The Trenton Bulldogs will officially kick off the 2016 season on Friday night when they step onto Mule Field to battle Lathrop. The match-up will be Trenton’s first trip to Lathrop since 2011, when the Mules bested the Bulldogs 28-7 in the two school’s last meeting.
This year, however, the Bulldogs will be looking to gain some big district points as they open the season with the Mules, with whom they share Class 2, District 8. Despite being in the same district for the past four seasons, the teams have never met in the postseason.
Trenton has district foes in each of their first two contests. Following Friday night’s match-up with the Mules, the Bulldogs will host Lexington in week two. The games will be two of Trenton’s toughest this season and two of their most important. The two contests come right out of the gate for Trenton as the Grand River Conference schedule dictates what Trenton does from week three on.
“Our first two games are huge in terms of setting us up for a goal that we have and that’s hosting a playoff game,” Trenton Head Coach Brandon Boswell said. “With these two games we really have to take care of business. We don’t have a lot of room for error because Lathrop is a team that is very explosive. I think with Lathrop and Lexington both, with the talent that they have, (they) could be in the top four in the district tournament this year. This is a very big game for us and we told the kids that. You know, a lot of teams don’t play their toughest games at the beginning. We don’t have that luxury. We have to go out and schedule good teams that are Class 2 or higher to try and take advantage of the point system. We have got to take care of business right from the get go.”
Lathrop enters Friday night with some motivation. Last year the Mules suffered losses in each of the first three weeks of the season, dropping all three contests by just a combined eight points. Despite playing over .500 the rest of the way, Lathrop finished the season with a 4-6 record and a first round exit in the district tournament. With Trenton coming to town, the Mules are surely looking to avoid a repeat of last season by getting off to a better start in hopes of reversing their fortunes from a year ago.
“I remember going into districts last year talking about Lathrop, even though they were like 4-5 at the time,” Boswell said. “They were probably very underrated and one of the best 4-5 teams in the state. They gave Brookfield all they wanted for a half. I think they are definitely capable of altering their record quite a bit. I think they are one of the best teams, if not the best team, in the KCI Conference this year. I’m sure they are ready to get off to a quicker start to the season this year.”
To do that, however, Lathrop must first fill a pretty big hole on the offensive side of the ball. James Knifong, who led Lathrop with 1,170 yards and 14 touchdowns graduated in May, leaving the Mules with a void offensively. Making matters worse, quarterback David Moore and leading receiver Dawson Beane also graduated. That doesn’t mean the Mules are without weapons, however. Running backs Seth McKnight and Josh Sailing and quarterback Brock Lewis give the Mules some athletes with potential to replace the offensive production lost.
“I think a lot of it starts with Seth McKnight at running back,” Boswell said. “We think he is pretty good for a sophomore. He has amazing speed, is very athletic and hard to tackle in space. He is a kid that worries me, but then also their quarterback Blake Lewis, he isn’t the fastest kid in the world, but he runs the play-action pass extremely well. He is pretty accurate with his passing and one of my biggest concerns is having them in third-and-long and giving up a big pass play that is demoralizing for our defense. I think we just have to be very disciplined and get a good pass rush. We need to make sure we limit their offense as much as we can.”
Like Lathrop, Trenton will also be looking for some new faces to provide an offensive lift. Trenton lost nearly all of its offense from last season, but if the jamboree was any indication, the cupboard isn’t bare. Running back Austin Burkeybile, a senior, ran for a pair of touchdowns last Friday night, following a seasoned offensive line that generally had its way with the defensive fronts of Maysville and South Harrison. Matthew Sibbitt and Jeffrey White also put the ball in the end zone once each. The Bulldogs’ success Friday night begins with the ground game repeating its success from last week’s scrimmages.
Under center, Trenton has Lathan Croy, who is making his first career start. The junior started at the jamboree last week and will hope to parlay what was a solid performance there over to actual competition this week.
Kickoff at Mule Field in Lathrop Friday night is scheduled for 7 p.m.
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