Trenton Republican-Times Fall Sports Preview 2021

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GRC

REPUBLICAN-TIMES INSIDE

Can TRENTON Climb Back?

High Hopes For GALLATIN Rebuild In PRINCETON? PLUS Softball, Tennis, Volleyball & Golf :: From :: Trenton, Gallatin, Princeton, Grundy R-5, Mercer, Gilman City and Tri-County

FRIDAY, AUGUST 27, 2021

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:: FALL SPORTS 2021 ::

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CONTENTS

Page 3 :: TRENTON FOOTBALL Page 7 :: GALLATIN FOOTBALL Page 10 :: PRINCETON FOOTBALL Page 13 :: GRAND RIVER CONFERENCE Page 15 :: PATTONSBURG FOOTBALL Page 16 :: TRENTON GOLDEN BULLDOG MARCHING BAND Page 17 :: TRENTON CHEERLEADERS Page 20 :: TRENTON MIDDLE SCHOOL SPORTS Page 22 :: TRENTON SOFTBALL Page 24 :: TRENTON GIRLS TENNIS Page 26 :: TRENTON VOLLEYBALL Page 28 :: TRENTON GIRLS GOLF Page 29 :: GALLATIN GIRLS GOLF Page 30 :: GALLATIN SOFTBALL Page 31 :: PRINCETON SOFTBALL Page 32 :: PRINCETON GIRLS GOLF Page 33 :: PRINCETON CROSS COUNTRY Page 34 :: GRUNDY COUNTY R-5 SOFTBALL Page 35 :: GRUNDY COUNTY R-5 BASEBALL Page 36 :: GILMAN CITY SOFTBALL Page 37 :: MERCER SOFTBALL Page 38 :: TRI-COUNTY SOFTBALL Page 39 :: TRI-COUNTY BASEBALL

Trenton, MO

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2021 SCHEDULE 2020 DATE OPPONENT RESULT 8/27 @ Brookfield 9/3 EAST BUCHANAN 9/10 PRINCETON 9/17 PUTNAM COUNTY 9/24 @ Milan 10/1 POLO 10/8 MAYSVILLE 10/15 @ Gallatin 10/22 @ South Harrison 10/29 Districts, TBA

0-50 0-35 n/a n/a 6-43 14-27 20-22 14-54 16-48

HEAD COACH Members of the 2021 Trenton High School football team include, from left, front row, Nate Burkeybile, Kaden Owen, Cayson Harper, Bobby Shreckengaust, Luke Schilling, Caleb Johnson, Trevor Murphy; row two, Ian Elbert, Coleman Griffin, Gabe Gamble, Gavin Chambers, Sam Gibson, Josh Mago, Gaven Kelsall, Tucker Otto, Dylan Spencer; row three, Gabe Novak, Collin Taylor, Gabe Stark, Brayden Wiggins, Brayden Hughs, Cameron Christy, Gavin Cagle, Milo Simpson, Jake Schmadeke; row four, Kaleb McCallon, Remi Olmstead, Korbin Vandevender, Hunter Ledgerwood, Devin Baker, Riley Gott, Mason Rongey, Aiden Weyer, Hunter Smith; row five, coach Trey Shields, coach Travis Leeper, head coach Kevin Hixson, coach Jon Guthrie and coach Greg Dalrymple. Not pictured are Brody Polk and Tim Kempton.

BULLDOGS ‘CAN’T WAIT’ TO TURN PAGE IN 2021

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he Trenton Bulldogs can’t wait. They can’t wait to step onto Burlington Field in Brookfield in week 1. They can’t wait to start hitting opponents. They can’t wait for the opportunity to put a winless season, one plagued by a COVID quarantine that cost them two games and set them two weeks behind every opponent the rest of the way, firmly in the past.

“ETC has always been our mantra,” head coach Kevin Hixson said. “Effort, toughness and commitment. But, this year, we talk a lot about ‘can’t wait.’ You have to have a ‘can’t wait’ attitude. You can’t wait to get to practice, you can’t wait for that first game, can’t wait to get the ball in my hands, can’t wait to throw that first touchdown pass.”

Trenton is definitely eager to

put last season away and get back into the win column this year.

While there remains a lot of work to do to get back to winning football games, the Bulldogs are already light years ahead of where they were at this point a season ago.

Entering last season Trenton was throwing freshmen and sophomores to the wolves on Friday nights, playing what was essen-

Kevin Hixson - third year at Trenton Career Record: - 2-16 at Trenton Last Year’s Awards: Royce Jackson, second team All-GRC, all-district; Coleman Griffin, second team All-GRC; Kayden Spencer, honorable mention All-GRC; Payden McCullough, all-district.

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PAGE 4 tially a junior varsity squad in terms of experience. Because of that, Trenton had to scale back its offense pretty dramatically to account for the youth on the field.

Now, entering the 2021 season, Trenton returns nearly every starter from last season, many of whom have played eight games at the varsity level. In a year when seemingly every team in the Grand River Conference is getting younger and less experienced, Trenton comes in with a roster that, while still pretty young across the board, is way more equipped to handle what will be thrown at them on Friday nights this year.

One of the most notable improvements Trenton expects to see is at the quarterback position where Coleman Griffin, a junior, enters

:: FALL SPORTS 2021 :: his second full season as the starting signal caller. Griffin made massive strides during the course of the 2020 season, putting together some highlight runs for Trenton in the last handful of games. At this point last season it wasn’t even a sure bet Griffin would start in week one, but having that spot locked up this offseason — one much more normal as COVID restrictions began to loosen — has only furthered his development ahead of his second season at the helm of Hixson’s offense.

“It helped a ton,” Hixson said of having Griffin start all eight games at the varsity level last season.

“Then being able to take him to camp in June and having about four or five 7-on-7’s down in Chillicothe with different teams — I think he is starting to see things, starting to understand more. Find that safety, do a little bit better job of reading him. I think he understands the option more now. He has gotten a ton smarter and he is one of a couple of juniors that have really stepped up to be leaders.”

Another player who Trenton is looking forward to taking last year’s experience and parlaying that into a breakout season is fullback Sam Gibson. Gibson split time in the backfield with Payden McCullough last season, but with

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Trenton is looking to junior Sam Gibson to be a leader on the field this year as well as a playmaker on both sides of the ball.

McCullough’s graduation, Gibson has the spot to himself more or less.

Like Griffin, Gibson was starting as a sophomore last year. He showed flashes of talent, but has packed on more size ahead of 2021,

looking to be a dynamic runner for the Bulldogs.

“Sam hit the weight room pretty hard this offseason,” Hixson said.

“He has matured a little bit too. He was kind of a leader this summer in

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republican-times.com wrestling when they had open mats. He got a taste of that and some kids looking up to him. I’ve been telling him and his class since last year ‘guys, you are going to be juniors. My expectation is here.

The gloves are off, we are going to be going knuckle to knuckle and we are going to get after it.’ I don’t cut those guys any slack. My expectations for those guys is to be good, if not great.”

Gabe Novak saw starting time in the backfield last year as a freshman and is back as a full-time starter for his sophomore campaign. Where Gibson will provide Trenton with a power runner, Novak will offer the Bulldogs speed off the edge to give Trenton what it hopes will be a dynamic one-two punch.

Junior Ian Elbert and sophomore Brayden Hughs round out Tren-

:: FALL SPORTS 2021 :: ton’s varsity backfield. Both showed some break away speed at the Black and Gold game a week ago, carrying the ball for long touchdown runs. Novak also scored in the scrimmage on a long run so the big play potential is definitely there for the Bulldogs.

Trenton’s offensive line should provide some lanes for the backs this season. There is a lot of size up front, but that is just half of what makes a good offensive line. Trenton has been working to improve the footwork and technique of the bigs up front to give it the best possible opportunity to be successful this season.

Luke Schilling, Cayson Harper, Caleb Johnson, Gavin Cagle and Bob Shreckengaust will make up the unit, which averages 214 pounds per player. Trevor Murphy, who is 300 pounds and squats 500

in the weight room, Dylan Spencer, Brody Polk, Kaden Owen and Gabe Stark are also options up front for Trenton, who will certainly have depth at the position.

“The line is probably going to be our strong suit this year,” Hixson said. “They are a good unit together. (Assistant coach) Jon (Guthrie) has got those guys work-

Page 5 ing kind of tight. They are a separate entity away from the team, they are a group within a group. So, I think they will kind of take care of each other and work for yards.”

Nate Burkeybile, who is a solid blocker in his own right, will take over at tight end where Royce Jackson left due to graduation. Jackson is probably the biggest loss for

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PAGE 6 Trenton, but Burkeybile should be an adequate replacement. He won’t be quite the target in the passing game that Jackson was, but at 6’0” 185 pounds he isn’t going to disappear on the field either.

On the defensive side of the ball, Trenton is hoping its depth on the line will allow a lot of their players up front to play just one way. Murphy and Polk and Stark are going into the season with the plan of rotating at the two defensive tackle positions and not playing any offense unless injuries force Trenton’s hand. That would be huge for Trenton if it is able to accomplish that. Burkeybile and Johnson, both offensive starters, will be the defensive ends for Trenton.

