Last year the Trenton Bulldogs pulled out a week one victory over Carrollton only to suffer a heartbreaking 21-14 loss in week two to Lexington. This year, Trenton is looking to avoid a repeat.
Trenton enters week two at 1-0 once again facing a Lexington squad that, once again, came into the season with a new coaching staff. That’s where Trenton Head Coach Wes Croy wants the similarities to last year to end.
“You work so hard to get a win in that opening week and invest so much into that,” Croy said. “The last thing you want to do is follow that up with a performance you feel is lacking in certain areas and not come out of week two with a win when you feel you have the opportunity to do so. Last year we felt that Lexington did a lot of things that made us struggle. They were every bit as good a football team as we were, but at the same time we felt like we had chances in that game both offensively and defensively to change the outcome. We want to make sure we don’t do the same thing again this year. It’s one thing to just get totally outplayed in a football game and know that the better team won, but it’s another to feel like you left some things on the table that you could have done differently.”
Standing in the way of a 2-0 start for the Bulldogs is a Lexington team that will be led by standout quarterback Javon Williams. Williams will guide the Minutemen out of the spread offense and has to be the focus for the Trenton defense in week two.
“He is an outstanding football player and there is no question athletically he is probably one of the best kids we will see all year,” Croy said of the Minutemen signal caller. “We will see other kids who will do some impressive things, but his body of work is something to see. He kind of reminds you of a high school version of Brad Smith. He’s not necessarily a great thrower, but he can make the throws. With the ball in his hands, though, he is extremely dangerous. He is quick-footed and makes you miss. He has our full attention. He has some weapons around him who are good football players, but he is really the guy who we have to somehow control defensively.”
As good as Lexington’s offense can be, Trenton has shown they can rack up yards in a hurry as well. The Bulldogs rushed for almost 300 yards in week one and threw for another 100. Trenton will lean on workhorse Colton Neff and the combo of Chanse Houghton and Travis Leeper to produce high yardage totals on the ground once again in week two. Chris Kurtz, the Bulldogs playmaker, will also un-doubtedly factor into Trenton’s offensive scheme.
Looking to halt Trenton’s offense will be a Lexington defense that looked good early in week one. The Minutemen held Oak Grove, a Class 3 school, scoreless in the first quarter of the week one match-up. Oak Grove finished the game with 40 points, however, as Lexington’s Achilles heel – a lack of players – caught up with them. Lexington showed a bit of a different defense than Carrollton, despite sharing a 3-4 front with the Trojans, playing man coverage rather than zone.
“Against Oak Grove Lexington still showed an odd front like we saw against Carrollton, but they showed a lot more man coverage and less cover two,” Croy said. “Whether they do that against us or not is still to be seen, but we need to prepare for that. We see so much zone against our offense because with man coverage it’s easier to run off the defensive backs and if you get the ball pitched out on the edge it results in a bigger play. It also causes problems because with man coverage you have an extra guy in the box and that’s one more guy you have to get blocked. We have worked hard this week and practiced some things that we feel help us off-set what they do. We just need to make sure we go down and get off the ball and know our assignments.”
The Bulldogs and Minutemen will kick off from Gil Rector Stadium in Lexington Friday night at 7 o’clock.

Class 2, District 8 Standings
1. Plattsburg, 1-0 43
2. Trenton, 1-0 33
3. Lathrop, 1-0 33
4. LeBlond, 1-0 33
5. Brookfield, 1-0 33
6. Lawson, 0-1 7
7. Lexington, 0-1 7
8. Carrollton, 0-1 0