In each of the past three seasons, the Trenton High School football team has rolled into its match-up with Putnam County winless on the season. In each of those seasons, Putnam proved to be the antidote for what ailed the Bulldogs.
Now, with Trenton winless again headed into its match-up with the Midgets, the Bulldogs are hoping Putnam County once again provides the victim they need to get into the win column.
Trenton will travel to Unionville on Friday night to face off with Putnam County, a team that enters the game 1-2 on the season. Putnam’s lone win – a 21-0 throttling of St. Joseph Christian in week one – seems light years away, however, as the Midgets have taken a pair of lop-sided losses since. Last week South Harrison shut out the Midgets 36-0.
Trenton also has history on its side in this game as the Bulldogs have defeated Putnam County in every meeting since 2006, taking nine victories over the Midgets in that span. A win on Friday night would mark the 10th straight over the Midgets.
If Trenton is to extend the streak, however, the Bulldogs are going to have to fix their offense, which has scored an average of just 6.7 points per game through three weeks.
“Friday against Gallatin I think we played defense well enough to possibly win a game,” Trenton Head Coach Kevin Hixson said. “But offensively we didn’t execute. So, that is first and foremost. Offensively we have to execute and move the ball. You have to score points to win ballgames and that is the bottom line.”
The Bulldogs will have to deal with defensive lineman O.D. Perkins and linebacker Tony Bondy, a pair of seniors who were all-conference performers last season. However, Hixson isn’t worried about what Putnam County has so much as what Trenton does.
“I don’t really worry about personnel match-ups as much as I do about us getting out and doing what we do and doing it aggressively,” Hixson said. “We turned the ball over four times last week and if we do that against Putnam County, the same result is going to happen.”
When Putnam County has the ball, like most teams in the Grand River Conference, it is going to want to run. The Midgets have shown a willingness to throw the ball, though, and given the film on Trenton from previous weeks, expect the Midgets to put the ball up some on Friday night.
The passing game hasn’t always suited the Midgets, though and a pair of interceptions, one returned for a touchdown, sunk Putnam’s hopes of an upset fairly early last week against South Harrison.
“They like to run the ball, but they will spread you out and try to throw the ball a little,” Hixson said. “But I think when push comes to shove, they want to run the ball. Defensively we are going to have to play sharp and max our effort. We need to play more aggressively than we did last week and then we have to play better in the secondary. Communication is going to be the key.”
Kickoff between the Bulldogs and Midgets in Unionville is set for 7 p.m. on Friday.