After a slow start, the Trenton High School defense took over the game on Friday night at Lathrop, holding the Mules to just one touchdown in the early going before the Bulldogs finished the night with a 49-14 win.
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After a slow start, the Trenton High School defense took over the game on Friday night at Lathrop, holding the Mules to just one touchdown in the early going before the Bulldogs finished the night with a 49-14 win.
Lathrop scored first on a six-yard pass from Ricky Jobe to Aaron Mick.
?We were a little confused on both sides of the ball early in the game,? Head Coach Rich Johnson said. ?Defensively we didn?t come out with the fire that we are used to seeing. But once our defense got going, it was very impressive.?
Trenton tied the game early in the second quarter with a 55-yard, 10-play drive. Jesse Meek capped off the drive with a one-yard run. The Bulldogs then pinned the Mules deep in their own zone and gave themselves good field position for their next drive, which started from their own 35-yard line.
?So much of football is field position. Our defense did a nice job of keeping them backed up all night,? Johnson said. ?Offensively we don?t have great numbers, but a lot of that has to do with good field position.?
Five plays later the Bulldogs led 13-7 as Wade Peters connected with Jordan Ferguson on a 15-yard pass play. The extra point failed. Trenton again put the pressure on the Mules’ offense during the next series. This time the ‘Dogs came up with a fumble recovery by Meek. Jesse Ingraham capped off a four-play, 15-yard drive with a one-yard run. Peters added the two-point conversion.
?Once our offensive line started blocking the right people, our offense started to get on a roll,? Johnson said. ?We have to play better next week if we want to beat East Buchanan.?
Peters then picked off a Jobe pass on Lathrop?s first drive of the second half. That set up a 30-yard run by Ingraham three plays later. The extra point failed.
Trenton?s defense forced five turnovers and allowed only 43 yards rushing, including a 40-yard run by Lathrop late in the game against Trenton?s junior varsity defense. The Mules managed only 177 yards of total offense.
Lathrop’s? fourth fumble led to Peters? second touchdown throw. This time he hooked up with Nick Bonnett on a 39-yard touchdown pass. Ingraham added the two-point conversion. In the fourth quarter the Bulldogs went 32 yards on a nine-play drive. Andy Cox scored on a three-yard run, but THS failed on the extra point attempt. That made the score 41-7. Two plays later, the Mules scored on a 40-yard run by Wes Brelsford.
?They were able to break a big run late in the game against our junior varsity defense,? Johnson said. ?Other than that, our defense play tremendous. They kept us in the game until our offense got on track.?
Lathrop then recovered an onside kick with just over 1:30 to play in the game. Trenton?s defense responded again, with Meek picking up a fumble and returning 52 yards for a touchdown. Meek also added the two-point conversion.
Trenton improves to 2-1 on the season and will next host the unbeaten East Buchanan Bulldogs. East Buchanan is coming off a 49-14 trouncing of Maysville and was ranked sixth in the state last week in Class 1.
?This will be a great test for our ball team. East Buch is much improved from last season. They have a great receiver, a big fullback and a very quick tailback,? Johnson said. ?They are also very tough on defense. They shut out Polo, allowed Lathrop seven points and Maysville mustered only 14 points.”
?I am very excited to see how our boys will respond to this challenge,? Johnson said. ?If they cannot get up for a state-ranked opponent, then there is something seriously wrong.?
The Bulldogs will meet East Buchanan on Friday night at C.F. Russell Stadium. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 o’clock.