Trenton grabs GRC lead with gritty road win, 18-14 at Milan

The Trenton Bulldogs, behind 21 carries, three touchdowns, and 194 yards rushing from junior fullback Sam Gibson, took first-place in the Grand River Conference with an 18-14 victory at Cal Hubbard Field in Milan, in football action heard Friday night on Hot Country Z 101.7.

In a much-anticipated battle featuring two of the three remaining 2-0 GRC squads, the visiting Bulldogs started with a bang, as following a misplayed kickoff, Trenton started at its own 14 yard line.  Gibson got the first carry of the game and gashed the Wildcat defense for a career-long 86 yard score, with the blocked extra point leaving the score at 6-0.  With rainfall picking up in strength during the second quarter, the Bulldogs doubled their lead with one of the key plays of the contest, converting a 4th-and-goal from the 7 yard line on a punishing Gibson carry across the goal line.  The two-point conversion run was stopped short, leaving the score at 12-0.

However, Trenton’s short kickoffs continued to give Milan good field position, and momentum would flip to the home team play the end of the half.  Carlos Cotto returned the kickoff to the Trenton 45, with a solid first-run down combined with a 15 yard penalty against Trenton placing Milan into the red zone.  Senior fullback Deric Doporto took the football 18 yards through the heart of the Bulldog defense to slice the halftime deficit to 12-6.

Milan got the football first to start the second half, and with the Doporto brothers starting to control the line of scrimmage with their running attack, the Wildcats got to within striking distance with just under ten minutes remaining in the quarter.  Junior halfback Darren Doporto tied the contest on a sweep play toward the stadium’s southwest corner.  Tom Johnson had the play-by-play call: 

The two-point conversion run was Deric Doporto was successful, giving the ‘Cats a 14-12 lead.  For one rest time in the game, Trenton retook the advantage with 3:07 to go in the stanza:

Milan had a pair of golden opportunities in the fourth quarter, driving deep into Bulldog territory needing a touchdown to take the lead, but self-inflicted Wildcat wounds that included penalties and fumbles doomed the comeback effort, with the Trenton defense getting a memorable fourth-and-7 stop from Caleb Johnson to preserve the lead midway through the final quarter.  Milan lost the football four times via fumble in the game, while Trenton, for the second consecutive Friday night, was particularly hit hard by penalties, with 10 walk-offs for 75 yards.  Deric Doporto led Milan’s offense with 18 carries for 154 yards.  Sophomore halfback Gabe Novak continues to emerge as a potential home-run threat out of the Trenton backfield, complimenting Gibson’s bruising style with 14 carries for 57 yards, with most of his work coming in the first half, including a 28-yard scamper in the opening quarter.

Next week, Trenton returns to C.F. Russell Stadium to take on a Polo Panther team that lost to South Harrison on Friday night, 32-22, dropping Polo into a four-way tie for second place in the GRC standings, with Gallatin, Milan, and South Harrison, with all of those teams, at 2-1, sitting one game back of 3-0 Trenton.

Trenton head coach Kevin Hixson caught up with Tom Johnson following his most signficant win as head coach of the Bulldogs: 

Milan’s John Dabney, appearing on the Locker Room Show later Friday night, admitted that, while disappointed, the loss will not define his team’s 2021 season: 

Milan will travel to Gallatin next week in a game to be heard on KTTN FM 92.3, with the Polo at Trenton game to be heard on Hot Country Z 101.7.  The Bulldogs, with a three-game winning streak are now 3-2 overall, and 3-0 in the GRC, with Milan dropping to 2-3 overall and 2-1 in the GRC, although the Wildcats remain very close to being an .500 team, as the three losses for the team have come by a combined total of only eight points.

Here is the high school football scoreboard for Friday, September 24, 2021:

Putnam County 20, Princeton 14 (Heard on KTTN FM 92.3)

Trenton 18, Milan 14 (Heard on KGOZ FM 101.7)

Gallatin 26, Maysville 20 

South Harrison 32, Polo 22

East Buchanan 21, West Platte 20

Lawson 36, Plattsburg 26

Penney 33, Lathrop 7

Mid-Buchanan 62, North Platte 6

Savannah 27, Benton 0 

SJ Central 63, Lafayette 56

St. Pius X 40, Chillicothe 0 

Maryville 52, Cameron 0 

Brookfield 32, Macon 28 

Monroe City 18, Palmyra 13

Centralia 20, Clark County 0 

Highland 24, South Shelby 8 

Scotland County 52, Salisbury 14

Marceline 46, Paris 8

Fayette 44, Westran 23

Harrisburg 20, Sweet Springs 16

Knob Noster 44, Carrollton 6

Lafayette County 35, Richmond 26

Holden 22, Lexington 8 

8-Man:

Worth County 44, King City 34

East Atchison 48, Rock Port 0 

North Andrew 74, SJ Christian 6

Archie 28, Bishop LeBlond 24

Stanberry 75, Pattonsburg 14

KC East Christian 24, Schuyler County 20 (4 OT’s) 

Platte Valley 56, Albany 38 

Mound City 58, Nodaway Valley 14

Southwest Livingston 22, Stewartsville-Osborn 12

South Holt 64, DeKalb 6

Braymer 40, NHC 34

North Shelby 52, Knox County 14

St. Paul Lutheran 63, Keytesville 6