Bulldogs Hit The End of the Road In Playoff Run

Spencer Harris took the pitch and raced to the sideline, all the while looking downfield. He saw Colton Colston with a step on his man and let a pass fly.
Trenton was attempting to open its district semifinal game on Friday the exact same way it opened its game against Maysville just three weeks earlier. In that game, a halfback pass worked for an emotion-pumping touchdown and Trenton went on to blast the Wolverines and clinch a Grand River Conference championship.
This time, however, Lexington’s defender made up the step Colston had and broke up the play. The ball dropped harmlessly to the ground. It was only the first play of the game – things were a long way from being decided in this one – but the play would be a bellwether for what was to come.
Lexington throttled Trenton 56-13 at Gil Rector Stadium, discharging the Bulldogs from the Class 2, District 8 Tournament and ending a season that – outside of this night – could be considered very successful.
“Lexington is just that good,” Trenton Head Coach Brandon Boswell said. “You look at week two and we felt like they made a lot of mistakes. This game just showed they have improved a lot over the season just like we have.”
Lexington looked every bit the part of the district’s number one seed from the onset. The Minutemen would allow Trenton just one first down on the opening drive before forcing a punt and putting the ball in the end zone a few short plays later on a 61-yard touchdown run on a sweep play by Alvarro Porras.
Porras would revisit the end zone three more times, adding touchdown runs of 60, 14 and 76 yards. He finished the night with a game-high 237 yards on just seven carries. Warren Sheppard scored three times for Lexington on runs of 10, 36 and 41 yards and finished with 130 yards on nine carries. The Minutemen got their final touchdown on an 85-yard fumble return by Sean Emerson. That score made it 56-0 in favor of the home team after three quarters of play.
“We were struggling to set a hard edge on their sweep all night,” Boswell said. “When they had their big runs that led to touchdowns it was when they were going to the edge. We needed our kids to win individual battles out there and we just weren’t able to do that. Credit the Lexington kids. They played well and made plays they needed to.”
Despite getting hammered by long runs, Trenton moved the ball pretty effectively for the most part. The Bulldogs got some good running plays of their own by senior fullback Austin Burkeybile and junior quarterback Lathan Croy. The Bulldogs weren’t able to sustain drives, killing themselves with penalties and dropped passes.
Trenton had three drops by three different receivers and committed seven penalties for 50 yards. The Bulldogs advanced inside the 30-yard line twice, but turned the ball over on downs once and fumbled for their lone turnover on the night, one that was returned by Emerson.
Trenton found the end zone twice in the final quarter once the game was already decided. Croy capped a solid drive with a one-yard sneak for a touchdown and Burkeybile finally broke loose for a 59-yard touchdown run for the other.
Burkeybile finished the night with 184 yards and a touchdown on 26 carries. That moved him to 1,466 yards on the season, a total that ranks fifth in school history. Burkeybile accomplished the feat despite missing the South Harrison game and parts of the Milan and Polo games with a foot injury.
“We can look at his stats and what he accomplished and that is a big deal. But what sticks out to me about Austin is how he carries himself,” Boswell said. “He loves his teammates and he loves playing football on Friday nights. He was a great leader for us this year and he is definitely deserving of all his accomplishments. I’m sure he has some awards coming his way.”
With the loss, Trenton closed its season with a 7-4 record. It marked the second season in a row Trenton reached seven wins. The Bulldogs also won the Grand River Conference championship in their first season as a league member, sharing the title with Maysville at 6-1. Last week’s district win over Lathrop was the first for the Bulldogs since MSHSAA moved to the current bracket-style district format in 2012.
“Coming in to the season we wanted to win the conference,” Boswell said. “I personally wanted to get over the hump of winning a district game. We were able to do both of those things and I’m proud of our kids for accomplishing all of their long-term goals. I think this season has just kind of continued to build on what we accomplished last year in terms of our program. We are continuing to make strides each year, accomplishing what we set out to at the beginning of each season.”
STATISTICS
INDIVIDUAL SCORING
First Quarter
L – Alvarro Porras 61-yard run (Ryan Neer kick).
L – Porras 60-yard run (Neer kick).
Second Quarter
L – Porras 14-yard run (Neer kick).
L – Warren Sheppard 10-yard run (Neer kick).
L – Sheppard 36-yard run (Neer kick).
Third Quarter
L – Porras 75-yard run (Neer kick).
L – Sheppard 41-yard run (Neer kick).
L – Sean Emerson 85-yard fumble return (Neer kick).
Fourth Quarter
T – Lathan Croy 1-yard run (Mason Owen kick).
T – Austin Burkeybile 59-yard run (kick failed).
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TEAM STATISTICS
Stat THS LHS
Rushes-Yards 45-286 25-402
Passing Yards 37 0
Comp-Att-Int 3-7-0 0-0-0
Total Yards 323 402
Penalties-Yards 6-50 5-35
Fumbles-Lost 1-1 1-0
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing – Trenton, Austin Burkeybile, 26-184; Lathan Croy, 14-62; Spencer Harris, 3-21; Carson Radcliff, 2-19. Lexington, Alvarro Porras, 7-237; Warren Sheppard, 9-130; Kobi Bartley, 3-24; Hunter Leach, 2-15; Sean Emerson, 2-4; Drake Eaton, 2-(-8).
PASSING – Trenton, Croy, 3-6-0, 37 yards; Harris, 0-1-0. Lexington, none.
RECEIVING – Trenton, Harris, 2-25; Colton Colston, 1-12. Lexington, none.
DEFENSE – Trenton, Mason Owen, 6 tackles; Connor Cotton, 5 tackles; Luke Lewis, 4 tackles; Harris, 3 tackles; Jeffrey White, 3 tackles; Cole Schilling, 2 tackles, 1 TFL; Dalton Berry, 2 tackles; Croy, 2 tackles; Hunter Dugan, 2 tackles; Matthew Sibbitt, 2 tackles; Jadan Whitney, 2 tackles; Burkeybile, 1 tackle; Isaac Harris, 1 tackle; Alex Parrack, 1 tackle; Isaiah Coon, 1 tackle.