Grand River Conference

by Jeremy Benson, GrandRiverConference.com Polo Panthers defeated North Andrew Cardinals 12-2 to win the GRC Softball Championship.  It is Polo's second GRC title.  They also won in 2014.   Polo becomes the 5th school to win the GRC Championship in 5 years. The Panthers got a one-out double from Chloe Gilbert in the first inning, but she was stranded.  Hanna Vaught pitched the bottom of the inning and was one pitch from being perfect.  She struck out the first two Cardinal hitters on 3 pitches each.  It took her four pitches to strike out the third hitter, but she retired all three hitters on strikeouts on 10 pitches. In the second inning, Kendyl Fitzwater led off the inning with a triple and scored when Haley Barnett struck out, but the catcher was unable to secure the pitch.  North Andrew would get singles by Cassidy Brittain and Piper Cook in the bottom of the inning, but Vaught worked around them making the score 1-0 Polo after 2. In the third...

8 GRC Schools will be participating in 5 Softball Tournaments on October 1.  Here is the schedule for each tournament: Centralia Tournament Putnam County La Plata Tournament Milan, Trenton Mid-Buchanan Tournament North Andrew, South Harrison Norborne Tournament Gallatin Tiger Softball Tournament (at Plattsburg) King City, Stanberry

by Jeremy Benson, GrandRiverConference.com Gallatin and North Andrew maintain the top spots in the GRC Power Poll. 11-Man Power Poll 1. Gallatin (5-0; 3-0 GRC; Last Week #1; d. Maysville 35-12; Week 6 - at Milan)  Unlike prior weeks, Gallatin got off to a slow start fumbling the opening kickoff.  Maysville was able to capitalize on a short field to go up 6-0.  But they started settling in by the 2nd quarter to go up 21-6 at intermission, with Baker scoring on a QB keeper with 9.5 left in the half.  The Bulldogs were able to extend the lead to 28-6 on a Payton Feiden 73-yard TD run late in the 3rd and finished it off with Draven Wright's second TD of the night.  Maysville scored late to make it 35-12.  Bottcher also added a TD run. 2. Trenton (5-0; 3-0 GRC; Last Week #2; d. Milan 21-7; Week 6 - at Polo)  Trenton knocked off Milan in an ugly game filled with turnovers and penalties.  Both Gabe Novak and Sam Gibson had over 130 yards rushing for Tren...

by Jeremy Benson, GrandRiverConference.com When Kevin Hixson first came to Trenton, the Bulldogs often shot themselves in the foot with untimely turnovers.  With a young team back then, they had trouble overcoming them.  On Friday night, the turnover bug hit the Trenton again.  They fumbled twice and threw two interceptions for 4 total turnovers.  However, backed by a strong running game and dominant defense, the Bulldogs were able to grind out a 21-7 win over Milan. Trenton was driving on their first possession behind strong running by Sam Gibson.  Gibson had 40 yards on the drive, but a Milan defender punched the ball out of Gibson's arms at the 6, and the Wildcats took over. Milan was unable to take advantage on their first drive, and after a punt, the Bulldogs started on their own 35-yard line.  That is when Gibson got behind the Milan defenders to scamper downfield for a 65-yard touchdown to put Trenton on top 7-0. After a 3-and-out by Milan, Trenton w...

GRC Softball Crossover Games will be played on September 29.  Games will be hosted by GRC West Schools.  GRC East and West schools will face each other based on position in standings.  Additionally #8 GRC East will play at #7 GRC East. Remaining Games GRC West None GRC East Maysville at Putnam County - September 27 GRC Championship Game North Andrew will host Polo for the GRC Championship Game.  Polo is currently ranked #1 in Class 1.  North Andrew is ranked #2. Scenarios Here are the scenarios for both divisions (unofficial) *Tiebreakers are decided by fewest runs allowed in games played among the 3 teams. GRC West Scenarios GRC West games have been completed.  Here are the final standings: North Andrew 5-0 King City 4-1 North Harrison 2-3 Worth County 2-3 Albany 2-3 Stanberry 0-5  North Harrison, Worth County and Albany all tied for 3rd Place with a record of 2-3.  The tiebreaker is the fewest runs allowed in games played among the 3 teams Tiebr...

GRC Softball Crossover Games will be played on September 29.  Games will be hosted by GRC West Schools.  GRC East and West schools will face each other based on position in standings.  Additionally #8 GRC East will play at #7 GRC East. Remaining Games GRC West None GRC East Maysville at Putnam County - TBD (Postponed from 9/20) Milan at Putnam County - 9/22 GRC Championship Game North Andrew will host Polo for the GRC Championship Game.  Polo is currently ranked #1 in Class 1.  North Andrew is ranked #2. Scenarios Here are the scenarios for both divisions (unofficial) *Tiebreakers are decided by fewest runs allowed in games played among the 3 teams. GRC West Scenarios GRC West games have been completed.  Here are the final standings: North Andrew 5-0 King City 4-1 North Harrison 2-3 Worth County 2-3 Albany 2-3 Stanberry 0-5  North Harrison, Worth County and Albany all tied for 3rd Place with a record of 2-3.  The tiebreaker is the fewest runs allo...

by Jeremy Benson, GrandRiverConference.com Gallatin maintained the top spot in this week's 11-Man Poll.  North Andrew moves into the #1 position of the 8-Man Poll.  Albany and Maysville move up from last week's poll after key wins. 11-Man Power Poll 1. Gallatin (4-0; 2-0 GRC; Last Week #1; d. Polo 46-8; Week 5 - vs. Maysville)  Gallatin started quick with a TD by Feiden on their second play of the game.  They got out to a 27-0 lead in the second.  After a Polo TD, the Bulldogs fumbled into their own end zone giving Polo a safety to go into halftime up 27-8.  Gallatin scored twice again in the 3rd and finished the scoring in the 4th to win 46-8. 2. Trenton (4-0; 2-0 GRC; Last Week #2; d. Putnam County 42-20; Week 5 - vs. Milan) Trenton continued their string of strong starts behind the running of Quarterback Coleman Griffin who scored on a 43-yard touchdown run to open the scoring.  Their lead would increase to 26-0 in the second quarter before Putnam ...

10 GRC Schools will be participating in 5 Softball Tournaments on September 23-24.  Here is the schedule for each tournament: September 23-24 Warrensburg (at UCM) September 24 Nan Carter North Andrew North Harrison West Platte

I have been recording the player intros to the GRC Games that I have been to so far this season.  I posted them to Instagram.  I will update this post after every game. 10/21/2022 - Maysville View this post on Instagram A post shared by Grand River Conference (@grandriverconf) 10/7/2022 - South Harrison View this post on Instagram A post shared by Grand River Conference (@grandriverconf) 9/30/2022 - Maysville View this post on Instagram A post shared by Grand River Conference (@grandriverconf) 9/23/2022 - Trenton View this post on Instagram A post shared by Grand River Conference (@grandriverconf) 9/16/2022 - St. Joseph Christian View this post on Instagram A post shared by Grand River Conference (@grandriverconference) 9/9/2022 - Polo View this post on Instagram A post shared by Grand River Conference (@grandriverconference) 9/2/2022 - ...