The Trenton Bulldogs’ run to a Grand River Conference championship earned them the respect of the other schools in the league.
That was obvious as nine Bulldogs were named to the All-GRC football team selected on Tuesday night.
“It definitely is a testament to what our kids were able to accomplish in conference play,” Trenton Head Coach Brandon Boswell said. “It was really awesome to hear at the conference meeting, just the praise that our kids received from the other conference coaches. It was really nice to hear that.”
Trenton had two first-team unanimous selections in Connor Cotton at linebacker and Mason Owen at defensive lineman. Owen also received first team honors on the offensive line and Cotton was also named a second team tight end.
Trenton also had first team selections in running back Austin Burkeybile, defensive back Colton Colston and defensive end Jadan Whitney. All three were two-way selections as well as Burkeybile garnered second team honors at defensive end, Colston was named a second-team pick at wide receiver and Whitney was named to the second team offensive line.
Other Bulldogs named to the team included Lathan Croy, a second team selection at both quarterback and linebacker; Isaiah Coon, a second team pick on the defensive line; Jeffrey White, a second team selection at defensive back; and Cole Schilling, who was named honorable mention on the offensive line.
“All of our kids who got these awards deserve it,” Boswell said. “I hope they understand that their success comes from their teammates, who maybe didn’t make it on the list. It is very nice to have all of our hard work pay off. These young men that made all-conference are great young men that worked extremely hard and deserved it.”
Of the nine selections Trenton had, five were underclassmen and will return to the team next season. Owen, Croy, Colston and Schilling were juniors this season while Whitney was a sophomore.
“You look on paper at what we have coming back and we are pretty excited,” Boswell said. “Of course we still need some other kids to step up. The worst thing we could do is just assume we are going to be good because we have good kids returning. We still have a lot of work to do.”
Trenton ran a 6-1 record in conference play this season, tying Maysville – a team the Bulldogs defeated 42-12 – for the GRC title. The Bulldogs finished the season 7-4 overall, advancing to the district semifinals before falling to top-seeded Lexington.
The full All-GRC team was not available as of press time, but will appear in the Republican-Times when it becomes available.