They are simply too good of athletes to play just one side of the ball, Johnson especially, a player Hixson says opponents are going to have to game plan for.

Sam Gibson is another player who will go both ways, anchoring the linebackers in the middle. Owen, Tim Kempton and Gavin Chambers

:: FALL SPORTS 2021 :: will flank him combining to fill the two outside backer spots to open the year.

“If you look at the outside edges with Caleb and Kaden and then Nate and Tim on the other side, we are pretty solid,” Hixson said. “Then if you look at Brody and Trevor on the inside with Sam behind them, that is a pretty good triangle.

I think that is a pretty good anchor right there.”

In the secondary, Griffin is back at a safety spot and the Bulldogs should have options to place around him. Novak could see time in the defensive backfield as well as Elbert and Hughs.

Tucker Otto and Collin Taylor, the team’s backup quarterback, will also be available at those positions as well.

Aiden Weyer and Mason Rongey are just freshmen, but Hixson sees them as capable players who can give the Bulldogs a couple of reps on Friday nights and give players a breather here and there.

When Trenton takes the field in Brookfield tonight, they will be looking for their first victory

republican-times.com since week 9 of the 2019 season. Hixson has been pleased with the progression the Bulldogs have made in a much more normal offseason than what they got a year ago. Still, having something go right early in the first game of the season could go a long way toward setting Trenton on a more successful path than the one it navigated in 2020.

“We just have to have some confidence,” Hixson said. “We are excited about getting the season going and just getting out there. Last year we went down and scrimmaged with Chillicothe and did really well and then we came out and just laid an egg when Brookfield came to town.

Right now we had a pretty good camp, a couple of weeks of practice under our belt. We are getting there with our work ethic and our want to.

Hopefully we can keep them excited.”

Trenton and Brookfield get the season underway from Burlington Field tonight. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 o’clock.

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2021 SCHEDULE 2020 DATE OPPONENT RESULT 8/27 NORTH PLATTE 58-0 9/3 @ Hamilton 26-32 9/10 SOUTHHARRISON 0-48 9/17 @ Polo 48-27 9/24 @ Maysville 32-20 10/1 MILAN 20-43 10/8 @ Putnam County 48-8 10/15 TRENTON 54-14 10/22 @ Princeton 18-28 10/29 Districts, TBA Members of the 2021 Gallatin High School football team include, from left, row one, Preston Anderson, Draven Wright, Brantly Burns, Payton Feiden, Isaac Bird, Clay Ward, Marquese Nielsen; row two, Brody Bird, Koda Wortman, Jagger Gray, Boston Bell, Connor Michael, Johnathan Baldwin, Stanley Hanson, Rodell Sperry; row three, Logan Bottcher, Draygan Schweizer, Lucas Tolle, Ethan Adkison, Brett Hemry, Carson Lang, Garrett Dungy; row four, Magnum Fenimore, Case Chrisman, Justin Chadwick, Grayson Allen, Carter Johnson, Keegan Mcbroom, Christopher Thompson, Kegan Jones; row five, Tanner King, Gabe Parker, Colt Baker, Hayden Jeffers, Owen Waterbury and Tre King. Not pictured is Peyton Baker.

GALLATIN SETS SIGHTS ON CONFERENCE TITLE

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he Gallatin Bulldogs were aiming high for the 2021 season as soon as the 2020 campaign came to a close. After all, the Bulldogs played out the previous season with one of the youngest rosters in the Grand River Conference.

Nearly everyone was coming back.

But then quarterback Brinley Vandiver — a two year starter entering his senior season — moved out of the district leaving Gallatin

with a pretty glaring hole at one of the most important positions on the field. It’s a big loss, there isn’t really any other way to paint the picture, but head coach Patrick Treece isn’t backing down his aspirations for the upcoming season.

Gallatin still fully believes to be contending for the Grand River Conference championship this season.

Last season saw Gallatin regress from Grand River Confer-

ence tri-champions in 2019 to a 43 conference record and a 5-5 overall mark. The last loss, however, was a forfeit loss to Hamilton in the district tournament after COVID-19 quarantines knocked the Bulldogs out of postseason competition. Gallatin was replacing a lot of pieces that year, however, and the players who will take the field this season will be a much more experienced group as a result — for the most part.

HEAD COACH Patrick Treece - sixth year Career Record: - 33-18 Last Year’s Awards: Kevin Meeks, first team AllGRC, all-district; Isaac Bird, unanimous first team AllGRC, all-district; Brinley Vandiver, honorable mention All-GRC, all-district; Gage Wright, second-team All-GRC, all-district; Draven Wright, second team AllGRC; Payton Feiden, secondteam All-GRC; Carson Lang, second-team All-GRC;

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PAGE 8 Peyton Baker is just a sophomore and Vandiver’s move throws him into the starting quarterback position at the varsity level.

“He did a phenomenal job at the JV level last year as a freshman,” Treece said. “He had games where he was scoring four, five, six touchdowns at the JV level. He is kind of a kid with moxy, the ability to make plays and make something out of nothing. He is going to do a great job for us, we have no doubt. He will continue to get better with each game and each practice, so we are looking for big things out of him.”

One of the things Baker might be able to give Gallatin is a quarterback who is more of a dual threat than his predecessor. Vandiver was more of a pocket passer — albeit a very good one — but Baker should be able to help the team with his legs as well as his arm.

A big boost to Baker’s confidence as the starting quarterback will be the return of two of Gallatin’s three running backs from last season, Jagger Gray and Rodell Sperry, both seniors this season. Gray carried the ball 63 times for 356 yards as Gallatin’s second-most used rusher behind the now graduated Kevin Meeks. Sperry added 120 rushing yards on 25 carries. With a sophomore quarterback under center and Meeks graduated, both players will see a very much increased role in the Gallatin offense this season.

Gallatin also returns several receivers who had big numbers last season. Isaac Bird grabbed 28 catches for 573 yards last year and Payton Feiden hauled in 26 catches for 388 yards.

Draven Wright had 14 catches for over 100 yards and both Gray and Sperry caught passes out of the backfield. Baker will have no shortage

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Photo Courtesy of Macon Schweizer

Sophomore Peyton Baker will take over as the quarterback for the Gallatin Bulldogs in 2021. Baker was the programs junior varsity quarterback last season.

of targets in Gallatin’s passing game this season.

“We are fortunate that we return most of our crew from a year ago,” Treece said. “We lost Kevin Meeks, who was a big time playmaker for us, but we return a lot of guys out there and we have some newcomers on the scene. A guy like Boston Bell, who is a sophomore, will be stepping in and getting some reps. We will have plenty of guys to spread the ball around pretty well.”

The Gallatin receivers have some range, too.

Bird is listed at 6’5” while Feiden goes 6’3” and both have the ability to go get the ball. That gives Baker a little more room for error than the typical sophomore quarterback is granted.

Up front, Gallatin returns all of its offensive line, giving the Bulldogs another strength to play off of. Treece and his staff put extra emphasis on the line this offseason and the group has gotten stronger as a result.

“That’s something we wanted to address,” Treece said. “That’s an area where we thought we could get better in the offseason. We put on some size and got stronger — bigger and faster.

I like the way that unit is gelling together. We return all of those guys and they have done everything in the offseason that they needed to do.”

As bullish as Treece is on his offense, he sees the Gallatin defense as the team’s strong suit.

The majority of the defensive players will be the

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republican-times.com same guys getting reps on the offensive side, but Gallatin hopes its players will be able to hold up to those demands.

“We are pretty defensive-minded around here,” Treece said. “We have a lot of wrestlers on our team and it always seems like wrestlers translate into good defensive football players. I like where we are, we have good team speed at all levels of our defense. The guys that are in there are athletes and can really fly to the football.”

Gallatin is a very experienced football team even with a sophomore at quarterback. The Bulldogs finished first in the preseason GRC coaches poll so they have the attention of their conference mates. A conference title and a run in dis-

:: FALL SPORTS 2021 :: tricts are goals for this football team, but the Bulldogs won’t get caught getting ahead of themselves.

One day at a time is the route Treece is taking with this squad.

“You always want to compete to win the conference and have a chance to make a run at the end of the year,” Treece said. “We are just going to try and take things a day at a time and one game at a time and try to prepare very well for each team. At the end of season we will let the cards fall where they will.”

Gallatin opens the season at home tonight (Friday), playing host to the North Platte Panthers — a team they defeated 58-0 in last year’s season opener. Kick off is scheduled for 7 o’clock.

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Photo Courtesy of Macon Schweizer

Head coach Patrick Treece believes the defense will be the strength of Gallatin’s team in 2021.

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2021 SCHEDULE 2020 DATE OPPONENT RESULT

Members of the 2021 Princeton High School football team include, from left, front row, Andrew Rhoades, Logan Smith, Luke Kelly, Kaleb Thomas, Evan Houck, Tyler Brown, Kelby Thomas; middle row, Clay Evans, Tyler Coffman, Hunter Foster, Talan Holt, Jayce Davis, Nicolas Rubio, Roman Birge; back row, Ethan Blackburn, Ethan Rhoades, Gavin Power, Wes Hashman, Gabe Zeider, Dylan Girdner, Mason Robinson and Sam Johnson. Not pictured is Cooper Boxley.

