Down by eight points with just over one minute left in the regular season, the Trenton Bulldogs hopes of victory in Bethany looked quite dim, with South Harrison lining up for a punt in hopes to pinning Trenton’s run-heavy offense back. In one of the biggest plays of the season for THS, special teams gave the Bulldogs chances a boost, as Tom Johnson provided the call on Hot Country Z 101.7:
Trenton, having not scored in the second half, had a three-yard run and incomplete pass that set up third-and-7 from the South Harrison 17 yard line:
Novak’s touchdown catch pushed Trenton to within two points of South Harrison, with a two-point conversion surge led by the THS offensive line, and taken to the end zone by junior fullback Sam Gibson, sending the game to overtime.
Trenton scored first in the overtime session, taking a 24-18 lead, but Gibson’s two-point conversion failed, and Trenton’s hopes withered on a dramatic 14 yard touchdown pass on a halfback option pass by South Harrison gave SHHS (5-4, 5-2) a 25-24 win in Bethany after a point after attempt was completed for the winning point.
Trenton opened the scoring in the first quarter on a 2 yard keeper by quarterback Coleman Griffin, with Gibson’s made PAT making the score 7-0. A 4 yard run by South Harrison quarterback Chance Corbett cut the lead to 7-6, with the visiting Bulldogs, on a 28 yard field goal by Gibson, taking a 10-6 to halftime.
Big plays began to tip the way of South Harrison in a decisively dominated third quarter for the “Purple Bulldogs”, as a 36 yard pass on a halfback option from Chamberlain to Fortner gave the home team the lead for the first time, 12-10, with an 81 yard touchdown strike on a fly pattern midway through the third quarter upping the lead to 18-10.
The loss for Trenton effectively doomed the hopes of the Bulldogs of hosting a district first-round game at C.F. Russell Stadium, as a head-to-head loss to Brookfield in Week 1 allowed the “Blue Bulldogs” to jump Trenton for the #4 seed, and home field advantage for the district opener against THS on Friday night, October 29th at 7 o’clock (KGOZ FM 101.7).
South Harrison’s head-to-head win over Polo proved critical, as the Bulldogs will host the Panthers in a Class 1, District 7 quarterfinal game this Friday night.
Here is the complete high school football scoreboard from Friday, October 22, 2021:
South Harrison 25, Trenton 24 (OT) – Broadcast on KGOZ FM 101.7
Milan 28, Maysville 12 – Broadcast on KTTN FM 92.3
Gallatin 48, Princeton 8 – Gallatin wins first outright GRC title since 2006
Putnam County 20, Polo 16
Penney 41, Lawson 0
East Buchanan 57, North Platte 8
Lathrop 51, Plattsburg 7
Mid-Buchanan 28, West Platte 12
Chillicothe 50, Benton 21
Marshall 30, Cameron 0
Maryville 37, Lafayette 6
St. Pius X 35, Savannah 0
Macon 54, Clark County 30
Centralia 12, Palmyra 0
South Shelby 28, Brookfield 14
Monroe City 54, Highland 22
Marceline 30, Harrisburg 16
Westran 35, Paris 0
Fayette 66, Tolton Catholic 24
Scotland County 58, Van-Far 26
Salisbury 50, Missouri Military Academy 0
Lafayette County 71, Carrollton 0
Holden 34, Knob Noster 6
Richmond 41, Lexington 8
8-Man:
Worth County 76, Stanberry 16
Platte Valley 28, East Atchison 26
DeKalb 52, Stewartsville/Osborn 38
South Holt 22, Nodaway Valley 6
Rock Port 26, Mound City 20
North Andrew 68, Southwest Livingston 20
King City 48, St. Joseph Christian 0
Albany 84, Pattonsburg 0
Knox County 56, Schuyler County 6
North Shelby 92, Braymer 30
Orrick 48, Santa Fe 22
Norborne/Hardin Central 88, Keytesville 40
Bishop LeBlond 32, Northwest (Hughesville) 30
Archie 84, Concordia 42
Drexel 80, St. Paul Lutheran 26
