THUNDERSTRUCK

Trenton Topples Brookfield For First District Win Since 2016

The speaker system at Burlington Field pulsed ACDC’s Thunderstruck throughout the stadium. After a whirlwind series of events that saw Trenton score 10 points in under three minutes of game clock, Brookfield certainly looked the part.
A safety, touchdown and 2-point conversion staked Trenton to a 10-0 lead early in the second quarter and provided the spark that propelled the Bulldogs to a 28-6 district victory over Brookfield on Friday night. It was Trenton’s first victory in a district game since 2016 and just the second overall for the program since the state moved to the current district format ahead of the 2012 season. It also marked Trenton’s first victory over Brookfield since 2007.
“We just wanted it,” Trenton defensive tackle Gabe Stark said. “We all came out to play and they didn’t.”
The game was a defensive struggle early, but Trenton finally mounted an offensive drive late in the frame. That drive stalled out at the 30-yard line however and Bulldogs’ head coach Kevin Hixson elected to punt.
He couldn’t have possibly hoped for a better outcome than what ensued.
Coleman Griffin’s punt rolled to a stop at the half yard line and Caleb Johnson stopped Brookfield’s Tommy Gunn cold a yard deep in the end zone for a safety. After a big return on the free kick, Trenton drove down and punched the ball in the end zone on a three-yard run by Griffin. After initially lining up for a point-after kick, Brookfield jumped offside, moving the ball to the one-yard line. Trenton went for two; Gibson got in.
In the blink of an eye, a 0-0 ballgame now saw Trenton ahead by double digits.
“I wanted to play field position and I asked Coleman if he thought he could get it down in the corner on the left side,” Hixson said. “He said he would give it a shot and he did a great job. Collin (Taylor) got down there and got the ball and it paid off.
“Defensively we were pretty aggressive at first and when you are backed up there [like Brookfield was] there is only a handful of things you can do. We came after them. I sent everybody and it worked.”
The Bulldogs had control and momentum and Brookfield did little to erase that the rest of the night. Even after Brookfield’s lone score of the game, a kick return by Amos Baum following a 27-yard touchdown run by Gabe Novak that stretched Trenton’s lead to 16-0, Trenton responded. The Bulldogs sapped the momentum from the Brookfield sideline when Novak ran the next kick off all the way to the Brookfield 15. A handful of plays later, Gibson scored on a 1-yard run to push the lead back to 16 points.
Trenton took the 22-6 lead into the locker room. When Sam Gibson ran a Brookfield defender over early in the fourth quarter, scoring on a 3-yard run, he slowly turned to observe his conquered foe.
This game was over.
The only excitement the final 11:52 saw was a Brookfield player getting ejected in a game that was pretty chippy throughout. Both teams cost themselves points in the second half. Trenton’s first drive of the second half, a masterful 12-play, seven minute march ended without points after a personal foul backed the Bulldogs up too far for their power running game to pick up another first down.
Brookfield, meanwhile, drove to the Trenton 11-yard line before losses and back-to-back personal fouls resulted in the home Bulldogs attempting to convert a 4th-and-52. Brookfield hardly needed any added issues as Trenton’s defense created plenty of adversity for the Blue and White all night.
Stark, Johnson, Trevor Murphy and Kaden Owen were in the Brookfield backfield all night. The Bulldogs front four harassed Brookfield quarterback Colton Parn, even sending him to the sideline with an injury late in the game, and met Brookfield runners at the line of scrimmage with pops that echoed throughout the grounds at Burlington Field.
“Those guys watched the film from week 1 and then they watched film from the past couple of weeks and they could see how much better they have gotten,” Hixson said. “I’m pretty excited for them and they played hard on both sides of the ball. I didn’t realize until the defensive guys said ‘coach they didn’t score an offensive touchdown on us.’ So, I’m pretty proud of them and they did it for 48 minutes.”
Offensively, Trenton was led by Gibson, who had 125 yards on 25 carries. Novak had 118 yards on 11 carries, but his impact was felt in all three phases of the game. In addition to his offensive prowess, Novak had the big kick return following Brookfield’s only score and set up an offensive touchdown for himself by getting a key interception on defense.
“Before the game even started, Coach said that we needed to play our best game today,” Novak said. “I took that and put that on the field. I played my best and went as hard as I could on every play.”
Ian Elbert added 39 yards rushing on eight carries in the win.
That win pushes Trenton into the district semifinals for just the second time. The jubilation after the game was warranted, but the reward couldn’t be more challenging as the Bulldogs will now travel to Maryville on Friday to face the top-seeded Spoofhounds.
“What an opportunity to go play a team like Maryville,” Hixson said. “Most people would be like oh my gosh, but I’m excited. It gives us an opportunity to see where we are against a tried and true powerhouse, basically.”
The win also vaulted Trenton back to .500 at 5-5 overall. The mark is a massive step forward for a program that suffered through an 0-8 campaign just one year ago.
“I told the young kids when I got in [to the locker room] this is just the beginning,” Hixson said. “You work hard and it will pay off and it has paid off for them. I just love the fact that these kids played hard and did what they were asked to do and did what they were coached to do.”
Trenton and Maryville will kick off at 7 p.m. in the Class 2, District 7 semifinals on Friday at the Hound Pound.