NEW FACES, SAME GOALS FOR PRINCETON TIGERS

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or each of the past two seasons, the Princeton Tigers came into the year predicted to finish in the middle of the pack by their peers.

In both seasons, Princeton closed the year as Grand River Conference tri-champions.

If head coach Nathan Powell is to go three-for-three on conference championships since returning to take the reins of his alma mater ahead of the 2019 season, however, it might be his biggest feat yet.

Make no mistake, no one is writing off Princeton, not after

what the team has accomplished in each of the past two seasons.

But the Tigers had 10 players who earned All-Grand River Conference honors in 2020, eight of which were also named all-district players by the Missouri Football Coaches Association. All 10 of those players were seniors.

Princeton will attempt to keep its streak of GRC title runs alive with a group of players that possess very little varsity experience collectively.

“We do, obviously, lose a lot from last year,” Princeton head coach Nathan Powell said.

“When you have a chance to have a really old group like we did last year, it was really good to see them have success, but we pushed them all year to be good leaders because we knew this would be the situation this year.”

Princeton has just 22 kids out for football in 2021 and of those 22, 17 are freshmen or sophomores. Being able to play a full junior varsity season was big for the Tigers because the freshmen from that team are now sophomores that Princeton will lean heavily on this year. The youth factor will have its downfalls, but

8/27 @ Mid-Buchanan 9/3 MIDWAY 9/10 @ Trenton 9/17 MILAN 9/24 @ Putnam County 10/1 MAYSVILLE 10/8 POLO 10/15 @ South Harrison 10/22 GALLATIN 10/29 Districts, TBA

6-41 38-19 n/a 8-39 38-6 30-14 36-6 28-6 28-18

HEAD COACH Nathan Powell - third year Career Record: - 15-6 Last Year’s Awards: Ben Berwanger, first team All-GRC, all district; Dakota Thomas, first team All-GRC, all-district; Brayden Summers, first team AllGRC, all-district; Blaze Siemer, first team All-GRC, all-district; Eli Henke, first team All-GRC, all-district; Zeb Schwartzkopf, first team All-GRC, all-district; Ashton Berndt, second team AllGRC, all-district; Justin Rhoades, second team AllGRC, all-district; John Birge, honorable mention All-GRC; Riley Rhoades, honorable mention All-GRC

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republican-times.com Powell sees some positives mixed in as well.

“It is both good and bad,” Powell said. “There are a lot of things we took for granted last year.

Kids knew their role and knew their responsibility. This year it is slowing it down and doing a lot more teaching early. But, at the same time it has been kind of exciting. We have kids doing things we didn’t know they would be able to do right now. I think the potential is there to have another solid year, but we aren’t going to start off at the level we did last year, obviously, or even the year before that. We want to play better every week and get to the end of the season where we are still healthy and playing well.”

Last season Princeton’s quarterback situation was far from crystal clear as the Tigers looked to find the right fit at signal caller. Senior Zeb Schwartzkopf was handed the reins, only for an injury to take him out early in the season. That thrust Logan Smith, the younger brother of Princeton’s all-time leading passer Andrew Smith, into the position. Smith had his moments, but the Tigers ended up using mostly a Wildcat-style offense, directly snapping the ball to running backs Ben Berwanger and Eli Henke.

This year, Smith is slated back into the quarterback position, giving Princeton a little stability at a position that certainly lacked it a season ago.

It’s much more stable,” Powell said. “Last year when we had a couple of running backs like Eli and Ben it was just really easy to say ‘let’s just snap it to them and let them go.’ But, Logan played quarterback all through the JV season, so he got a lot of reps as far as that went.

He got some varsity snaps too, when we subbed

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Photo Courtesy of Terri Wilson Kelly

Sophomore Logan Smith will be the Tigers’ quarterback in 2021.

that package in. This year, though, we are going to be much more quarterback-led with our offense and Logan has done a good job with it. We aren’t ever going to ask our quarterback to take over a game for us. We want to keep things pretty balanced offensively.”

Behind Smith, freshman Clay Evans will be

Page 11 the Tigers backup should they need one. Powell did note, however, that the Wildcat formation hasn’t been thrown out of the arsenal. Should Smith go down, the Tigers still have that in place to take pressure off of a freshman quarterback if need be.

Behind Smith is Andrew Rhoades, another one of the very few players returning with varsity experience on the offensive side of the ball.

Powell’s first year at Princeton saw a variety of players carry the ball, however, last year Berwanger and Henke took up the bulk of the carries. But Rhoades was one of a handful of other players who did get carries at the varsity level a season ago. He should be the primary ballcarrier for the Tigers in Powell’s run-first offense, but Tyler Brown, just a freshman, turned heads this offseason, earning himself at least a share of the carries this fall.

“Andrew Rhoades got a lot of experience for us last year and then had a great JV season as far as that went,” Powell said. “We were going to lean on him, but at our summer camp Tyler Brown really did a good job performing, so we are going to give him a lot more of the load. Between those two we should have a pretty good balance.”

Powell’s teams will always be centered around the running game, but the Tigers do have some athletes at receiver and tight end that they will look to get the ball to. Kaleb Thomas, Talan Holt, Luke Kelly, Kelby Thomas and Gavin Power should all see opportunities with the ball in their hands at points this season as the Tigers look to get as many athletes involved as possible to try and find the production lost by Henke and

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PAGE 12 Berwanger’s graduations.

“Last year Eli and Ben probably carried the ball 90 percent of the time,” Powell said. “This year we just can’t ask any one or two kids to do that, so I think you are going to see much more balance. Ideally we have got the ball in multiple people’s hands.”

The Tigers’ line up front is completely rebuilt from last season as well. Despite the group being young, however, they impressed Powell over the summer by how quickly they picked up on the schemes and came together as a unit. A lot of those players will be asked to go both ways on Friday night’s this year with just 22 players out.

On the defensive side of the ball, however, Princeton does have some experience coming back. At defensive back Kelly is back after being a varsity starter at cornerback a year ago. Rhoades saw a lot of time at safety for the Tigers and Kaleb Thomas got some starts at cornerback as well. While it doesn’t represent much, Princeton is thrilled to have that much experience returning at any position this season. Holt will join that group, putting another athlete at safety. That has Princeton feeling pretty good about limiting the opposition's big-play potential

:: FALL SPORTS 2021 :: this year.

Princeton linebackers won’t have near the experience with Brown, the freshman running back, playing at the middle linebacker position.

Gavin Power will fill one of the other spots and the Tigers will roll the dice so to speak, placing quarterback Smith at the other backer position.

Mason Robinson and Hunter Foster will give Princeton some experience at the defensive tackle spots after playing there quite a bit a season ago. The hope is that the duo can force teams to the edge where the Tigers’ athletes can give chase. A couple of players who weren’t out for football last season will also be on the line for the Tigers this year.

“Really the key for us this year

(defensively) is keeping those guys up front fresh,” Powell said. “Then our back end, we have enough kids out there that I think we feel pretty good athletically. Schematically we thought about changing some stuff on defense, but again, at camp everything looked good and those kids know what we are doing and that’s what we ask them to do. We aren’t building around one or two kids. It’s a total package of speed and everyone doing their job. If everyone can get lined up and do their job, then defense kind of comes easy.”

What will benefit the Tigers is that they are far from the only young team in the Grand River Conference this year. Several teams that have been title contenders in recent seasons will be looking for

republican-times.com new quarterbacks, running backs and linemen.

“Really, last year, it seemed like we were one of the few teams that were old,” Powell said. “I think that is kind of the wild card this year, everyone is kind of rebuilding. No one really knows what is going to happen. That’s what’s fun, too. You don’t have to worry about ‘okay this team is the hammer.’ Every week is going to be new. Trust me, when you have got young kids you never know. One team might look great one week and then the next week they don’t show up. The conference, I think, will be wide open.”

Princeton opens its season tonight, traveling to Faucett to take on Mid-Buchanan, the team that was the Class 1 state runner-up last year.

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GRC COACHES POLL/SCHEDULE Coaches were asked to rank their seven Grand River Conference opponents 1-7. A first-place vote received seven points, second was six points, five for third and so on through one point for a seventh-place vote.

