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Momentum Swings Early, Trenton Falls In Lexington

The Trenton Bulldogs’ initial drive on Friday night at Gil Rector Stadium in Lexington was everything Head Coach Kevin Hixson has envisioned for his football team.
Until it wasn’t.
Trenton ran the ball up the middle, around the edge and pretty much anywhere it wanted to, picking up three to five yards a hit. The Bulldogs netted four first downs and bled over eight minutes off the game clock on their opening drive. Faced with fourth and goal from the four-yard line, however, Trenton was unable to find the end zone.
The devastation of missing a prime opportunity for points was furthered by the loss of running back Jaren Whitney, who went down with a knee injury just a couple of plays earlier and would not return. The momentum-sapping sequence of events took a game in which Trenton showed all the signs of being competitive in and turned it on its head.
The Lexington Minutemen took off and never looked back from that moment, handing Trenton a 38-6 loss on this night.
Trenton’s opening drive, which appeared so destined for the end zone, came on the heels of a 60-yard touchdown run by Lexington’s Johnny Taylor – the third 40-plus yard scoring play Trenton had allowed in two weeks. But, answering back with a long drive would have remedied that.
“Not being able to score was a setback,” Hixson said. “We would have matched (Lexington) and I don’t know what that would have done to them mentally, but it would have boosted us.”
Instead, Lexington went back to work. The Minutemen took their second possession and did what they had done on their first – score a touchdown. Taylor hammered in his second touchdown, this one from 11 yards out.
Trenton again answered with a strong drive that moved inside Lexington’s 30-yard line, but quarterback Sam Schilling was picked off. Trenton’s first turnover of the season ended another reasonable scoring opportunity.
After failing to convert a fourth and seven from midfield, Trenton allowed Lexington one more touchdown, again coming on a Taylor run. The Minutemen converted two-point attempts after all three scores, giving the Bulldogs a 24-0 hole to try to climb out of in the second half.
Trenton never would climb out. Taylor would score his fourth and final touchdown on a 40-yard run as the Bulldogs’ issues with allowing big plays continued. Trenton made two more trips inside the Lexington 30-yard line in the fourth quarter, but came away with a touchdown only once in what was four trips into or very near the red zone.
Mark Trump carried Trenton into the end zone for the lone score, rushing in from six yards out. Trump was huge on the scoring drive, marching Trenton down the field with runs of 17, 29 and 15 yards. He would finish the game with 78 yards on eight carries. He had just three carries in the game up until the final drive.
“Mark Trump – those last six minutes of the fourth quarter -had he ran like that earlier in the game, who knows what would have happened,” Hixson said. “We kind of had a little talk and he knows he has to step it up because Jaren might not be back or might not be ready for next week. He’s got to be that other guy back there and he can be. I know he has the ability, we just have to get him sharpened up a little bit because we are going to change position a little bit. I think he will be fine.”
Trump’s effort took away some of the sting of losing Whitney, but the loss of Trenton’s week-one leading rusher was still demoralizing and took a toll. The injury was believed to be a strained MCL, but no tears were indicated in initial tests. His availability for next week is questionable.
“When Jaren went down, all our guys’ heads went down,” Hixson said. “There are certain guys who are leaders. He isn’t so much a vocal leader, but he leads by what he does on the field. He leads by example, he plays hard, he is everywhere. He is a guy we need.”
With or without Whitney, Trenton will be at home on Friday, playing host to Gallatin in the Grand River Conference opener for both teams. Gallatin is the only conference foe Trenton has not beaten since joining the league ahead of the 2016 season. Kickoff from historic C.F. Russell Stadium is scheduled for 7 p.m.

STATISTICS
INDIVIDUAL SCORING
First Quarter
L – Johnny Taylor 60-yard run (Corbin Pohle run).
L – Taylor 11-yard run (Taylor run).
Second Quarter
L – Taylor 10-yard run (Taylor pass to Lawrence Leadville).
Third Quarter
L – Taylor 40-yard run (Pohle run).
L – Alex Porras 3-yard run (pass failed).
Fourth Quarter
T – Mark Trump 6-yard run (kick failed).

TEAM STATISTICS
THS LHS
Rushes-Yards 44-156 44-339
Passing Yards 33 30
Comp-Att-Int 3-8-1 2-7-0
Total Yards 189 369
First Downs 10 10
Penalties-Yds 2-25 5-55
Fumbles-Lost 2-0 0-0
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING – Trenton, Mark Trump, 8-78; Tyler Siemer, 16-33; Sam Schilling, 10-29; Payden McCullough, 6-14; Jaren Whitney, 3-2; Canyon VonBurg, 1-0. Lexington, Johnny Taylor, 20-193; Alex Porras, 5-81; Corbin Pohle, 6-23; Kobi Bartley, 2-12; Bryce Lautenschlager, 1-10; Kevin Bales, 3-8; Parker Kaullen, 6-9; Blake Dickmeyer, 1-3.
PASSING – Trenton, Schilling, 3-8-1, 33 yards. Lexington, Taylor, 2-7-0, 30 yards.
RECEIVING – Trenton, Dalton Burchett, 1-26; Whitney, 2-7. Lexington, Pohle, 1-24; Freddy Hoskins, 1-6.
DEFENSE – Trenton, Noah Lewis, 8 tackles; McCullough, 8 tackles; Trump, 7 tackles; Siemer, 6 tackles; Quincy Griffin, 4 tackles; Schilling, 4 tackles; Sam Gibson, 4 tackles; Royce Jackson, 4 tackles; Dalton Burchett, 3 tackles, 1 TFL, 1 sack; VonBurg, 2 tackles; Jerrick Stotts, 2 tackles; Carson Burchett, 1 tackle; Riley Raymo, 1 tackle; Whitney, 1 tackle; Coleman Griffin, 1 tackle;