Things looked bad for the Trenton High School varsity football team after the first nine seconds of Friday night’s second district game.
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Things looked bad for the Trenton High School varsity football team after the first nine seconds of Friday night’s second district game.
The Bulldogs found themselves down at Marceline, 8-0. The Tigers first recovered an onside kick, then connected on a 34-yard touchdown pass. To top it off, the Tigers then converted a faked extra-point attempt into two points.
?They kind of caught us off-guard, but it is just one play,? Head Coach Rich Johnson said. ?They won the first play, but we won the rest of the game.?
The Bulldogs rebounded to win their first district game of the season, 27-8.
Things remained shaky for the Bulldogs most of the opening quarter. Marceline came right back after scoring and forced a three and out. The Tigers then put together three straight first downs before THS got an unexpected spark from the bench.
?Tyler Tolle was the difference in this game. Before he came in on defense we were flat and Marceline was running over us,? Johnson said. ?It was so great for him to make it back to the football field. He said all along that he would be back and Friday he proved what hard work and determination can do.?
Tolle, a senior, was injured before the first game and Friday night was his first action of the season.
After forcing Marceline to punt, the Bulldogs cut the lead to two points, 8-6, on a 79-yard touchdown run by Zane Robinson. That score helped swing the momentum over to Trenton?s side.
?Last week we lost Jesse Ingraham, who was this team?s leader for the first seven weeks of the season,? Johnson said. ?Zane was asked to step up and fill his spot on offense and he responded with 198 yards of total offense and two touchdowns.?
THS took over the lead midway through the second quarter when Wade Peters connected with Jordan Ferguson on a 31-yard touchdown pass. The two-point conversion was good and the Bulldogs went into halftime with a 14-8 lead.
The Bulldogs stretched their lead to 13 points in the third quarter when Peters scored on a 31-yard interception return.
?That helped give us a little breathing room,? Johnson said. ?I thought our defense played pretty well, especially in the second half. I told (our defense) that we wanted a shutout and we came nine seconds away from doing that.?
The Bulldogs’ Robinson hauled down a tough throw in the fourth quarter and took it 27 yards for his second touchdown of the evening.
The Bulldogs improve to 1-1 in district play and 6-3 overall.
?I am very proud of these seniors. They have done a great job of leading this very young football team,? Johnson said. ?Not many people would have believed that this team would have the opportunity to be 7-3 at the end of the season, but we have that chance.?
Standing in the way is Putnam County, which is also 1-1. They lost a tough battle with Brookfield on Friday night, 16-14. With the playoffs out of reach for both teams, Friday night?s contest still holds a lot of importance.
?It is very important that we play well. Last year our season ended on a sour note. We don?t want that to happen again,? Johnson said. ?It is also a redemption game for our defense. Last year the Gilworth boy set several state records against us. Hopefully not making his highlight film for the second year in a row will motivate us to play hard.?
The game is scheduled for 7:30 on Friday night at C.F. Russell Stadium.