The results are as follows: (First place votes in parentheses)

1. GALLATIN (3) BULLDOGS

43

2020: 5-5 Record Coach: Patrick Treece

2. MILAN (2) WILDCATS

40

2020: 9-2 Record, GRC Tri-Champs, District Semfinalist Coach: John Dabney

WEEK 1 Trenton @ Brookfield North Platte @ Gallatin Princeton @ Mid-Buchanan East Buch @ South Harrison Milan @ South Shelby Highland @ Putnam County North Shelby @ Maysville Polo @ Plattsburg

WEEK 2 East Buchanan @ Trenton Gallatin @ Hamilton Midway @ Princeton South Harrison @ We. Platte Milan @ Harrisburg Father Tolton @ Putnam Co. Maysville @ North Platte Slater @ Polo

WEEK 3

3. SOUTH HARRISON (2) 34

Princeton @ Trenton South Harrison @ Gallatin Putnam County @ Milan Polo @ Maysville

2020: 8-3 Record, GRC Tri-Champs, District Semifinalist Coach: Chris Schoning

WEEK 4

4. PRINCETON (1)

Putnam County @ Trenton Gallatin @ Polo Milan @ Princeton Maysville @ South Harrison

BULLDOGS

TIGERS

30

WEEK 5

2020: 8-3 Record, GRC Tri-Champs, District Finalist Coach: Nathan Powell

5. PUTNAM COUNTY PANTHERS

21

WEEK 6

2020: 2-7 Record Coach: Clyde Bondy

6. MAYSVILLE WOLVERINES

20

PANTHERS

19

2020: 3-8 Record, District Semfinalist Coach: Kyle Ross

8. TRENTON BULLDOGS

2020: 0-8 Record Coach: Kevin Hixson

Helmet graphics courtesy of Missouri Helment Project, Twitter: @HelmetMissouri

Polo @ Trenton Milan @ Gallatin Maysville @ Princeton Putnam Co. @ South Harrison

WEEK 7

2020: 3-7 Record Coach: Chris McMillen

7. POLO

Trenton @ Milan Gallatin @ Maysville Princeton @ Putnam County South Harrison @ Polo

16

Maysville @ Trenton Gallatin @ Putnam County Polo @ Princeton South Harrison @ Milan

WEEK 8 Trenton @ Gallatin Princeton @ South Harrison Putnam County @ Maysville Milan @ Polo

WEEK 9 Trenton @ South Harrison Gallatin @ Princeton Polo @ Putnam County Maysville @ Milan

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:: FALL SPORTS 2021 ::

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GRAND RIVER CONFERENCE WILL BE YOUNG, WIDE OPEN IN 2021 After two years of seeing one team run over the rest of the league, the Grand River Conference has been very competitive in each of the past two seasons. So much so, that a full season wasn’t enough to crown a clear-cut champion.

In 2019, Princeton, South Harrison and Gallatin shared the league title. In 2020 it was Princeton, South Harrison and Milan closing the year as tri-champions. In 2021, a split championship could again be the case.

In the annual coaches poll four teams, half of the league, received a first place vote. This shows that the coaches don’t have a clear-cut idea of who the top team will be in 2021.

And that makes sense.

A lot of the top tier teams in recent seasons are undergoing pretty substantial rebuilds. The Princeton Tigers and South Harrison Bulldogs, both of whom grabbed a share of the league title in each of the past two seasons, lost nearly their entire starting lineups to graduation. Ben Berwanger and Eli Henke, Princeton’s top two rushers a year ago, both graduated. South Harrison lost one of its biggest weapons as well in quarterback Austin Lasher.

Milan returns Deric Doporto, a bruising running back who will be a problem for a lot of conference teams, but even the Wildcats will be relatives young as quarterback Mallen Cole and running back Dominic Dabney both graduated.

Gallatin has the most coming back, but the Bulldogs are starting a sophomore at quarterback after Brinley Vandiver, the best pure passer in the league in the last two seasons, moved away.

In addition to the top half of the conference seeing a lot of big changes, the bottom half actually has a lot coming back, tightening the GRC race even more. Trenton, Maysville, Polo and Putnam County all made some strides late in the season and could be climbing the standings this season.

Some games worth marking on your calendar: South Harrison hosts Princeton in week 8. The Purple Bulldogs would have been outright con-

Photo Courtesy of Terri Wilson Kelly

Milan’s Deric Doporto (40) is one of the top returning players in the Grand River Conference this year.

ference champions in each of the past two seasons if it weren’t for the Tigers, who have handed their Bethany rivals their only conference loss in each of the last two years.

Putnam County is at Milan in week 3 as one of the best rivalries in the conference is played.

Milan has had the stronger teams as of late, but Putnam County always gives the Wildcats their best and pulled off a pretty big upset just two seasons ago.

Gallatin goes to Hamilton in week 2 for a nonconference match-up. This is easily the biggest nonconference game for a GRC team. Gallatin

fell to Hamilton in overtime last year then had to forfeit the rematch in districts due to COVID. Gallatin has all the reasons to want to get revenge this season in their biggest rivalry, with apologies to that dog statue they play Trenton for every year.

Milan is at Gallatin in week 6. They are the top two teams in the coaches poll this year and this game could very well be for the GRC championship. The game will also likely have pretty big implications for district seedings for both schools as the season winds toward conclusion.

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Page 15

PATTONSBURG FOOTBALL WITH GILMAN CITY AND NORTH HARRISON

2021 SCHEDULE 2020 DATE OPPONENT RESULT 8/27 @ LeBlond 9/3 SCHUYLER COUNTY 9/10 @ North Andrew 9/17 KING CITY 9/24 STANBERRY 10/1 @ Rich Hill 10/8 WORTH COUNTY 10/15 ST. JOE CHRISTIAN 10/22 @ Albany 10/29 Districts, TBA

HEAD COACH Keaton Hawkins - first year Career Record: - 0-0 Key Losses From Gilman: James Norton, Flint Pinkley Key Returnees From Gilman: Kaden Locker, Brody Langfitt

Members of the 2021 Pattonsburg football team from Gilman City include, from left, Kaden Locker, Kyler Preston, Landon Preston and Brody Langfitt.

“

The expectations are still high. We expect to compete with everybody that we play against.

We have good upperclassmen and a good core of sophomores with a lot of experience behind them. The Grand River Conference is obviously very tough, but our plan is to compete every week.

”

- Pattonsburg Head Coach Keaton Hawkins

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TRENTON GOLDEN BULLDOG MARCHING BAND

Member of the 2021 Trenton Golden Bulldog Marching Band include, from left, row one, Brady Tobias, Shay Westerhof, Jillian Simpson, Donnie Gilbertson, Gabe Gamble, Taylor Morton, Collin Taylor; row two, Sadie Tobias, Shay Turner, Sofia Currie, Jaica Clark, Marianne Atup, Lydia Leininger, Haley Shultz, Shayla Chapman; row three, Makayla Hamilton, Shelby Williams, Brett Kennedy, KayLeigh Streett, Serenity Marsh, Madison Snuffer, Levi Johnson, Jordan Price; row four, Paige Farris, Brodie Burgess, Victor Markell, Joey Pattison, Lilli Woods, Nick Smith, Kate Clark; row five, Jocelyn Archuleta, Joshua Truitt, Kelsey Gibler; row six, drum major Trager Leeper and drum major Maurissa Bonta.

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:: FALL SPORTS 2021 ::

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TRENTON CHEER Members of the Trenton High School Cheer Squad include, from left, front row, Kali Burchett, Krysta McCullough, Kelsey Gibler, Arianna Ortega; back row, Savannah Triplet, Jena Hunter, Adria Willey, Sadie Tobias and Ali Westcott.

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:: FALL SPORTS 2021 ::

PAGE 18

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TRENTON MIDDLE SCHOOL FOOTBALL Members of the Trenton Middle School football team include, from left, row one, Gavin Bundridge, Camden Skipper, Karson Spencer, Kash Barlow, Nick Roberts, Braydon Holtzclaw, Cooper Houser, Chase Foster, Ryan Burkeybile, David Roberts; row two, Michael Baker, Bradly Miller, Spur Hughs, Jackson Bethards, Logan Roberts, Elijah Miller, Myles Griffin, Logan Sahagun, Ryeland Kirk; row three, Hussein Hagelstein, Henry Lasley, Brycen Wilson, Zach Dysart, Matthew Bowden, Rooster Black, Xzavier Berry, Mason Simpson; row four, Cole Whitham, Jaysar Simpson, Barrett Clark, Daniel Newton, Peyton Baker, Jaylen Barnes, Asher Pryor; row five, JohnWeske, Alyssa Hall, Precious Vick and Kristopher Taylor. Not pictured is Braydin Fair.

Members of the Trenton Middle School football cheer squad include, from left, front row, Makayla Mejia, Kambrea Brown, Payton Foster, Kinsley Otto; back row, Josie Tuggle, Laylah Clause and Justyce Miller.

GO BULLDOGS!

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:: FALL SPORTS 2021 ::

Members of the Trenton Middle School softball team include, from left, front row, Payton Foster, Mylee Baker, Kimberly Clark, MaKayla Mejia, Ali Cox; back row, Ashten Johnson, Kinsley Allnutt, Sage Foster, Lucy Price and Summer Roberts. Not pictured is Lilly Ortega.

Page 21

Members of the Trenton Middle School volleyball team include, from left, front row, Alexis Gamet, Justyce Miller, Kambrea Brown, Olivia Tabbert; middle row, Abi Woods, Reagan Schmidt, Alexis Bonnett, Emilee Zessi, Sarai Birkhead, Julianna Mullins; back row, Lilliann Golden, Shaina Frisbie, Lexie Miller, Brianna Wheelbarger, Laylah Clause and Claudia Olivo.

