Grand River Conference

by Jeremy Benson, GrandRiverConference.com Gallatin and North Andrew top the Final Power Polls. 11-Man Power Poll 1. Gallatin (8-0; 6-0 GRC)  Gallatin is the #1 seed in Class 1 District 7.  They will have a bye this week since Princeton did not have enough players to field a team for the postseason.  They will host the winner of Marceline vs. Brookfield on November 4. 2. Trenton ( 8-1; 6-1 GRC )  Trenton is the #4 seed in Class 2 District 8.  They will host Lawson on October 28. 3. Putnam County (7-2; 5-2 GRC) Putnam County is the #2 seed in Class 1 District 7.  They will host South Harrison on October 28.  Putnam County defeated South Harrison 55-14 in Week 6. 4. Milan (5-4; 4-3 GRC)  Milan is the #3 seed in Class 1 District 7.  They will host Maysville on October 28.  Milan defeated Maysville 34-26 on Friday. 5. Maysville ( 4-5; 3-4 GRC)   Maysville is the #6 seed in Class 1 District 7.  They will play at Milan on October 28....

by Jeremy Benson, GrandRiverConference.com Milan Coach Mark Cole was returning to his alma mater and former team for the first time as an opposing coach since he left Maysville.  But nostalgia was not the only thing that was important in this game for Milan and Maysville.  Coming into the game, both teams were 4-4 overall and 3-3 in GRC.  The winner would finish the season with a winning record and finish in the upper half of the conference.  Additionally, both were fighting for district standings.  Most likely the #3 spot in districts was on the line.  At a minimum, the winner was expected to be at home next week with the loser playing a road game.  Therefore, the importance of this game could not be understated. As close as this game was on paper, it ended up to be that way on the scoreboard.  Milan won a hard fought 34-26 game.  Milan started the game with good field position at the Maysville 45-yard line after an Alex Marquina 35-yard kic...

by Jeremy Benson, GrandRiverConference.com Last season, the Polo Panthers lost to Maysville 6-5 in the District Championship.  Maysville went on to win the State Championship.  The previous season, they also lost in the District Championship game to Sherwood.  Coach Becky Ross told me that they were tired of trophies with the number two in their trophy case.  One of their goals this season was to get past that hurdle and win the district title.  They did that last week when they knocked off Gallatin 2-1 in 8 innings.   With that hurdle finally surpassed, the Panthers now had their next goal set in their sights.  They wanted to be the first softball team in school history to advance to the state semifinals.  A win over King City today would fulfill that goal. Polo came to bat first in front of a large crowd that had gathered for both sides.  Kenley Moore started the game with a leadoff triple to help set the table for the heart of Polo's ...

by Jeremy Benson, GrandRiverConference.com Gallatin and North Andrew win big games to capture GRC titles.  Milan moves up 1 spot in this week's poll. 11-Man Power Poll 1. Gallatin (8-0; 6-0 GRC; Last Week #1; d. Trenton 46-6; Week 9 - vs. Princeton) Gallatin got off to a quick start with Petyon Baker hitting Isaac Bird from midfield on the 1st drive of the game to go up 7-0.  Gallatin scored on every drive of the first half and the first drive of the second half to win 46-6.  Payton Fieden had two rushing TDs and one receiving.  Draven Wright also added two rushing TDs.  Quarterback Baker had a rushing TD as well.  Gallatin clinched their 2nd consecutive (11-Man) conference championship with the win.  With a win next week, they will become the first GRC team to win back-to-back outright titles for the first time since South Harrison in 2012 and 2013.  Gallatin's GRC Championship is their 13th in school history. 2. Trenton ( 7-1; 5-1 GRC ; Last Wee...

by Jeremy Benson, GrandRiverConference.com Gallatin came into Trenton in a battle of 7-0 teams.  It was the first time in 45 years that a pair of GRC 11-Man teams had met this late in the season.  Gallatin coach Chris Holt downplayed the how big of a game this was for his Bulldogs, but they came out ready to play.   After stopping the Trenton Bulldogs on their first possession, Gallatin had a 3rd and 12 from midfield.  Isaac Bird got behind the Trenton defenders and quarterback Peyton Baker threw a bomb to him for the first score of the game.  Gallatin was up 7-0 four minutes into the game.   Trenton once again went 3 and out on the second drive and Gallatin took advantage with 38-yard punt return by Isaac Bird that set them up at the Trenton 20-yard line and then finished the drive with a 23-yard touchdown pass from Baker to Payton Feiden to go up 14-0. After another stop by Gallatin, Trenton was forced to punt again.  However, this time, Ga...

by Jeremy Benson, GrandRiverConference.com The Albany Warriors were tied 12-12 with the King City Wildkats and were facing a 4th down at their own 17 with just over 2 minutes left in the 2nd quarter.  The Warriors previous possession ended in a 4-yard punt.  This time, the punter fumbled the snap and the Wildkats recovered the ball.  King City was 11 yards away from potentially taking a halftime lead.   King City was able to get the ball to the 2-yard line, but turned it over on downs.  Albany took over with 1:06 left on the clock, but they were 78 yards (on an 80-yard field) away from pay dirt.  After trading penalties, Kemper Cline gained a yard on the next play.  With the clock winding down, Cline was able to get a first down and get out of bounds right at the chains, but he was still 68 yards away with about 30 seconds left.  But Cline would then find Porter Davis at midfield.  A play later, Davis would streak down the sideline, and ...

