Paul Lutheran.