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2021 SCHEDULE 2020 DATE OPPONENT RESULT

Members of the 2021 Trenton High School softball team include, from left, front row, Ella Novak, Samantha Hoselton, Kaegen Croy, Avery Clark, Ayra Meeker, Kenzie Lynch, Abbye Johnson, Jena Hunter; middle row, Eliana Cowling, Mikensy Golden, Emma Roberts, Katelyn Clark, Jena Harris, Seanacie Ireland, Tymber Cooksey, Mirena King, Morgan Foster, Madi Moore; back row, assistant coach Whitley Richman, Shay Westerhof, Gracyn Rongey, Morgan King, Chandler Lynch, Teya Cooksey and head coach Madi Stillwell.

STILLWELL READY TO GO TO WORK ON PROGRAM

T

he Trenton High School softball program is ready to get back to the level it once considered normal. Transition does not come overnight, but first-year head coach Madi Stillwell is ready to put her own personal touch on the team she once played for in high school.

The Bulldogs were just 6-21 last season, finishing below .500 for

the first time since 2004. To put that into context, now head coach Madi Stillwell was in the third grade during that campaign.

But 2021 marks a fresh start for the program that has produced a pair of state runner-up finishes since that last sub-.500 season. A return to the state championship game won’t happen overnight, but Stillwell is ready to lay the groundwork for the programs res-

urrection.

“I definitely don’t think we are a bottom team,” Stillwell said.

“Obviously the games determine that, I can’t determine that. With the skill and the talent that these girls have, we should be closer to the top (of the Grand River Conference). I’m not saying that we are the number-one team for sure, but hopefully these girls will give it more than all they have got.”

Trenton has a strong senior class that will lead them into this season. Chandler Lynch was a starter on the 2018 state runner-up team and Teya Cooksey and Gracyn Rongey got to experience that as well. Shay Westerhof and Jena Reeter are also seniors this season, though Reeter will miss the year with an ACL injury.

“Those seniors are great,” Stillwell said. “They are all good teammates and they are all going to play crucial roles for us this sea-

8/27-28 @Cameron Tourn. n/a 8/30 ALBANY 9-8 8/31 @ Putnam County 4-6 9/2 MAYSVILLE 2-12 9/7 @ Princeton 4-12 9/9 GALLATIN 10-9 9/11 @ Maysville Tourn. n/a 9/13 @ Hamilton 1-4 9/14 SOUTH HARRISON 2-10 9/16 @ Polo 4-14 9/20 @ Lawson 2-4 9/21 @ Milan 10-8 9/25 NCMC TOURN. (1-3) 9/30 GRC CROSSOVER n/a 10/4 @ Marceline 0-15 10/5 BROOKFIELD 1-12 10/7 CAMERON 4-14 10/11 CHILLICOTHE 0-14

HEAD COACH Madi Stillwell - first year Career Record: - 0-0 Last Year’s Awards: Maci Moore, unanimous first team All-GRC, first team alldistrict, first team all-region, all-state; Chandler Lynch, second team All-GRC, first team all-district; Gracyn Rongey, honorable mention All-GRC, second team all-district; Teya Cooksey, second team all-district

Fall Sports 2021 Final.qxp_Fall Sports 8/27/21 11:14 AM Page 23

republican-times.com son. They are the ones who have the most experience, so they are the ones who I am hoping can be our most consistent hitters in the lineup.”

Lynch will likely start at third base for Trenton this season while Rongey should see the bulk of the innings behind the plate at the catcher position. Cooksey and Westerhof, meanwhile will occupy two of the three outfield positions, giving the Bulldogs a very experienced unit out there. Cooksey has displayed a lot of defensive prowess in practice so far this year and Westerhof is among the fastest players on the team, meaning she can cover a lot of ground in the outfield as well as give Trenton a speedster on the base paths.

Reeter’s injury will hurt Trenton a little bit as she shared the bulk of the innings in the circle with Emma Roberts a season ago. Without her, Roberts becomes Trenton’s only experienced pitcher coming back this season. She will be backed by a pair of freshman pitchers in Avery Clark and Jena Hunter.

“Emma is coming back and she is throwing

:: FALL SPORTS 2021 :: great,” Stillwell said. “We have two freshmen and they are going to help pick up the slack. So relying on three pitchers is a good thing. With two it is a lot of work and it is hard when one pitcher is having an off day and you put in another and they are having an off day too.

Hopefully, with three, we can mix and match and they will be able to pick each other up.”

Helping the young staff with be a very solid combination on the infield. Next to Lynch at third base will be Madi Moore at shortstop. Last season Moore saw time at short stop and catcher as a freshman. Now, with a year of experience under her belt, she is locked into the left side of the diamond alongside Lynch. That gives Trenton not only a lock-down defensive duo on that side, but also a pair of players who can do some damage in the lineup.

“On the field (Moore and Lynch) are two of the best gloves that we have,” Stillwell said.

“They can knock down just about anything. In the lineup, I don’t really care if they can hit home runs, I’m just looking for a consistent

Page 23 hitter that can score runs and be on base. I’m just looking for a lot of offensive production out of them.”

Trenton has a competitive group of freshmen on the roster this year as well. In addition to Clark and Hunter, Trenton has potential varsity starters in Mirena King and Tymber Cooksey.

“My freshmen push the older girls to be more competitive,” Stillwell said. “That’s what I love the most about them. No matter where I put them they give me their all. The older girls kind of see that and say ‘Oh, I better step it up if I want playing time.’ But, (the freshmen) are going to see some varsity time for sure. It’s great to have that as a freshman.”

The Bulldogs will kick off their season this weekend with the Cameron Tournament, which begins today (Friday) and concludes on Saturday. After that, Trenton has a home date with Albany on Aug. 31 before jumping into Grand River Conference play on the road in Unionville, taking on the Putnam County Midgets.

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2021 SCHEDULE 2020 DATE OPPONENT RESULT 8/31 9/2 9/7 9/9 9/10 9/14 9/15 9/16 9/20 9/21 9/22 9/23 9/27 9/28 Members of the 2021 Trenton High School tennis team include, from left, front row, Kaytee Wright, Matty Shultz, Astrid Soriano, Jessika Kennedy, Jillian Voorhies; back row, Mallory Sole, Harley Hall, Alaina Overton, Lydia Leininger, Faith Lee and coach Tammy Ockenfels. Not pictured is Savannah Elrod.

TENNIS TEAM SEEKING DISTRICT CHAMPIONSHIP

T

he Trenton High School girls tennis team is hoping some experience at the top can get them back on top of their district in 2021.

Last year, Trenton was a point away from winning a district championship, falling 5-4 at Chillicothe in the championship dual. Now, with some experience back at the top of the lineup, Trenton is eyeing a return to the

top of the district.

“We are always eyeing that district title, always talking about it,” Trenton coach Tammy Ockenfels said. “The last couple of years we have been second. We have always been right there. It seems like any time we have lost, it has been 4-5.”

Mallory Sole, Alaina Overton and Harly Hall represent half of Trenton’s 2020 varsity lineup and all are back to slot into the 2021

edition of the program. Lydia Leininger, who played a lot of varsity matches down the stretch, is also back for the Bulldogs.

The four returnees have essentially locked down their roles for the varsity on the court this year, but in addition to that, the group has also jumped into a leadership position, welcoming the incoming freshmen. Their impact off the court is something Ockenfels is counting on as much as what

@ Carrollton 9-0 SAVANNAH 2-7 LEBLOND 3-6 @ Cameron n/a @ Benton Tourn. n/a CHILLICOTHE 2-7 @ Cameron Tourn. n/a KIRKSVILLE 5-1 MARYVILLE 3-6 LAFAYETTE 7-2 @Lafayette Tourn. n/a @ Chillicothe 4-5 @ Benton n/a @ Lexington n/a

HEAD COACH Tammy Ockenfels - seventh year Career Record: - 50-47 Last Year’s Awards: Lexi Gott, all-district, state qualifier; Emilee Lovell, alldistrict; Morgan Dolan, alldistrict; Alaina Overton, all-district; Mallory Sole, alldistrict.

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:: FALL SPORTS 2021 ::

republican-times.com they can do on it.

“I’m already leaning on them a lot,” Ockenfels said. “I have four girls back from last year who have varsity experience so we are going to use that to keep moving forward. We had open courts and a team camp in June and I told those girls then, ‘hey, this is what I expect from you’ and they have stepped right into those roles. It makes a big difference when you have your upperclassmen helping your underclassmen — making them feel more welcome.”

Grooming the underclassmen will be big for Trenton this year as it seeks to fill two varsity spots this season. They won’t be easy ones to fill, either as Trenton lost Lexi Gott, who was a state qualifier while holding down the numberone spot in the lineup all year for Trenton, to graduation. Morgan Dolan, who was the team’s number two also graduated, as did Emilee Lov-

ell, who saw varsity time last year as well.

Freshman Astrid Soriano could be one of the underclassmen who seize a varsity spot.

“She has played a lot,” Ockenfels said. “I know she has played softball in the past, but I am so glad she came out for tennis. She has just joined right in with those returning girls playing at a very high level.”

