Trenton’s Offense Still MIA In 14-0 Home Loss To Holden Eagles
R-T Photo/Seth Herrold
Aaron Anderson puts a big hit on a Holden ballcarrier during Trenton’s home loss on Friday night. The Bulldogs’ defense limited the Eagles to just two scores, but a lack of offense cost the Bulldogs the game. Anderson had seven tackles, one for a loss, and a fumble recovery in the game.
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For the third week in a row, the Trenton Bulldogs football team was handed a loss by a Missouri River Valley Conference-East school. Friday night, Trenton was defeated 14-0 by the Holden Eagles at C.F. Russell Stadium.
Holden returned its all-state running back, previously suspended Austin Tevis, while Trenton was trying to replace its own all-district running back, Colton Neff. Despite Tevis’ return, Trenton’s defense was up to the task, holding Holden to just two scores over the course of the game. Trenton’s offense, however, was definitely missing Neff. The Bulldogs were unable to cross the goal line and were shut out for the first time this season.
“As a team I think we kind of got better,” Trenton Head Coach Brandon Boswell said. “I’m not a moral victory kind of person, but sometimes those are what you need to get going in the right direction. Our kids fought hard and our defense played pretty well. Overall I am very happy that our kids came out and played so much better than we did the week before.”
The big bright side to the loss on Friday night was the play of the Bulldogs’ defense. Trenton bent, yielding nearly 400 yards of total offense to Holden, but rarely broke, holding Holden out of the end zone most of the night. The Eagles scored just twice on a pair of touchdown runs by Tevis, who had 220 rushing yards in the game, but Tevis also lost two fumbles. Trenton forced five total turnovers on the night defensively as Holden fumbled twice more and Kail McCarter recorded Trenton’s first interception of the season.
R-T Photo/Seth Herrold
Gavin Griffin pulls a Holden defender downfield during Trenton’s 14-0 loss on Friday night at C.F. Russell Stadium. Griffin ran for 19 yards on six carries.
“Our defense was really getting after them,” Boswell said. “I think what has really helped is our conditioning. The 3-5-3 defense is not very easy to block so, ultimately, Holden just resorted to trying to get us off tackle and off the edge. At times our outside linebackers got sealed in and that was where Holden got a lot of their yards, but Coach (Erik) Coffey has done great with that group of kids. I thought we got outstanding play from Kail McCarter at free safety. He got the interception and he was coming up and hitting kids, too. I think he forced a fumble as well and he is showing a lot of growth and promise.
“Our kids just kept fighting and the reason that game was close was because of our defense.”
As solid as the defensive effort was, Trenton was shut out on the offensive side of the ball. The ground game struggled for the second week in a row, managing just 90 yards rushing. Trenton’s best chance to score was shut down when Travis Leeper collided with his own teammate and was caught from behind.
Trenton’s leading rusher, Neff, missed the game due to a knee injury that includes a torn meniscus and strained ACL and MCL. The injury is expected to keep Neff sidelined for the remainder of the season, dealing the Bulldogs a huge blow offensively.
“Obviously Neff is a playmaker,” Boswell said. “For one, he makes the defense key on him and, when he isn’t in there, it allows the defense to focus on other guys. Colton is a great football player and I am upset that we lost him, but I am also upset that I don’t get to coach him because he is very coachable and he is a kid who really loves the game. That makes me sad, but we have to learn to develop everybody to where we can compete. That is what good programs do, they have good kids who are ready to step up and I think Logan Shuler will do a good job for us, ultimately.”
R-T Photo/Seth Herrold
Dalton Ellis takes a snap on Friday night at C.F. Russell Stadium in Trenton. Ellis ran for 23 yards on six carries and completed seven-of-13 passes for another 61 yards
Shuler led Trenton’s rushing attack, but had just 26 yards on nine carries. Dalton Ellis added 23 yards and Travis Leeper ran for 22. Ellis also threw for 61 yards, completing 7-of-13 passes.
Trenton’s final MRVC-East test will come this Friday and it may be the toughest. The Bulldogs will travel to Higginsville to face the Huskers, currently ranked sixth in the Class 2 state rankings.
Kickoff between the Bulldogs and Huskers is set for 7 p.m.
STATISTICS
Individual Scoring
Second Quarter
H – Austin Tevis 7-yard run (Garet Ricketson kick).
Third Quarter
H – Tevis 8-yard run (Ricketson kick).
Team Statistics
THS HHS
First downs 6 14
Rushes-Yards 31-90 40-326
Passing Yards 61 49
Comp.-Att.-Int. 7-13-0 7-11-1
Total Yards 151 375
Penalties-Yards 4-40 8-80
Fumbles-Lost 1-1 4-4
R-T Photo/Seth Herrold
Cree Mullenix celebrates a fumble recovery during the first quarter of Trenton’s match-up with Holden on Friday night. The fumble recovery was one of five turnovers forced by the Bulldogs.
Individual Statistics
RUSHING – Trenton, Logan Shuler, 9-26; Dalton Ellis, 6-23; Travis Leeper, 4-22; Gavin Griffin, 6-19; Bailey Owen, 6-10. Holden, Austin Tevis, 23-220; Andrew Martin, 7-68; Chris O’Neil, 3-16; Nick Martin, 6-14; Cole Chisler, 1-8.
PASSING – Trenton, Ellis, 7-13-0, 61 yards. Holden, Nick Martin, 7-11-1, 49 yards.
RECEIVING – Trenton, Aaron Anderson, 3-31; Shuler, 2-25; Leeper, 2-5. Holden, Nolan Brown, 2-27; Andrew Metcalf, 3-21; Carter Cole, 1-6; Jakob Sadey, 1-(-5).
DEFENSE – Trenton, Kail McCarter, 15 tackles, 1 fumble recovery, 1 int.; Trey Shields 11 tackles; Aaron Anderson, 7 tackles, 1 TFL, 1 fumble recovery; Leeper, 5 tackles, 1 TFL, 1 sack, 1 fumble recovery; Travis Gilbertson, 5 tackles; Austin Burkeybile, 5 tackles, 1 TFL; Cree Mullenix, 3 tackles, 1 TFl, 1 fumble recovery; Griffin, 3 tackles; Shuler, 3 tackles; Nick Gass, 3 tackles; Jeramiah Chipps, 1 tackle.
