By james art 
TRENTON – The MHSAA football playoffs began Friday night with games in the district semifinal round. And in a key Division 3 regional, two close non-conference rivals squared off when Trenton hosted Riverview.
Friday was the second playoff meeting in as many seasons between the local programs. It was almost a year ago to the day that Riverview survived a wild 27-25 affair in the 2023 playoff opener.
That final drive qualified, but it ended up being a touchdown and a two-point conversion with less than 30 seconds to play to seal a 22-21 victory for the visiting Pirates over hometown Trojans.
“I knew it was going to be a good football game,” Riverview head coach Derek McLaughlin said after the win. “(Trenton) is a well-coached team and it’s so hard to simulate what they do. We knew it was a battle and we showed up and made the big plays.
“It all comes down to playing harder and giving yourself a chance in the fourth quarter.”
Explosive plays early on helped set the tone for Friday’s late-game theatrics.
It started with Trenton opening the game with a huge play. Ashton Rooney’s 47-yard touchdown run just two minutes into the game gave the Trojans an early 7-0 lead.
However, Riverview responded with a long possession, going 75 yards down the field. The drive was capped by a one-yard run by Nathan Pinkava, but a missed two-point conversion kept Trenton ahead 7-6 midway through the first.
The back-and-forth battle began from that point on.
Trenton’s offense put together a long drive of its own, going the length of the field. A short touchdown run by Rooney, his second of the game, put the Trojans back in front late in the first quarter.
But Riverview answered the call again. A 31-yard touchdown run by Ashton Robinson combined with a two-point conversion effort by Pinkava tied the game at 14-14 at halftime.
The defenses shined after that, with neither team able to muster an offense for most of the second half.
It wasn’t until late in the fourth quarter that Trenton broke the deadlock. Drew Carson’s touchdown run from two yards out put the Trojans up 21-14 with just under five minutes left in regulation.
Like their first two scoring drives, Riverview stepped up and had another big answer.
A long drive down the field was capped off by Jordan Smiechowski’s one-yard touchdown run with 23 seconds left in the game. However, instead of tying the game and forcing overtime, the Pirates lined up for the two-point conversion and the win.
On the two-point effort, quarterback Lucas Thompson faked the handoff and sprinted toward the pylon to give the visitors their first and only lead of the night.
“We had to make some adjustments,” McLaughlin explained. “And (Trenton’s) defense is so good. But football is a game of adjustments and at the last minute we put them in situations where we can make the winning plays.
“I knew as soon as we scored, right away, we were going to go for two to win the game,” McLaughlin added. It’s a risk, but I believe in our guys.
McLaughlin’s counterpart on the other side, Trenton head coach Reggie Glon applauded his team for their effort in another tough close loss.
“It was a great game,” Glon said. “That’s what you come out for, to compete against good teams. We had them on the ropes and some plays here and there, it turns out the other way around.
“Our guys have always battled all season,” Glon added. “We’ve taken teams down to the last minute while beating some really good teams.”
Friday was Trenton’s third of four losses this season, decided by one point. Glon took a massive approach in their players, using the campaign as a whole to nurture life after football.
“I hope they’ve learned from adversity and obstacles and will succeed in life because they’ve learned how to work,” Glon said. “We don’t want it to end like this, but the sun will rise tomorrow and they will know what to do to build a successful life.”
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Riverview (9-1) will be tasked with the challenge of facing River Rouge, which defeated Southgate Anderson by a final score of 13-7 in Friday’s opposite district semifinal.
This will be the fifth all-time meeting between the two schools, the last three of which have come in the playoffs. The last game came in the district title game a year ago, resulting in a 49-27 loss for McLaughlin’s group.
“First, I’m going to sleep tonight enjoying it,” McLaughlin said. “When you’re in the playoffs, every team is good and we’re going to watch film and move forward doing what we have to do.”
PHOTOS: Football – Riverview vs. Trenton