Monrovia, Linton-Stockton Look to Bounce Back in Week Two Showdown

LINTON, Ind. — Two Class 2A programs looking to put difficult season openers behind them will meet Friday night when the Monrovia Bulldogs travel south to take on the Linton-Stockton Miners.

Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. Friday, August 28, at Linton-Stockton High School. Both teams enter the matchup at 0-1 after suffering home losses in Week One. Monrovia fell to Cascade 41-7, while Linton-Stockton was shut out by Riverton Parke 21-0.

Monrovia struggled to sustain drives against Cascade but did show some pieces it will look to build around against the Miners.

The Bulldogs finished their opener with 92 rushing yards and 69 receiving yards, according to statistics posted to MaxPreps. Monrovia was limited to just seven first downs while being flagged 12 times for 85 yards.

Senior quarterback Michael Terrell completed 4-of-14 passes for 73 yards with a touchdown and no interceptions. His primary target was junior Jack Taylor, who hauled in a 49-yard touchdown reception.

On the ground, senior running back Coewen Stinson carried 12 times for 50 yards. The Bulldogs will likely need more production from their rushing attack if they hope to control the football and keep Linton’s defense on the field.
Defensively, Gauge Tolan enters Week Two after recording 10 tackles in the opener. Monrovia selected Tolan, Terrell, Alex Young and Colby Schmaltz as its Players of the Game following the Cascade matchup.

One area Monrovia will want to clean up immediately is penalties. The Bulldogs’ 12 penalties and 85 penalty yards made an already difficult opener even tougher.

Linton-Stockton also enters Friday looking for its first points of the 2026 season.

The Miners were blanked 21-0 by Riverton Parke in their opener. All 21 Panther points came in the first half, with Linton’s defense shutting Riverton Parke out after halftime.
The biggest problem for Linton was containing the Panthers’ ground attack.

Riverton Parke rushed for 294 yards, led by quarterback Brody McConnell, who carried 16 times for 139 yards and two touchdowns. McConnell also completed 7-of-10 passes for 90 yards and another score. Fullback Derek Collom added 109 rushing yards and finished with 168 total yards.

Despite giving up the yardage, there were encouraging signs for the Miner defense.
Linton-Stockton recorded three sacks, with Coltyn Andrews and Preston Snyder combining for 2.5 sacks. That ability to create penetration could become particularly important against a Monrovia offense that struggled to consistently move the chains in Week One.

The larger question is what Linton can generate offensively. After being held scoreless in the opener, the Miners need to establish their running game, create manageable third downs and find a way to produce explosive plays.

Friday’s matchup presents an early-season opportunity for two teams accustomed to much more success.

Linton-Stockton is coming off a 9-4 season in 2025, while Monrovia finished 4-7 but showed significant offensive potential late in the year, including scoring 56 points in its sectional loss to Heritage Christian.

Now both are trying to avoid an 0-2 start.
For Monrovia, the formula begins with cutting down the penalties and getting Stinson and the Bulldog rushing attack established. If the Bulldogs can stay ahead of the chains, Terrell showed against Cascade that he has the ability to hit Taylor for a big play through the air.

For Linton, stopping the run will be a priority after Riverton Parke’s success on the ground. Andrews, Snyder and the Miner front will be challenged again by a Monrovia offense that has traditionally leaned heavily on its running game.

Perhaps the biggest key, though, will be which offense can find its footing first.

The teams combined for only seven points in their season openers, with Monrovia producing the lone touchdown. Both defenses had encouraging moments despite the final scores, setting up the possibility of a physical, lower-scoring matchup Friday night.