The Princeton Tigers started slowly and finished with a struggle, but a span of 4 minutes and 48 seconds in the third quarter was the greatest factor in favor of PHS on Friday night, with the Tiger scoring 21 unanswered points, in a 28-21 victory over the Trenton Bulldogs on Hot Country Z 101.7.
Trenton opened the scoring with 3:42 remaining in the opening quarter, with Mark Trump gashing the Tiger defense through the hash-marks for a 29 yard touchdown run. The extra point gave the Bulldogs a 7-0 lead after 12 minutes of play.
The Tiger offense began to pick up the pace in the second quarter, and drove the fall inside the 10-yard line early in the quarter, but the Bulldog defense held strong (including a 4-down stop in the red zone) until 41.3 seconds remained in the half, when Princeton connected on a 35 yard pass to Mitchell Hydorn and a two-point conversion pass to Hydorn. Trenton’s ensuing drive expired at the Princeton 30 yard line with the clock hitting “triple-zero’s”, leaving the Tigers up 8-7 at the break.
Princeton, with 6:05 remaining in the third quarter, extended the lead to 14-7, with an 8 yard pass to Hydorn. A run for the two point conversion failed, leaving the score at 14-7. Trenton threatened to tie the game on the Bulldogs best drive of the quarter, but fumbled the football back to Princeton, with the explosive Tigers, using momentum, going up 20-7 on a 4 yard run by quarterback Cam Hartley. The ensuing kickoff struck a Bulldog lineman on the foot at mid-field, with Princeton diving on the ball for another possession. Just 1 minute and 54 seconds after the Hartley score, Logan Dunkin, on a catch and run of 40 yards, pushed the lead to 26-7, with a Hydorn two-point catch making it 28-7.
Trenton played much better in the fourth quarter, but the Bulldogs run-heavy style made it difficult for THS to make up a 21 point deficit. A pair of 1 yard touchdown runs by junior Sam Schilling (the first with 11:02 remaining and the second with 1:10 remaining), along with two Crawford extra points, made the score 28-21. An onside kick attempt was cleanly downed by Princeton’s Logan Krohn, with the Tigers able to close out the game by kneeling on the football in the game’s final minute.
The win improves Princeton’s record to 3-2 overall and 2-1 in the Grand River Conference, while Trenton drops to 1-4 overall and 1-2 in the GRC. On Friday, September 28th, Trenton will host unbeaten Milan on Hot Country Z 101.7, with Princeton hosting Putnam County on KTTN FM 92.3.
Here is the scoreboard from Friday, September 21, 2018:
Milan 43, Putnam County 14 (on KTTN FM 92.3)
Gallatin 48, Polo 6
South Harrison 32, Maysville 14
East Buchanan 70, Plattsburg 54
Penney 29, Mid-Buchanan 27 (OT)
Lathrop 68, West Platte 7
Lawson 49, North Platte 0
Centralia 18, Brookfield 6
Palmyra 36, Highland 0
Moberly 41, Macon 19
Clark County 54, South Shelby 6
Monroe City 52, West Hancock 0
Liberty North 37, St. Joseph Central 0
Marceline 51, Paris 6
Schuyler County 34, Louisiana 18
Scotland County 47, Salisbury 20
Westran 21, Fayette 16
Knox County 50, Harrisburg 0
Knob Noster 42, Carrollton 0
Higginsville 47, Richmond 16
Holden 28, Lexington 22
St. Pius X 25, Chillicothe 14
Maryville 72, Cameron 12
Lafayette 51, Bishop LeBlond 21
Savannah 47, Benton 10
Stanberry 84, Pattonsburg 46
Worth County 58, King City 28
Norborne 44, Braymer 32
Albany 68, St. Joseph Christian 38
North Andrew 62, Chilhowee 0
North Shelby 42, Platte Valley 2
Mound City 46, Northwest Nodaway 0
East Atchison 44, Rock Port 28
South Holt / Nodaway-Holt 82, DeKalb 36
Southwest Livingston 62, Stewartsville 14
Orrick 60, Northwest (Hughesville) 44
Photo credit – Twitter / @PrincetonRV (Princeton High School)
