The Trenton Bulldogs, twice in Friday night’s Grand River Conference football game at Cal Hubbard Field in Milan, turned mistakes by the home team into immediate touchdowns, part of a 28-8 road win that keeps THS one game behind Gallatin and Princeton in the race for first in the GRC East.
Trenton opened the scoring with 7:42 remaining in the first quarter, with the Bulldogs finding the pitch to Matthew Sibbit for a 6 yard jaunt to the end zone. Â The extra point attempt by Mason Owen banged off the upright at the Pit, leaving the score 6-0 Bulldogs.
Just over 4 1/2 minutes later, the Trenton defense forced a Milan punt, with the Bulldogs receiving a gift, as the snap to Wildcat sophomore Ryan Dabney went well over his head, with the Bulldog special-teamers tackling Dabney back at the 20 yard line. Â One play later, Sibbit scored his second touchdown of the night:
The two-point conversion was added by Hunter Dugan, giving Trenton a 14-0 lead.
Despite the early hole, Milan showed strong fight on a drive that pushed the Bulldogs back to their own 3 yard line midway through the second quarter. Â However, a 15 yard ‘chop-block’ penalty against the Wildcats pushed Milan back to the 18, and a potential touchdown pass to Hunter Shaw was called back by an ‘illegal lineman downfield’ penalty. Â Facing 4th and goal, Milan tried for a touchdown pass, but the Bulldogs returned the interception to the 34 yard line.
Instead of a one-score game, Trenton now had the ball and a two-score lead, with the Bulldog offense looking for a quick strike against the Milan defense:
The extra-point kick, aimed at the north goal posts at Cal Hubbard Field, was wide, leaving the Bulldogs up at the half, 20-0.
A scoreless third quarter brought both teams to the fourth, where Bulldog senior quarterback Lathan Croy connected for his second touchdown strike of the night:
The Bulldogs played inspired defense late, looking to get a shutout on the road, but a badly-timed offsides penalty gave the Wildcats a first-down on a 4th down attempt inside the Trenton 10 yard line, with junior fullback Jamuel Pagan scoring for the Wildcats on a 3-yard plunge with 52 seconds remaining in the game. Â A two-point conversion run by Colten Fordyce made the final score 28-8 in favor of Trenton.
Trenton Head Coach Brandon Boswell, on the Coke-Grundy County Lumber Locker Room Show, praised his team’s defensive efforts:
The Bulldogs (2-3, 2-1), will host South Harrison (1-4, 1-2) on Friday night on Hot Country Z 101.7, with the Wildcats (0-5, 0-3) traveling to Milan to play the Wildcats this Friday on KTTN FM 92.3.
