The Center Grove football team had been waiting nearly three months for a chance at payback against Warren Central.
When the chance came Friday in a Class 6A regional tilt, the Trojans seized it.
Titus McCoy scored three touchdowns and the Center Grove defense completely shackled the Warriors’ offense in a convincing 28-7 victory. In the process, the Trojans avenged their lone defeat, a 21-16 setback against Warren Central in the season opener Aug. 19.
“It’s the best feeling I’ve ever had, honestly,” Center Grove senior linebacker Bailey Bennett said after the win.
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Click here to purchase photos from this galleryThe Trojans (11-1) will travel to face another conference rival, Ben Davis, in next week’s semistate game. The Giants routed Cathedral 51-21 in their regional showdown Friday.
Center Grove came out after halftime and took control of what was a 7-7 stalemate at the break.
Mikala Gardner returned the second-half kickoff 39 yards to the Warren Central 33, and Jack Kellams found Russ Yeast in the end zone three plays later for a 29-yard score and a 14-7 lead just a minute and 23 seconds into the third period.
McCoy, who rushed for 83 yards on 21 carries, padded the Center Grove advantage from there. First, he scored on a second-effort run from 1 yard out in the final minute of the third quarter, and after a Warren Central three-and-out and a 52-yard run by Yeast, McCoy moved a pile into the end zone for a 5-yard score with 11:02 remaining.
A three-touchdown lead was more than enough for the Trojans’ defense, which cut the Warriors off on nearly every play. The lone big play for Warren Central came with 7:24 left in the half, when Zach Summeier hit David Bell for a 42-yard touchdown one play after Terrell Anderson recovered a Yeast fumble.
The Trojans answered that Warriors’ score with a 12-play, 60-yard drive to tie it just before halftime. Yeast ran the kickoff back to the 40-yard line and then pulled in a 13-yard pass from Kellams on third-and-9, helping to set up McCoy’s 10-yard touchdown run at the 1:30 mark.
Warren Central didn’t threaten to score again until late in the fourth quarter, reaching the Center Grove 6 before being turned away.
“We were so much more prepared tonight than we were (in Week 1), and we knew that this was going to happen,” Bennett stated. “We knew that we were confident going in, and we knew we’d get revenge on them — and that’s exactly what we did.”
Center Grove coach Eric Moore was full of pride after watching his squad lock up its sixth consecutive semistate appearance.
“I’m just real proud of the kids and the way they’ve stuck with it physically and mentally the whole year,” he said. “That’s huge. We’re back in the final four six straight times; that’s hard to do.”
Yeast carried 13 times for 97 yards to lead the Trojans’ offense. He also caught four passes for 72 yards. Corbin Laque paced the defense with seven solo tackles.
