Special to Trenton Telegraph

Trenton’s defense hasn’t given up a point in two weeks, and the Bulldogs will put that streak on the line Friday night at home against one of the Grand River Conference’s hottest teams.

Trenton (2-4, 2-2 Grand River Conference) hosts Putnam County (4-2) at 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 9. The Bulldogs have won back-to-back conference games by shutout, blanking South Harrison 15-0 on Sept. 25 and Milan 23-0 on Oct. 2. That’s eight straight quarters without allowing a point.

“The biggest thing for us over the last two weeks has been how we have won the line of scrimmage,” Trenton head coach Scott Stevens told the Trenton Telegraph. “Defensively, specifically, our guys up front have done a great job of holding their gaps and allowing our linebackers to read and make plays. We were able to do that again this past Friday against Milan.”

Stevens said the shutouts are the payoff of weeks of work.

“Even though we had a rough start to our season, our guys have continued to work and really believe in what we are doing,” Stevens said. “We have improved every week, and I think you are starting to see the results of that work.”

A season of resilience

Trenton’s 0-4 start came against a tough opening stretch.

The Bulldogs opened against East Buchanan and battled to the end in a 12-7 loss at Fayette on Sept. 4, a game that came down to a single score.

After conference losses to Marceline and Brookfield, the Bulldogs regrouped and have played their best football since.

“It is easy for a team that starts 0-4 to start looking toward the next sports season, but our guys have continued to battle and improve every single week,” Stevens said. “That is a testament to the leadership of our team. We have definitely played our best football these past two weeks.”

Stevens credited his upperclassmen for keeping the team together.

“We have had a lot of guys step up for us this year,” he said. “Our three captains—Camden Skipper, Jackson Bethards and Bradly Miller—and the rest of our senior class have done a great job from a leadership standpoint.”

Strength vs. strength

Friday sets up a showdown between Trenton’s stingy defense and a Putnam County offense that has rolled through its last four games.

The Midgets won 27-13 at Maysville on Oct. 2 and beat Marceline 42-6 on Sept. 25. Putnam County’s losses came against Scotland County and Mid-Buchanan. The Midgets won 13 straight games last season before a 39-14 playoff loss to Tipton.

Trenton’s defense will need to contain several Putnam County playmakers.

“As a team, Putnam County has great team speed,” Stevens said. “Offensively, they have multiple playmakers who are back from their State Runner-Up team from a year ago. Their all-conference quarterback, Sawyer Morgan, is back from last year. He does a great job leading their offense, both running the option and throwing the football. He also does a great job in their play-action game.”

“Their big-play guy is Corbin Campbell-Johnson, who is a returning first-team all-conference running back from a year ago. They will find multiple ways to get him the ball, and he is a home-run threat every time he touches it.”

Campbell-Johnson returned a kickoff 85 yards for a touchdown against Maysville, and linebacker Charley Dickerson had 10 tackles and a sack against Marceline, KMEM-FM reported.

“In order for us to be successful, we must win the line of scrimmage again this week and be great tacklers,” Stevens said. “It will take all 11 guys pursuing the football for us to be successful defensively.”

The Bulldogs’ turnaround hasn’t gone unnoticed in Unionville.

“Trenton has our full attention, as they should,” Putnam County head coach Adam Huse told the Trenton Telegraph. “What stands out is that they are well coached and you can see they keep getting better each week. They have gotten better up front by the addition of a player back from injury, No. 55. We know they will be well coached and really excited and ready to play us.”

Bracing for the blitz

Trenton’s offense will see something new Friday.

“Defensively, this is the most aggressive team we have faced all year,” Stevens said. “They base out of a 3-3 stack and will bring pressure on almost every play. They have great team speed defensively and try to cause problems by blitzing into different gaps, so you never really know where the pressure is coming from.”

“Offensively, it will be very important that we are able to pick up the blitz this week. When they guess wrong on a blitz and we have an opportunity to make a big play, we have to make it.”

The stretch run

After Friday’s home game, Trenton closes the regular season with a road trip and a home finale:

· Friday, Oct. 9: vs. Putnam County, 7 p.m.

· Friday, Oct. 16: at Maysville, 7 p.m.

· Friday, Oct. 23: vs. Gallatin/Tri-County, 7 p.m.

“We are continuing to take the season one game at a time,” Stevens said. “We have a huge game for us this week against a very good Putnam County team. We follow that up with a trip to Maysville and then finish our regular season with a home game against Gallatin. As long as we continue to improve, we should have some really good games to finish the season.”

A win Friday would give the Bulldogs three straight and a winning record in conference play heading into the final two weeks.

“District-wise, we are in a very tough six-team district,” Stevens said. “Depending on where you look, we have four of the top 10 teams in Class 2 in our district. With that said, we are much improved from where we were at the beginning of the season. We feel like we could challenge anybody in our district.”