With their first win of the season under their belt, the Tioga Bulldogs football team prepares to host the Trenton Tigers for their homecoming Friday.
The Tigers started their season with wins over Celeste and Chico but enter the district opener riding a two-game losing streak after back-to-back losses against the Detroit Eagles, 50-34, and the Como-Pickton Eagles, 36-10.
“They're a team that you know has a solid identity,” said Zach Birdwell, Tioga athletic director and head football coach. “… They started the season with two big wins and had a rough couple of weeks, but they're experienced. Those kids have been running that system on both sides of the ball for a long time, so they’re good at what they do.”
It’s been a trick-or-treat season for Trenton’s defense, led by linebackers Wyatt Davis and Zach Phifer, with the Tigers shutting out their first two opponents but surrendering over 40 points a game in their two recent losses.
Birdwell said the Bulldogs offense will look to maintain the momentum it picked up in the win over Lone Oak.
“We knew it was going to take a couple of weeks to figure out what we could do, … but with Greeley [McAden] stepping in full time at quarterback, we saw a lot of positives there,” he said. 'Anytime you get a chance to snap it to one of your most dynamic kids, you're going to have a chance to have some success, and we had another week where we put up some yards and did it on the ground and through the air. It was a big step for us finding our identity offensively.”
Tioga’s defense also made multiple plays last week, with 4 interceptions, and will need to continue playing well to slow down the Tiger’s running attack that averages over 250 yards rushing so far this season.
“Our defense took another step in the right direction,” Birdwell said. “We knew we would have to lean on them early, and they've done nothing but answer the call every single week and continue to make strides to get better. Last week was, I think, our best overall defensive performance in our time here, so shout out to Coach [Beau] Burruss and the defensive staff.”
Despite the positivity after Tioga’s first win, Birdwell emphasized that the Bulldogs are still focused on their long-term goals.
“Everybody's going to be 0-0 rolling into district and all these things we want to accomplish, they become real this week,” he said. “We’re keeping our eyes set on that end vision, which is the district championship. It’s not going anywhere else but Tioga. … Our kids understand that their actions have consequences now. There are no more nondistrict slip-ups, so there’s a little more pressure on our team, and we want to watch our kids thrive under it.”
Tioga and Trenton will get underway at 7 p.m. Friday at Bulldog Stadium in Tioga.