In addition to Soriano, Trenton has three other freshmen out, though none of them come in with as much of a playing background as what Soriano boasts.

More than likely, Chillicothe will once again be the chief rival to the Bulldogs at the district stage. That would certainly set up a friendlier path to a district title than if Trenton finds itself in a district with a Savannah or Maryville, which should be loaded again in 2021. The Bulldogs will get a first-hand look at Savannah in

Page 25 their second dual of the season this year, coming on Sept. 2 at the Carpenter-Bosley Courts in Trenton. The early-season match-up will give the Bulldogs a good barometer of where they are at.

“Savannah is very strong,” Ockenfels said.

“They had a really good freshman last year, so she is probably one of the best players we have seen in quite a while. They are always our second match of the season, so that shows us as a team what we need to work on. These first few weeks we kind of work on everything. Once we play a team like Savannah, it shows us what we really need to focus on going forward.”

Trenton opens the season on the road, traveling to Carrollton to dual with the Trojanettes on Tuesday, Aug. 31. First serves are scheduled for 4 p.m.

T R E N TO N T E N N I S

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2021 SCHEDULE 2020 DATE OPPONENT RESULT

Members of the 2021 Trenton High School volleyball team include, from left, front row, Shay Turner, Jacole Simpson, Mackenzie Lewis, Kinze Hanson, Kenzy Dolan, Kate Clark, Lilli Woods; middle row, Zoie McGowan, Alhanna Milazzo, Haley Shultz, Makenzee Epperson, Paige Farris, Dariana Sanchez, Makayla Hamilton, Jordan Price; back row, assistant coach Rick Leafgreen, Juliet Schmadeke, Ava Simpson, Abby Simpson, Katie Markell, Lilly Berti, Alison Yoder, Aubree Dalrymple, Saige Gott and head coach Brad Ewald.

EWALD ERA BEGINS FOR TRENTON VOLLEYBALL

T

he Trenton High vanced past the tournament semiSchool volleyball pro- finals for the first time ever, playgram is starting over ing for a district championship.

— again.

Though Trenton fell short of This offseason Brad Ewald was hanging a banner on the wall in tabbed as the ninth head coach for its gym, just playing for the title a program entering its 26th sea- represented a monumental leap son. The Bulldogs are hoping for the program.

Ewald can take the volleyball Make no mistake, though, a program, which has made strides banner on the wall is what Ewald in recent years, to the next level. and the Bulldogs are after.

Last season Trenton finished “I know the district loss last just 8-17. The win total was a re- year has really fueled these girls,” gression for a program that had Ewald said. “They are really exworked its way to double-digit cited to just try to put a district victories in recent seasons, but banner up on the wall for the first Trenton won the Carrollton Quad, time.” hoisting its first tournament Getting back to the district final championship trophy ever. At the will require some players to step district tournament, Trenton ad- up into new roles, however. Tren-

ton lost three all-district players to graduation last year. Evy McCullough led Trenton in nearly every major statistical category, most notably kills. McCullough generated a healthy portion of Trenton’s points at the net, but was among those to have her name called on the graduation stage last spring. What Trenton does have going for it, however, is the return of Ava Simpson.

Simpson generated a lot of assists on McCullough’s kills and will look to set up more players this season. Her role will be slightly different in Ewald’s offense, however, as Trenton looks to use a two-setter system on offense. Her sister, Abby Simpson,

8/30 @ Cameron 9/2 @ Chillicothe 9/7 @ Plattsburg 9/9 CARROLLTON 9/13 HAMILTON 9/14 SOUTH HARRISON 9/16 KIRKSVILLE 9/18 @ Lathrop Invite 9/21 @ Hamilton 9/27 BROOKFIELD 9/28 @ East Buchanan 9/30 @ South Harrison 10/2 @ Carrollton Tourn.

10/4 CHILLICOTHE 10/5 LATHROP 10/11 @ Lexington 10/12 LEBLOND 10/18 @ St. Joe Christian 10/19 SAVANNAH

0-2 0-3 1-3 n/a 3-0 3-0 0-3 n/a n/a 2-1 0-2 3-0 1st 1-3 0-3 0-3 0-3 0-2 0-2

HEAD COACH Brad Ewald - fourth year first year at Trenton Career Record: - 7-66-1 0-0-0 at Trenton Last Year’s Awards: Evy McCullough, first team all-district; Ava Simpson, first team all-district; Kenzie Yuille, first team all-district; Lilly Berti, second team alldistrict; Olivia Roberts, second team all-district

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republican-times.com will also be called upon to help put Trenton’s hitters in good positions at the net.

“We are kind of doing a few different things with our offense than what (Simpson) has done in the past,” Ewald said. “But, just to have her and her ability with her hands and stuff is huge. She is definitely a little more seasoned and the things that we are trying to do differently with her in our offense she is developing really well with.

Abby Simpson is our other setter and she is settling in also, so both of our setters are making great decisions with the ball right now in practice.”

That duo, along with Katie Markell, who has been working as the team’s libero, will look to handle most of the passing in Trenton’s offense. The Bulldogs are hoping keeping passing duties in the hands of their strongest backline players will limit unforced errors and points given away.

At the net, Trenton will look to Lilly Berti to make up for some of the production lost when McCullough graduated. Ewald won’t pressure any one player with that role, however, hoping instead to have the responsibility spread around to more players.

“I would say we are looking at more of a committee than just one individual at the net,” Ewald said.

“Definitely looking at that team last year, they kind of centered all of the attacks around Evy. It’s going to have to be more balanced this year. We don’t have that super strong one player. But, by spreading the ball out, we are hoping to keep the defense constantly shifting.”

Alison Yoder saw varsity time last year as well and should provide Trenton with another hitting option

:: FALL SPORTS 2021 :: in addition to Berti. Zoie McGowan and Juliet Schmadeke have been rotating in at the outside hitter positions as well and Makenzee Epperson and Saige Gott have been working in the middle. Epperson and Gott will look to provide the Bulldogs with some offense between its outside hitters and slow the ball down for the back line on opposing players' kill attempts.

Trenton’s varsity will at least start the season with nine players, meaning the Bulldogs won’t have a ton of subbing options. That will require several players to stay in the game on both the front and back lines.

There won’t be any easing into the season for Trenton either. With a new coach and many players in new roles, Trenton is tasked with opening the season with three straight road contests and all three against quality opponents in Cameron, Chillicothe and Plattsburg.

That isn’t necessarily as bad as it seems, though, according to Ewald.

“I’m actually kind of excited for the road games,” Ewald said.

“Right now, I think the girls are a little tense about that opening night here at home, so being on the road is going to take away some of that pressure and just allow them to play the best ball that they can play.

“We have already talked about

it, those are three matches that we want to be competitive in. You know, Cameron and Chillicothe are both Class 3 schools and those are teams we want to go in and at least steal a set from. If we can be competitive in the other sets and then maybe steal another one at the end, that would be great. But that is something that we are looking to do early being away, I think that helps relieve some of the pressure and just helps the girls get used to the new pace of game that we are trying to play.`` Trenton won’t know its district until after the season has already begun. If it is the collection of teams that Trenton battled at that level last season, the Bulldogs are certainly chasing a banner this season. But if Trenton finds itself alongside a Lawson, which advanced to the Final Four last season, that goal becomes much more difficult. Regardless of the opponent, though, with volleyball not a conference sport in the Grand River Conference, a district title is what Ewald and the Bulldogs are gunning for.

“We are setting our goals pretty high this year,” Ewald said. “No matter who we have to go through at districts, that is kind of our team goal. It may be a lofty goal if we do run into Lawson, or a Mid-Bucha-

Page 27 nan if they for some reason get shifted over. Something like that would put a bump in the road, but that is why we are really focusing on those teams like Cameron and Chillicothe, those Class 3 schools.

Those are going to be the kind of tests that show us how we are going to perform in districts. If we luck out and the district is a little softer like it was last year, then yeah, we are hoping to come out with a win in districts. But, even if we see a harder team in districts we are doing everything we can to prepare for what that harder team is going to look like.”

Trenton closes every practice by huddling up and saying the same saying: day by day, getting better and better, the team that can’t be beat is the team that won’t be beat.

For now, Trenton is working on getting better and better, day by day.

“We’ve made a ton of improvement,” Ewald said. “Girls that were a little timid when we first started (this summer) have started to come alive a lot. We have become a far more aggressive hitting team than what we were.”

Trenton opens the season at Cameron on Monday, Aug. 30.

First serves are scheduled for 5 p.m.

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2021 SCHEDULE 2020 DATE OPPONENT RESULT 8/31 9/8 9/13 9/14 9/15 9/20 9/23 9/30 10/4 10/5 Members of the 2021 Trenton High School girls golf team include, from left, Sofia Currie, Morgan Brown, Reece Weldon, Marianne Atup and Josie Chumbley.

GOLFERS ANXIOUS TO POST TEAM SCORES IN ’21

I

n 2021, the Trenton High School girls golf team will have a luxury it didn’t have a year ago — the ability to post a team score.