by Jeremy Benson, GrandRiverConference.com Princeton moves up in the power poll with their first conference win.  Conference championships on the line in Week 8. 11-Man Power Poll 1. Gallatin (7-0; 5-0 GRC; Last Week #1; d. Putnam County 35-20; Week 8 - at Trenton)  Gallatin led 21-7 at halftime with TD runs by Peyton Baker, Draven Wright and Payton Feiden.  Feiden's TD was a 67-yard run.  Logan Bottcher would score from 50 yards out to make it 28-7 in the 3rd.  After a Putnam score, Baker scored on a QB keeper to make it 35-14 before a late Putnam County score completed the scoring at 35-20. 2. Trenton ( 7-0; 5-0 GRC ; Last Week #2; d. Maysville 34-0; Week 8 - vs. Gallatin)  Sam Gibson scored two rushing touchdowns in the first half to lead Trenton to a 20-0 halftime lead.  Coleman Griffin added another TD from 40 yards out on a 4th and 1.  The Bulldogs added two more TDs in the second half, including an Aiden Weyer reception to win 34-0 and a Ga...

  by Jeremy Benson, GrandRiverConference.com After facing the conference's two unbeaten teams the last 2 weeks, the Milan Wildcats traveled to Bethany to face the South Harrison Bulldogs.  Both teams came into the game with a 1-3 record in conference play.  Milan started out the game fast when Carlos Cotto scored from 46 yards out.  Christian Chaparro, who was perfect on PATs on the night, made it 7-0.  After South Harrison fumbled at their own 23-yard line, Ahmet Niasse connected with Jeremy Bennett on the first play of the ensuing drive to make it 14-0. South Harrison was unable to move the ball at all in the first quarter just netting 32 yards, all on the ground. Milan did drive to midfield, but their next drive stalled.  They ended the quarter with a 14-0 lead. In the second quarter, Milan would once again strike fast.  After getting the ball at the own 40-yard line, Darren Doporto broke free for a 60-yard touchdown to put the Wildcats up 21-0....

by Jeremy Benson, GrandRiverConference.com No changes in the Power Poll, but big matchups loom over the next two weeks. 11-Man Power Poll 1. Gallatin (6-0; 4-0 GRC; Last Week #1; d. Milan 41-10; Week 7 - vs. Putnam County)   Gallatin forced 3 first quarter fumbles by Milan.  They took advantage with a 27-0 lead after one.  Wright and Feiden all TD runs.  Boston Bell connected with Bottcher and Baker connected with Feiden on TD passes.  The lead was enough for Gallatin to win 41-10.  Feiden added 2 more TDs on the ground, one from 80 yards. 2. Trenton (6-0; 4-0 GRC; Last Week #2; d. Polo 24-6; Week 7 - at Maysville)  Behind another 100-yard rushing performance from both Sam Gibson and Gabe Novak, Trenton knocked off Polo 24-6.  They got off to a slow start, only leading 11-0.  A Coleman Griffin to Mason Rongey 14-yard pass put the Bulldogs up 8-0.  Sam Gibson added a field goal for the remaining first half points.  After Polo cu...

by Jeremy Benson, GrandRiverConference.com South Harrison won the GRC Girls Golf Conference Championship today at Cameron.  They shot 424 to lead all teams.  Members of the South Harrison team are Abby Owens, Ashlee Cannon, Chloe Hodge and Paige Beaty.  Owens captured the individual championship with a score of 89.  Cannon shot a season-low of 98.  Beaty posted a personal record with a 116, and Hodge shot a 121. South Harrison's conference title is their first since 2008. Here are the top 10 individual results: Abby Owens, South Harrison - 89 Abbie Koenen, Putnam County - 90 Elle Copple, Gallatin - 95 Ashlee Cannon, South Harrison - 98 Bridgette Hightshoe, Worth County - 100 Courtney Crose, Gallatin - 100 Hannah Riner, Maysville - 102 Hayley Sweiger, Maysville - 105 Claire Renfro, Maysville - 107 Eliana Cowling, Trenton - 111 Photo of Top 10 (in order of finish) Photo Credit: John Cowling Team Standings: South Harrison 424 (Owens 89, Cannon 98, Beaty 116, Hodge ...

4 GRC Schools will be participating in 2 Softball Tournaments on October 8.  Here is the schedule for each tournament: Benton Polo George C Skurlock Albany, Gallatin, Princeton

by Jeremy Benson, GrandRiverConference.com Maysville Wolverines outgained Princeton 262 to 25 yards in the first half to take a 22-0 lead.  Despite a lackluster second half for the Wolverines, they were victorious on homecoming night 28-12. The Wolverines ran for 232 yards on the ground in the opening half which included a 78-yard drive completely on the ground on Maysville's second drive.  The key play on the drive was a 56-yard run by Coy Sobotka.  It appeared that he broke free for a touchdown, but was tripped up at the 8-yard line.  However, Spencer Pliley was able to score from 8 yards on the next play.  Sobotka caught the conversion from Kris Gabbard to put the Wolverines up 8-0. The next two drives resulted in a fumble and turnover on downs for Maysville, but their defense kept Princeton from threatening.  With 2:37 left in the half, Maysville scored again on a 11-yard QB keeper from Gabbard.  He would add another touchdown with just 8 seconds l...