The superintendents of schools in the Grand River Conference opened the month of March with a meeting (March 2nd). Out of that meeting, a vote was held, with the result, via 12-4 approval, to split the GRC into two separate conferences, beginning with the 2023-2024 school year.
KTTN-KGOZ Sports Director Tom Johnson spoke with Trenton High School athletic director John Cowling about the ramifications of the decision:
Princeton already had plans to make the move to an eight-man football program, with the Tigers now in the nine-school yet-to-be-named conference that will include Albany, King City, North Andrew, North Harrison, Pattonsburg, St. Joseph Christian, Stanberry, and Worth County. Eight teams will make up the powerhouse eight-man football conference, as North Harrison and Gilman City are part of a three-team cooperative team based out of Pattonsburg.
For the 2023-2024 season, Trenton, Milan, and Gallatin will be part of a seven-team conference that will include Putnam County, Polo, Maysville, and South Harrison. In July 2024, that conference will balloon to nine schools, with Marceline leaving the Lewis & Clark Conference and Brookfield leaving the Clarence Cannon Conference.
As it pertains to football scheduling for the remnants of the “GRC East”, Princeton’s departure leaves teams with an open spot to fill for 2023. Trenton will play host to KIPP Legacy School of Kansas City on September 8th, adding a third non-conference game to the slate. The Bulldogs, in 2024 and 2025, will have a home-and-home series with Tolton Catholic High School of Columbia to fill their one non-conference slot.
Putnam County will travel to Westran on September 22nd this fall, with Milan at Harrisburg on September 15th, Gallatin at Marceline on October 20th, South Harrison hosting Scotland County on October 13th, Maysville at Fayette on September 29th, and Polo filling its Princeton opening with a trip to Russellville on October 6th.
