Two teams walked on to Eddie Allen Field in Princeton on Friday night with perfect 5-0 records, but only the Trenton Bulldogs walked off with their spotless record still unblemished. Trenton took a 34-6 win over the Princeton Tigers, moving its season record to 6-0.
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Key to the Trenton win was the rushing attack. All-totaled, Princeton had held its opponents to -36 yards rushing on the season. Trenton, however, ran for 380 yards, 244 of which came from senior running back De’Andre Vandevender.
“Our kids knew they had a good defense,” Head Coach Wes Croy said. “We respected that and we took it as a challenge. The offensive line felt like they had something to prove to themselves and maybe to people in the area that we could run the football. For us to come out and run as successfully as we did against a quality defensive opponent says a lot about those kids up front.”
Trenton’s rushing attack got off to a good start. After the Bulldog defense forced Princeton into a three and out on the opening possession, Trenton went to work, pounding away with the running game. Trenton pounded the ball into the Tigers’ front line seven times, picking up four- and five-yard gains. On the eighth play of the drive, Vandevender broke through the initial wave of Tigers and went 45 yards for his eighth 40-plus yard touchdown run of the season. Vandevender would finish the game with four touchdowns, moving him to 18 total on the season.
Vandevender’s 244 yards on the night moved him to 4,088 in his career, just 369 yards short of Brian Grimes’ all-time school record of 4,457 yards.
Vandevender isn’t the only Bulldog climbing the career rushing list at Trenton High School. The Bulldogs also got 79 yards from Scott Stevens, who now has 566 yards on the year and is only 241 yards short of taking over fifth place on the all-time list.
Trenton’s high-powered offensive attack wasn’t the only thing turning heads Friday night. The Bulldogs’ defense also put on a clinic, holding Princeton’s normally strong ground game to just 52 yards. Trenton’s front four held the Princeton backs in check all night. Princeton’s leading rusher, Morgan Duff, was held to a season-low 24 yards.
Trenton’s defense didn’t give up a point, as Princeton’s lone touchdown came on a 76-yard punt return by Duff midway through the second quarter.
“I thought our defense, as a whole, played absolutely great,” Croy said. “We took a team that had been running well on everybody and held them to 50 yards rushing and just over 100 passing.”
The Trenton defense took the ball away from Princeton six times, twice on fumble recoveries and four times on interceptions. The standout for the Bulldogs defensively was cornerback Kameron Alley. On a night when all the Bulldogs’ stars were out, none shined brighter than Alley, who pulled a hat trick with three interceptions. Alley’s first pick came early on Princeton’s second possession. With 1:38 left in the third quarter and Princeton on the move, Alley came through with pick number two. Alley’s final interception came early in the fourth quarter to seal the Tigers’ fate.
“For Kameron to have three interceptions was just outstanding on his part,” Croy said. “We put him on Ethan Stark to try and help shut him down. He (Stark) had a couple of catches, but I thought Kameron did a great job on him.”
The win was a good one for the Bulldogs, who were in a must-win situation, according to Croy.
“It was a must-win for us simply because we are in a lose-lose situation with us being the bigger school,” Croy said. “There was a lot of pressure on our kids the past week and it was good for them. They had to go out and win the football game and they were able to come through for us.”
The win advanced the Bulldogs to 6-0 on the season. Trenton will be back at it this Friday when the Bulldogs travel to St. Joseph to take on LeBlond. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.