As the seconds ticked away in the fourth quarter of Trenton’s 57-28 victory over the Princeton Tigers Friday night at C.F. Russell Stadium, defensive ends Caleb Johnson and Kaden Owen stealthily made their way toward head coach Kevin Hixson on either side of a Powerade cooler. As the clock hit zero, Johnson and Owen hoisted the cooler and dumped its content on the coach. The water and ice cascaded off Hixson’s shoulders and back, washing away a 685-day winless streak.
“It was huge for us,” Owen said. “Just because we hadn’t won. We hadn’t won in almost two years. I think (Hixson) was kind of mad at first but then he realized ‘hey, we got a win tonight.’”
Trenton’s last win before Friday came on Oct. 25, 2019 when Trenton defeated Maysville 49-29 in the Cemetery Bowl. But Trenton lost to Macon in district play the following week to end its season. In 2020, Trenton was shut out in weeks 1 and 2 before a COVID quarantine cost the Bulldogs two weeks of practices and games. Trenton would never recover, finishing the 2020 campaign at 0-8.
But Friday night saw Trenton return to the win column on the legs of Sam Gibson, who turned in the fifth-best single-game rushing total in school history. Gibson needed just 19 carries to accumulate 369-yards rushing — just 22 yards behind De’Andre Vandevender’s 391-yard effort against Carrollton in 2007. Brian Grimes, who is the reason Gibson wears the number-20 jersey, ran for 377 against Maryville in 1990 and 373 against Savannah in that same season. Austin Burkeybile rushed for 373 as well, doing so at Princeton in 2016. By the time the night was over, Gibson had rushed for six touchdowns as well.
“That trap (play) was working amazing,” Gibson said of his big night. “(Princeton) didn’t see it coming at all. I just hit that hole. (Johnson) was lead blocking for me and I just took it to the house every time we ran trap.”
Trenton ran trap on its first possession and Gibson ran 66 yards, nearly untouched for the Bulldogs’ first score of the night. The second time Trenton ran it, Gibson went 83 yards to make it 12-0 just halfway through the first quarter.
“(Princeton’s) front was a four front,” Johnson said. “We had two guys kicking out the end and then I would get the tackle. It just created a huge lane for Sam to go through. On trap, Sam would just run right underneath that block for lots of yards.”
But while Gibson certainly seemed untouchable offensively, Princeton showed some fight after falling into the initial 12-0 hole.
Quarterback Logan Smith, who was running for his life at times in the contest, found Talan Holt for the team’s first first down of the contest late in the first quarter. It got the Tigers into Trenton territory for the first time and a couple of plays later Smith found Holt again, this time leading to a 38-yard touchdown pass. While Trenton had struggled, missing a point-after kick and failing to score on a 2-point try, Princeton delivered to cut the lead to 12-8.
The second quarter would be a shootout as the teams traded blows. Gibson added touchdown runs of 36 and 29 yards and Gabe Novak, who ripped off a 36-yard run that put Trenton on the one-yard line, punched in a touchdown of his own on the next play. Princeton got a kickoff return to the house by Andrew Rhoades and Rhoades had a jump pass to Holt out of a Wildcat set for a five-yard touchdown. Princeton got the final score of the half on a 55-yard pass from Smith to Luke Kelly to send the teams into the locker rooms with Trenton leading just 34-28.
“Our offense kept us in the game in the first half,” Princeton head coach Nathan Powell said. “Logan made some great throws under pressure and Talan and Luke were both able to make some big plays for us. Andrew had a huge kickoff return for a TD that really got us kick-started as well. We’re going to need more of that on a more consistent basis if we’re going to have any success.”
In the second half, though, Gibson continued to dominate, but Trenton’s defense, especially its secondary, adjusted and began to take away the Tigers’ downfield passing chances. The Tigers would not score in the second half.
“We didn’t do a lot different scheme-wise,” Hixson said. “We knew they had a couple of guys they wanted to get deep and get behind us. Coleman (Griffin), Gabe Novak and I just made a few adjustments and it was just ‘we can’t let this happen, I know you are seeing this.’ Coleman wanted to get a little excited about getting up there and helping stop the sweep, but we can’t do that. So we talked about it at halftime and made the adjustment and it was good.”
While Princeton saw its offense slip away, Gibson kept hammering. He ripped off back-to-back 30-yard runs to start the half, the second scoring his fifth touchdown of the night. Griffin picked off Smith on Princeton’s next drive and scored his first touchdown with a 16-yard quarterback keeper at the other end. Gibson would punch in his final touchdown on Trenton’s next drive — a four-yard dive in which he ran over a defender at the goal line to score. That pushed the lead to 55-28 with just 8:15 left to play.
“Oh my goodness,” Hixson said of Gibson’s performance on the night. “There were a couple of runs where Sam was just grinding it out and grinding it out and grinding it out. Caleb and Kaden and Dylan Spencer up front, those guys did a great job of blocking and opening holes. They were just setting up inside trap. We ran trap a bit, some quick-hit dive off our option. I know Coleman wanted to keep that last touchdown of Sam’s and it would have been an easy keep for him, but he just read it perfectly and gave it to Sam and he ended up with that last touchdown. It could have been an easy touchdown for Coleman, but these guys aren’t selfish and they play hard and they play together. They did a great job.”
Trenton’s varsity was out of the game at that point, except for the secondary, which Trenton’s varsity played until the game’s end. The junior varsity front picked up a safety with Princeton’s JV offense in the game late to give the contest its final score of 57-28.
That’s when Hixson got his long-awaited, much deserved ice bath and the Trenton players rallied around their coach jumping up and down.
“I love it,” Hixson said. “I think that is probably the one thing about my coaching style or whatever it is that you want to call it — I’m kind of a hard-ass up front, but I love the kids. They kind of see through that tough-guy facade and know that I really care.”
Behind Gibson’s absolute monster night, Novak rushed for 98 yards and one score on 13 carries.
Trenton improved to 1-2 overall on the season and established a 1-0 start to Grand River Conference play with the victory.
Princeton managed just 36 yards rushing against the Bulldogs with Rhoades netting 37 yards on eight attempts. Smith had a big day, however, connecting on 9-of-14 passes for 153 yards and two touchdowns to one interception. Holt was the top target, hauling in four catches for 86 yards and two touchdowns. Kelly added three catches for 62 yards and a score.
Princeton dropped to 0-3 and 0-1 GRC in a season in which 17 of its 23 rostered players are freshmen or sophomores.
“We’ve got a lot of growing and improving to do if we’re going to have any success,” Powell said. “The youth of our team isn’t an excuse for not performing the way we should. We need to develop consistency on both sides of the ball and do a much better job preparing each week.”
The Bulldogs will be at home for a third-straight Friday when it plays host to Putnam County on Homecoming night at C.F. Russell Stadium.
The Tigers, meanwhile, will face a tough test in the Milan Wildcats who are coming off a big 49-6 win over Putnam County. That week 4 match-up at Eddie Allen Field is set for a 7 p.m. kickoff.
TRENTON HIGH SCHOOL TOP 5 SINGLE GAME RUSHING PERFORMANCES
1. De’Andre Vandevender 391
vs. Carrollton, 2007
2. Brian Grimes 377
vs. Maryville, 1990
3. Brian Grimes 373
vs. Savannah, 1990
3. Austin Burkeybile 373
vs. Princeton, 2016
5. Sam Gibson 369
vs. Princeton, 2021