The football was flying all over the field on Friday night at Unionville as the Putnam County Midgets racked up a state record with eight touchdown passes against the Trenton Bulldogs.
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The football was flying all over the field on Friday night at Unionville as the Putnam County Midgets racked up a state record with eight touchdown passes against the Trenton Bulldogs.
Putnam County was able to roll up 64 points and 497 yards passing to end the Bulldogs? hopes of a district title, 64-21.
?They played an outstanding offensive ball game. Their offense got on a roll and we couldn?t do anything about it,? Head Coach Rich Johnson said. ?Their athletic ability trumped our power.?
The night got off to a good start as the Bulldogs drove the ball 70-plus yards for a score, capped off by a 12-yard run by quarterback Wade Peters. The Midgets answered with their first passing touchdown, however, they could not convert the two-point conversion.
The Bulldogs came back and drove the ball down to the eight-yard line before stalling. The Midgets answered, scoring three plays later on their second touchdown pass.
Trenton again came back with a drive that came up a half-yard short on fourth down. The Midgets made the Bulldogs pass defense pay as they threw for their third touchdown of the first quarter.
?We were in a great position, our kids were lose and they really felt like they were knock?in on the door in the first two games,? Head Coach Dave Mitchell said. ?We played the best game of the season no question. Sometimes teams play above what even they think they are capable of and that is exactly what we did.?
Putnam County stopped the Bulldogs fake punt attempt in the second quarter and the Midgets were able to roll up 13 more points before halftime. Trenton managed to score on a 20-yard run by Jesse Ingraham, making the halftime score, 33-14.
Putnam County quarterback Ian Gilworth threw for a state record 8 touchdown passes and 497 yards.
?Coming into the game the plan was to double cover their wide receivers (Brad) Ryals and (Corey) Mason,? Johnson said. ?We wanted to try and take way their primary weapons. We were able to do that some of the time but that left our linebackers one-on-one with their running back. Putnam County was able to exploit that match-up most of the evening.?
Trenton?s best chance to pull itself back into the ballgame came at the start of the third quarter. Some halftime adjustments helped Trenton get some pressure on Putnam County quarterback Ian Gilworth, forcing Gilworth to throw his only interception of the game.
Gilworth finished the season with 2,410 yards passing with 21 touchdowns and only four interceptions.
Trenton turned that mistake into a four-yard touchdown run by Joel Peace, which cut Putnam County?s lead to 33-21. That would be as close as Trenton would come. On third down and 12 from the 15-yard line, Gilworth connected with Ryals on for a 85-yard touchdown pass that dashed Trenton?s slim hopes of a comeback.
?That last two weeks we got away from what it is that we do. Our team is an option team. That means that we have to take what the defense gives us,? Johnson said. ?That means that it is important for us to drive the ball. Gaining four and five yards a play is what we do best. The last two weeks we started looking for the big play and not just taking what was there.?
The Midgets went on to score 24 more points as they rolled over the Bulldogs. Worse yet, for the second time in two weeks the Bulldogs failed to take advantage of the chance to win a district title. Thanks in large part to Brookfield?s convincing win over Marceline, the Bulldogs could have won the district championship with a win of eight points or better over Putnam County.
The Midgets, however, made sure that was not a possibililty as their win, coupled with Brookfield?s victory, gave the Brookfield its third straight district title.
Senior Brad Ryals caught eight passes for 200 yards and four touchdowns. Junior Keith Smith also had eight catches for 194 yards and three touchdowns. Smith also rushed for one touchdown. Corey Mason had four receptions for 76 yards and one touchdown.
?We had a very special night on offense. We were not trying to rub anyone?s nose in it by scoring 64 points,? Mitchell said. ?Our kids were just so hungry. We hadn?t won a district game since 1998. That is long time, especially for a proud program like ours.?
Despite all of Putnam County?s passing numbers, the Bulldogs still managed to gain 302 yards rushing. Peters rushed for 144 yards and one touchdown. Peace racked up 71 yards and one touchdown. THS finished the season with a pair of 1,000 yard rushers as Peace collected 1,100 yards while Peters gained 1,019 yards on the ground.
?These kids still have a lot to be proud of. They finished 7-3 overall, they had a pair of 1,000-yard rushers and they broke a 10-year losing streak to Brookfield,? Johnson said. ?They seniors have done a lot for this community and this program. Their hard work in the weight room, classroom and on the practice field translated into winning on the football field.?
Trenton?s offense gained 3,302 yards rushing this season. The Bulldogs also threw for just over 400 yards. Defensively, Trenton gave up 21.3 points per game while the offense scored an average of 28 points per contest.
In Trenton?s three loses, however, the Bulldogs were outscored, 118-42. In their seven wins, Trenton outscored its opponents, 272-95.
?Our defense was as good as it has been since I got here,? Johnson said. ?With the exception of Putnam County and Plattsburg, we never gave up more than 23 points in a game. In five games this season we gave up two or less touchdowns.?
With 10 seniors graduating, the Bulldogs will have several unanswered questions heading into next season. The Bulldogs will lose their entire offensive line and one of their 1,000-yard rushers in Peace.
?We made a lot of progress this season but this program still has a ways to go. After starting the season 7-1 we finished the season 0-2,? Johnson said. ?We have to learn to finish. This program is doing things the right way. Our kids are working hard, they are learning fundamentals and techniques. Now we have to get their attitudes right all the time.?
?When things were going right, everyone believed in what we were doing. But when things got tough, everyone, including the kids, began to doubt this team,? Johnson said. ?We have the kids, the system and coaches to have a great program here in Trenton, but everyone, the kids, the community, everyone, has to believe in what we are trying to build.?