There were no wins or losses for Trenton last season as the Bulldogs

had just two golfers out. Both Josie Chumbley and Marianne Atup, now seniors, are back out this year, but three others will join them on the links this season.

Joining the team this year are a trio of freshmen in Sofia Currie,

@ Brookfield n/a @ Lawson Tourn. n/a @ Gallatin Quad n/a @ Gallatin Tourn. n/a @ Richmond Tourn. n/a PUTNAM COUNTY n/a @ Chillicothe Tourn. n/a @ Richmond n/a @ GRC Tourn. n/a PRINCETON n/a

HEAD COACH

Travis Mullenix - sixth year

Career Record: - 15-16 Last Year’s Awards: None Morgan Brown and Reece Weldon. year,” Atup said. “Usually my pracWith five players out, not only can tice rounds early on aren’t very Trenton post a team score, but it good, but this year it has been will be able to throw out one score pretty good. So, we will see where as team totals are tallied using just it goes from here.” four individual scores.

Trenton will travel to Cameron’s “We actually have a team this Veteran’s Memorial Golf Course year,” Chumbley said. “Last year it for the GRC Tournament on Oct. 4 was just Josie and Mari and this with individual and team honors on year we are Trenton. Last year we the line. That is the next to last date could only place individually, so on the schedule for Trenton, howe are excited about that.” wever, giving the team plenty of Atup missed out on All-Grand time to come together, especially River Conference honors by just with a roster consisting of three eight strokes last year. She will slot freshmen. in at or near the top of the Trenton The season opens on Tuesday, lineup this year and has a goal to Aug. 31 for the Bulldog golfers, return home from the league tour- who will travel to Brookfield for a nament with a medal this year. dual that day. Tee time for the event “That is definitely a goal this is scheduled for 4 p.m.

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GALLATIN GIRLS GOLF 2021 SCHEDULE DATE OPPONENT 8/30 9/1 9/2 9/7 9/13 9/14 9/16 9/20 9/23 9/27 9/30

@ Maryville Tourn. @ Stanberry Quad @ Maysville Tri @ Albany Quad GALLATIN QUAD GALLATIN TOURN. SOUTH HARRISON @ Albany Tourn.

PRINCETON @ GRC Tourn. @ Brookfield Tourn.

HEAD COACH Chris Wever - third year first at Gallatin Career Record: - 0-0 at Gallatin Key Losses: Claire Hemry, Libby Endicott, Jenna Rains Key Returnees: Elle Copple, Courtney Crose

Members of the 2021 Gallatin girls golf team include, from left, Kylie Stagner, Kiley Poindexter, Elle Copple, Madison Kirk, Courtney Crose, Addison Sipple, Hannah Critten and coach Chris Wever. Not pictured are Brianna Filley and Cloey Waterbury.

“

The goal is to put out the best team that we can and hopefully be in contention to continue that good tradition.

We are working hard, I’m getting to know these girls and we are just kind of going from there and trying to get better every day.

”

- Gallatin Coach Chris Wever

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GALLATIN SOFTBALL 2021 SCHEDULE 2020 DATE OPPONENT RESULT

Members of the 2021 Gallatin softball team include, from left, front row, Kaylen Sterneker, Tanna Youngs, Taylor Hoover, Lyndsey King, Alex Endicott, Karydon Jones; back row, Emma Christopher, AnnaBelle Ball, Betty Rogers, Ashley Feiden and Jasmine Cecil. Not pictured are Presley Wells, Abigail Burns, Kaydence Clevenger and Ella Bradford.

“

Our team is pretty young — we only have one senior — so we are going to be doing a lot of building and basically anticipating for the next few years to come for this team. I feel like we are going to be pretty successful. We are very talented with a lot of up and coming young talent. Building a solid program is what our main intuitive is for this year.

”

- Gallatin Head Coach Penny Gardner

8/28 8/31 9/2 9/7 9/9 9/14 9/16 9/20 9/21 9/23 9/25 9/27 9/28 9/30 10/4 10/5 10/9 10/11

@ Albany Tourn. n/a MILAN 8-0 @ Polo 4-8 PUTNAM COUNTY 7-4 @ Trenton 9-10 @ Princeton 11-12 MAYSVILLE n/a MID-BUCHANAN n/a SOUTH HARRISON 3-5 @ Stanberry 1-15 @ NCMC Tourn. (2-2) @ Lawson n/a @ Albany n/a GRC CROSSOVER 13-10 @ East Buchanan 2-8 @ King City 3-6 @ Princeton Tourn. 4th GILMAN CITY 18-1

HEAD COACH Penny Gardner - first year at Gallatin Career Record: - 0-0 at Gallatin Last Year’s Awards: Caragan Baker, unanimous first team All-GRC; Betty Rogers, second team all-GRC Key Losses: Caragan Baker, Maddie Michael, Carly Beck Key Returnees: Alex Endicott, Presley Wells, Ella Bradford, AnnaBelle Ball, Betty Rogers, Ashley Feiden

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PRINCETON SOFTBALL 2021 SCHEDULE DATE OPPONENT 8/28 8/30 8/31 9/2 9/7 9/9 9/13 9/14 9/16 9/20 9/21 9/25 9/28 9/30 10/4 10/5 10/7 10/9 10/11

@ Albany Tourn.

SCHUYLER COUNTY @ Maysville SOUTH HARRISON TRENTON @ Milan MERCER GALLATIN @ Putnam County @ Gilman City @ Polo @ Chillicothe Tourn. @ Worth County GRC CROSSOVER LATHROP PATTONSBURG KING CITY PRINCETON TOURN. @ Marceline

HEAD COACH

Members of the 2021 Princeton softball team include, from left, front row, Becca Kile, Klaire Buckler, Jolena Gibson, Macey Lewis, Kyla Coffman, Makayla Meyer, Starla Bass; middle row, Addy Henke, Hanna Allnutt, Makenzie Dunkin, Mady Tipton; back row, head coach Steve Richman, Emma Walkup, Kelsey Goodin, Carsey Brown, Hannah Meighen, Grace Kelly, Faith Siemer, Megan Spencer and assistant coach Racheal Sticken. Not pictured is Lauren Krohn.

“

I think we are still going to be in good shape (despite losing our top two pitchers to injury). We have a good core coming back. We have a good group of young kids coming through, so they are going to naturally get better as the season goes along. I told our kids we have had some inuries, but we can’t look at that and let that determine what’s going to happen this season. We have the players we have now and we are going to go forward. I think we still have a chance to be really good.

Career Record: - 0-0 at Princeton Last Year’s Awards: Lauren Krohn, unanimous first team All-GRC, all-district, all-region; Megan Spencer, second team AllGRC, all-district, all-region; Jasmine Allen, honorable mention allGRC, all-district, all-region; Makenzie Dunkin,

”

- Princeton Head Coach Steve Richman

Steve Richman - first year at Princeton honorable mention AllGRC, all-district, all-region; Faith Siemer, all-district, all-region Key Losses: Jasmine Allen, Lauren Krohn (injury), Megan Spencer (injury).

Key Returnees: Makenzie Dunkin, Carsey Brown, Faith Siemer

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PRINCETON GIRLS GOLF 2021 SCHEDULE DATE OPPONENT 8/30 9/1 9/2 9/7 9/14 9/16 9/20 9/23 9/27 9/30 10/5

@ Albany Quad #1 @ Albany Quad #2 @ South Harrison @ Chillicothe @ Gallatin Tourn. @ Chillicothe Tri @ Albany Tourn. @ Gallatin @ GRC Tourn. @ Brookfield Tourn. @ Trenton

HEAD COACH Members of the 2021 Princeton girls golf team include, from left, Carsey Brown, Cheyenne Dismore, Librina Templeton, Makayla Myer and Lauren Krohn.

“

The Princeton girls golf team is very young this season with one senior on the team. We have four girls who are new to playing golf this year so it’s going to be a learning experience early in the season.

The girls are practicing hard and showing improvement every day. I am looking forward to a very successful season.

”

- Princeton Coach Dave McCumber

Dave McCumber - third year Career Record: - n/a Last Year’s Awards: Alison Allen, all-district Key Losses: Alison Allen, Key Returnees: None

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PRINCETON CROSSCOUNTRY

“

2021 SCHEDULE DATE SITE 9/2 @Corydon, IA 9/7 @ Chillicothe 9/21 @ Smithville 10/2 @ St. Joe LeBlond 10/5 @ Centerville, IA 10/9 @ Kearney 10/12 @ Cameron 10/16 @ West Platte 10/23 @ St. Joe Christian

HEAD COACH Betsy McCulley - third year at Princeton Key Losses: Andrew Rhoades Key Returnees: Kenny Wright

While Princeton cross country has never had a large group, we’ve been able to string together a long line of state qualifiers, which we are looking to continue this season.

Kenny, a junior, is a returning runner and our lone veteran on the team.

Kayla, also a junior, has ran track for me the past few years, but is coming out for cross country for the first time. Both runners have a great opportunity to experience the tradition of success that the program has seen because of the hard work they have put in throughout the summer and preseason. I’m expecting big things out of both athletes.

