The defenses came to play on Friday night at Bethany.
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The defenses came to play on Friday night at Bethany.
Trenton?s defense held South Harrison to one score in the first half and three times stopped Bethany inside their own 15-yard line before falling in the second half, 20-6.
?I was very pleased with our defensive effort,? Head Coach Rich Johnson said. ?They did a nice job of flying around the field and making plays.?
Not to be outdone, the South Harrison defense allowed only one score, which came on the first drive of the game. Trenton opened the game with a 77-yard pass play that led to a seven-yard run by quarterback Wade Peters two plays later.
?We got off to a great start,? Johnson said. ?We were able to throw the ball Friday night, but we still have a ways to go offensively.?
The Bulldogs rushed for 103 yards and threw for 136 more, most of which came in the opening quarter. Trenton?s offense hurt itself throughout the evening with six penalties for 45 yards.
?We made too many mistakes. Against good football teams, mental mistakes cost you football games,? Johnson said. ?On both special teams and offense we have to make better decisions and we have to limit our penalties.?
Trailing by 7-6 at halftime, Trenton committed two mistakes in the opening four series of the second half. After holding South Harrison on fourth down, the Bulldogs came out and fumbled the ball away inside their own 20, which led to South Harrison?s second score.
Two series later, South Harrison again got the ball with a short field. Trenton failed to convert a fourth down and 13 from the 18-yard.
?One of the plays we do this year is a triple option. Our punter has the option to punt the ball, pass the ball or run the ball,? Johnson said. ?Obviously, on that play, things didn?t work out.?
South Harrison took that ball and was able to score, taking the final 14-point lead. Trailing by two touchdowns, THS was forced out of its original offensive game plan.
?We are very inexperienced on the offensive line,? Johnson said. ?We have to use better technique and do a better job of knowing what to do.?
Jesse Meek rushed for 54 yards on six carries. Peters had 36 yards on 15 carries and scored a touchdown. Jordan Ferguson had three catches for 123 yards. Zane Robinson had two catches for 11 yards. Peters hit on 6-of-18 passes for 136 yards.
Defensively, Trenton allowed 203 rushing and 79 passing yards. South Harrison finished with 12 first downs, including eight rushing and four passing.
Robinson finished with a team-high five solo tackles. Ingraham had four solo tackles and 10 assisted tackles while Meek chipped in with a 11 assisted tackles.
?The kids did a lot of nice things on defense. We were able to stop their top three plays,? Johnson said. ?We still need to improve on our technique and that will come with experience.?
The Bulldogs fall to 0-1 overall. THS comes home to host Cameron on Friday night. The Dragons opened the season on Friday with a 12-6 win over Marceline in four overtimes.