Tigers, Bulldogs cruise to GRC wins, setting up first-place showdown on Friday night

The Princeton Tigers hammered the Maysville Wolverines 54-14 at Maysville on Friday night, while the Gallatin Bulldogs, despite giving up the first eight points of the game, scored 45 unanswered points in a decisive 45-8 home-field victory over the Milan Wildcats, pushing the Grand River Conference record of the Tigers and Bulldogs to an identical 4-0.

This Friday night, Princeton will host Gallatin in the early contender for 2017 GRC “Game of the Year”, to be broadcast on KTTN FM 92.3.  

The Tigers, playing without running back Calvin Berwanger, injured in a Thursday night automobile accident, had things in ‘cruise control’ early at Maysville, scoring a pair of touchdowns in the first quarter (16 yard pass to Blaine Millburn and 24 yard pass to Garrett Enright), while going 1 for 2 on two-point conversions for a 14-0 lead.  Princeton added three touchdowns and three two-point conversions in the second quarter, to lead by a commanding 38-0 at the half.  Senior quarterback Andrew Smith added had five scoring strikes in the first half, with the second quarter scores coming in a 40 yard connection to Clayton Sweeten, a 72 yard strike to Logan Hanson, and a 21 pass to Millburn for Blaine’s second touchdown catch of the evening.

Smith had a four-yard touchdown run in the third quarter, with Mitchell Hydorn adding a 44 yard catch and run for a score, on a pass from back-up quarterback Austin Kelly.

The Wolverines scored twice in the fourth quarter to break the shutout, as freshman quarterback Mallan Cole had a two yard touchdown run, while Cy Uthe caught a 32 yard scoring pass from Cole, the son of Maysville Head Coach Mark Cole.

With the Tigers sitting at 6-0 overall, and a perfect 4-0 in the GRC, it was another strong night for Princeton and Head Coach Thomas Hotmer:

While Princeton was keeping its unbeaten season intact, about 30 minutes to the east, the Gallatin Bulldogs were keeping pace with the Tigers, with a 45-8 win over the visiting Milan Wildcats.

In a game heard on KTTN FM 92.3, Milan fullback Jamuel Pagan opened the scoring on an 84 yard rumble in the first quarter, adding the two-point conversion for an 8-0 lead for the Wildcats.  Gallatin closed the lead to 8-7 by the end of the quarter, as Cole McBee hit Caleb Boyd on a 67 yard touchdown pass, with all-GRC kicker Adrian Hernandez adding the extra point.

The ‘swing quarter’ at GHS was the second, with the Bulldogs yanking control of the game from Milan, with 17 unanswered points.  McBee hit Gavin Walker on a 27-yard scoring pass, Boyd had a 13 yard touchdown run, and Hernandez hit a 35 yard field goal.

Up 24-8 heading into the third quarter, Corbin Toney added to the advantage for Gallatin with a 40 yard touchdown run.  GHS poured on more points in the final quarter, on Boyd’s third touchdown of the night (9 yard run), while Aidan Adkison caught a 38 yard scoring pass from Drayton Harr.

Pagan finished the night with 16 carries for 138 yards for Milan, now 0-6 overall, and 0-4 in the GRC.  For Gallatin, Cole McBee had 18 carries for 131 yards.

With only a non-conference loss to rival Penney serving as a blemish to their record, Gallatin heads to Princeton on Friday night, September 29th to battle the Tigers for first place in the conference.  The 7 o’clock “Battle of Unbeatens” will be broadcast on KTTN FM 92.3.

The Polo Panthers improved their record to 5-1 overall, and 3-1 in the GRC, with a 47-42 win over visiting Putnam County on Friday night.  Polo will be at Trenton to play in the Bulldogs annual Homecoming game this Friday night on Hot Country Z 101.7, while Putnam County will take on the Maysville Wolverines in Unionville.

Other scores from Friday, September 22, 2017 were:

Stanberry 54, North Andrew 36

Albany 54, Braymer 50

Worth County 60, St. Joseph Christian 14

King City 60, Chilhowee 32

Norborne 52, Pattonsburg 50

St. Joseph Lafayette 54, Chillicothe 38

Smithville 42, Bishop LeBlond 7

Savannah 42, Cameron 0

Maryville 47, St. Joseph Benton 7

Hamilton 42, West Platte 7

Lathrop 45, North Platte 0

East Buchanan 26, Lawson 20

Plattsburg 49, Mid-Buchanan 14

Marceline 43, Schuyler County 0

Fayette 42, Paris 18

Westran 26, Scotland County 20

Knox County 34, Salisbury 12

Monroe City 36, Brookfield 14

Palmyra 58, Louisiana 14

Macon 57, South Shelby 30

Clark County 42, Highland 12

Mexico 21, Centralia 20

Richmond 37, Carrollton 12

Lexington 43, Knob Noster 15

Higginsville 49, Holden 6

Southwest Livingston 46, Platte Valley 0

Mound City 56, East Atchison 18

Stewartsville 46, South Holt / Nodaway-Holt 44

North-West Nodaway 42, DeKalb 12

Harrisburg 49, Missouri Military Academy 6

Rock Port 72, North Shelby 24 (at Cameron – Saturday)