”

- Princeton Coach Betsy McCulley

Members of the 2021 Princeton cross country team include, from left, Kayla Allton and Kenny Wright.

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GRUNDY R-5 SOFTBALL

2021 SCHEDULE 2020 DATE OPPONENT RESULT

Members of the 2021 Grundy County R-5 softball team include, from left, front row, Andrea Pendergraft, Jazmyne Rhoads, Skylar Bonnett, Adysan Rains; back row, Molly Milazzo, Anna Fordyce, Landry Oaks, Daya Allnutt, and Carly Smith. Not pictured is Kammi Phillips.

“

This young squad is excited for the upcoming season. A couple of key retuning players are Senior Kammi Phillips and Junior Skylar Bonnett.

”

- Grundy R-5 Head Coach Chelsie Jones

8/27 8/31 9/2 9/7 9/9 9/10 9/11 9/14 9/15 9/16 9/21 9/23 9/24 9/28 9/30 10/2 10/7 10/9 10/11

LINN COUNTY 11-21 WINSTON 1-12 @ Mercer 1-16 TRI-COUNTY 0-15 @ Gilman City 7-11 GREEN CITY 0-15 @ Milan Tourn. n/a @ East Harrison 5-12 NOVINGER 5-20 @ Winston n/a MERCER 0-17 @ Tri-County 4-17 @ Brashear 1-11 GILMAN CITY 0-15 EAST HARRISON n/a @ HDC Tourn. n/a @ Novinger n/a @ Princeton Tourn. n/a MEADVILLE 0-15

HEAD COACH Chelsie Jones - second year Career Record: - 0-19 Last Year’s Awards: Grace Larson, honorable mention All-HDC Key Losses: Grace Larson Key Returnees: Kammi Phillips, Skylar Bonnett

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GRUNDY R-5 BASEBALL 2021 SCHEDULE 2020 DATE OPPONENT RESULT 8/27 9/3 9/7 9/10 9/15 9/23 9/24 10/7 10/11

LINN COUNTY @ La Plata TRI-COUNTY GREEN CITY NOVINGER @ Tri-County @ Brashear @ Novinger MEADVILLE

19-15 0-19 19-2 0-10 2-12 16-1 8-4 n/a n/a

HEAD COACH Ty Stillwell - third year Career Record: - 6-8 Key Losses: Cooper Lewis, Caden Gann Key Returnees: Corbin Axtell, Aidan Rains, Brett Otto

Members of the 2021 Grundy County R-5 baseball team include, from left, front row, Gauge MacGregor, Garrett MacGregor, Hunter Miller, Kaleb Bowers; back row, Aidan Rains, Brett Otto, Zack Cross, Corbin Axtell, Payton Miller and Mason Rayl. Not pictured are Johannes Oaks, Cole Peterson and Layden Fordyce.

“

We have a really young team with no seniors this fall. It will be a new challenge for the younger guys to step up and lead the team. With that being said we are excited about the young potential and the energy they bring to the game.

”

- Grundy R-5 Head Coach Ty Stillwell

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GILMAN CITY SOFTBALL 2021 SCHEDULE 2020 DATE OPPONENT RESULT

Members of the 2021 Gilman City Hawks softball team include, from left, front row, Shelby Gibson, Laina Ward, Sidney Gibson, Jolee Ward, Jia Stotts, Ryah Crump; back row, Kelsey Sperry, Ava Langfoot, Ericka Burke, Presley Burke, Riley Whitt, Maddie Malone and Reese Sperry.

“

We have a young team this year and are looking to replace our senior pitcher. Our girls may lack experience, but they have the athletic ability that we need to win some games. Our pitching has been getting better and hopefully we will compete to be in the top 3 of the HDC conference.

”

- Gilman City Head Coach Holly Preston

8/31 9/2 9/3 9/7 9/9 9/11 9/13 9/14 9/16 9/20 9/21 9/23 9/28 9/30 10/2 10/11

@ Tri-County 4-8 EAST HARRISON 9-2 @ Pattonsburg 2-1 MERCER 4-10 GRUNDY COUNTY 11-7 @ E. Harrison Tourn. n/a @ North Harrison 0-9 @ Winston 8-4 TRI-COUNTY 18-0 PRINCETON 0-8 @ East Harrison n/a @ Mercer n/a @ Grundy County 15-0 WINSTON 7-8 @ HDC Tourn.

5th @ Gallatin 1-18

HEAD COACH Holly Preston - eighth year Career Record: - 23-53 Last Year’s Awards: Lindsey Snuffer, unanimous first team All-HDC; Sidney Gibson, honorable mention All-HDC Key Losses: Lindsey Snuffer Key Returnees: Jolee Ward, Sidney Gibson, Reese Sperry

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MERCER SOFTBALL 2021 SCHEDULE 2020 DATE OPPONENT RESULT 8/31 9/2 9/7 9/9 9/11 9/13 9/14 9/16 9/20 9/21 9/23 9/28 9/30 10/2 10/9

@ East Harrison 13-3 GRUNDY COUNTY 16-1 @ Gilman City 10-4 WINSTON 14-8 @ E. Harrison Tourn. n/a @ Princeton 0-6 @ Tri-County 5-4 EAST HARRISON 15-0 @ Albany 3-16 @ Grundy County 17-0 GILMAN CITY n/a @ Winston 3-1 TRI-COUNTY n/a @ HDC Tourn.

2nd @ Princeton Tourn. 6th

HEAD COACH Melissa Hill - sixth year Career Record: - 32-28 Last Year’s Awards: Kaydee Hill, unanimous first team All-HDC; Jordan Coon, first team All-HDC; Summer Martin, honorable mention All-HDC; Maddi Fisher, honorable mention All-HDC Key Losses: Jordan Coon, Martin

Savannah

Key Returnees: Kaydee Hill, Summer Martin, Maddi Fisher

Members of the 2021 Mercer Cardinals softball team include, from left, front row, Riley Stark, Bailey Houk, Rainey Michael, Emma Shipley, Kylie Cowles, Summer Martin; back row, Raygen Vincent, Gracie Rogers, Maddi Fisher, Tori Meinecke, Kaydee Hill, Breanna Houk and Makenzie Hagan.

“

We are looking forward to an exciting season for the Lady Cardinals. This is a great group of hardworking girls who show up each day ready to grow as a team, as they push each other to be the best they can be on and off the field.

”

- Mercer Head Coach Melissa Hill

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TRI-COUNTY SOFTBALL 2021 SCHEDULE 2020 DATE OPPONENT RESULT 8/31 9/2 9/3 9/7 9/9 9/14 9/16 9/20 9/21 9/23 9/27 9/28 9/30 10/2 10/4 10/6 10/11

GILMAN CITY @ Winston @ Meadville @ Grundy County EAST HARRISON MERCER @ Gilman City @ Polo WINSTON GRUNDY COUNTY HARDIN-CENTRAL @ East Harrison @ Mercer @ HDC Tourn.

LINN COUNTY @ Tina-Avalon STEWARTSVILLE

Members of the 2021 Tri-County Mustangs softball team include, from left, front row, Patience Robb, Liberty Perkins, Zoie Williams, Lucy Turner; back row, Ciara King, Carly Turner, Destiny Gutshall, Jordan Marrs and Anissa Williams. Not pictured is Tori Dunks.

HEAD COACH

We have a good, talented senior class coming back. They are doing a good job so far in practice and being great leaders as well. With North Harrison out of the conference it really opens things up for everyone else and we are looking to compete to be at or near the top of the HDC.

Dillon Lowrey - second year

“

- Tri-County Head Coach Dillon Lowrey

”

8-4 12-14 n/a 15-0 14-1 4-5 2-0 n/a 5-8 17-4 n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a

Career Record: - 5-8 Last Year’s Awards: Carly Turner, unanimous first team All-HDC; Rikki Cook, unanimous first team All-HDC; Anissa Williams, honorable mention All-HDC Key Losses: Rikki Cook Key Returnees: Carly Turner, Anissa Williams, Destiny Gutshall

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TRI-COUNTY BASEBALL 2021 SCHEDULE 2020 DATE OPPONENT RESULT 8/30 9/3 9/7 9/23 10/1 10/4

@ Atlanta n/a @ Meadville n/a @ Grundy County 2-19 GRUNDY COUNTY 1-16 BUCKLIN 4-18 LINN COUNTY n/a

HEAD COACH Dennis Fewins - first year Career Record: - 0-0 Key Losses: Jaxson Waterbury Key Returnees: Garrett Skinner

“

Members of the 2021 Tri-County baseball team include, from left, front row, Cale Turner, Keaton Norman, Jesse Smith, Kyden Malott, Peyton Goble; back row, head coach Dennis Fewins, Montee Hughes, Logan Malott, Garrett Skinner, Skylar Fields, Colton Brown and assistant coach Zach Kiel. Not pictured is William Terhune.

”

This is a new year for all of us. We have three seniors, though and two of them are pitchers for us and they have been looking pretty good. I think we are all excited to start playing games and see what we can do.

- Tri-County Head Coach Dennis Fewins

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