South Harrison, Milan open GRC play with shutout wins; Polo breaks long losing skid

With Princeton and Trenton both getting an unexpected Friday night off due to a positive COVID-19 test pausing the Bulldogs season on Thursday morning, football action continued at Putnam County High School, South Harrison High School, and Polo High School, where the Milan Wildcats earned a road win in Unionville, while the Bulldogs and Panthers protected their home turf in the first week of Grand River Conference play.

At Putnam County Stadium in Unionville, in action broadcast on KTTN FM 92.3 and Hot Country Z 101.7, Milan’s John Dabney, noting field conditions dampened by persistent showers throughout the week, leaned on a potent running attack for a 32-0 win.  Senior halfback Dominic Dabney continued his torrid start to the 2020 season with 138 yards rushing, including a 66-yard jaunt that salted the game away in the fourth quarter, and a 15-yard scoring strike from Mallan Cole to open the scoring in the first quarter.

Deric Doporto added 99 yards on the ground for Milan, with Cole, the move-in quarterback from Maysville, contributing two rushing scores, as Milan broke away from a tight 8-0 lead at the half.

Chase Tomlin had 86 yards rushing for Putnam County with Jack Hartwig adding 50.  Putnam County is seeking a Week 4 opponent, with the Trenton Bulldogs quarantined due to a positive COVID-19 test in its program.  The Midgets record is 1-2 overall and 0-1 in GRC play.  Milan (3-0, 1-0) will host the Princeton Tigers this coming Friday night, September 18th, with coverage on KTTN FM 92.3 and KTTNSports.com beginning with “Football Frenzy” at 6 o’clock, followed by the 7 o’clock kickoff. 

Milan’s impressive start has the Wildcats unbeaten, while a duo of strong performances in Bethany has South Harrison’s Bulldogs fully rebounded from an opening week loss at East Buchanan to go 2-1 overall, and 1-0 to start GRC play.  In their most dominant showing yet, Chris Schoning’s team hammered long-time rival Gallatin on Friday night, winning 48-0 at Memorial Stadium in Bethany.  Coach Schoning spoke about the win Friday night with Dave Miles on the PAR Broadcast Group’s “Locker Room Show”:

The Polo Panthers opened GRC play breaking through against the Maysville Wolverines, as Kyle Ross’ team played more stout defense, and had just enough offense to grind out a 12-6 victory, pushing Polo to 1-2 overall and 1-0 in the GRC, dropping Maysville to 1-2 overall and 0-1 in conference play.

Trenton’s trip to Princeton to play the Tigers was cancelled by the positive COVID-19 case identified late Thursday morning in the Bulldogs football program, also resulting in a cancellation of Trenton’s game at Putnam County for Week #4.

Here is the high school football scoreboard for Friday, September 11, 2020:

West Platte 36, Plattsburg 0

Mid-Buchanan 47, Lawson 7

Penney 48, North Platte 13

Lafayette County 62, Sherwood 0 

Carrollton 33, Lone Jack 6

Lafayette 13, Benton 6

Maryville 62, Chillicothe 7 

St. Pius X 42, Cameron 22

Slater 42, Fayette 26

Smithville 28, Kearney 10 

Paris 16, Scotland County 8 

Harrisburg 36, Salisbury 0 

Marceline 43, Knox County 8 

Westran 56, St. Joseph Christian 6

Centralia 20, Brookfield 0 

Palmrya 51, Hallsville 16

Monroe City 62, South Shelby 14

Clark County 26, Highland 14

8-Man

North Andrew 74, Pattonsburg 38 

Stanberry 44, King City 20 

Worth County 60, Schuyler County 0 

Mound City 40, Albany 18 

Northwest Nodaway 38, Platte Valley 26

Southwest Livingston 70, DeKalb 22

Rock Port 72, Stewartsville-Osborn 26

Orrick 68, Concordia 30 

North Shelby 52, N-H/C 8