Trojans gear up for big game

The last few days have been busy for one Center Grove area clothing designer and retailer.

With the Center Grove High School football team set to vie for a state championship Friday evening, Michele Coffey, the owner of Coffey Connection, has prepared several hundred T-shirts for fans to purchase to wear to the game.

The whole community is emotionally invested in the team, she said.

“Center Grove feels like a college town,” Coffey said. “Everyone comes and supports their team and wears the colors.”

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Coffey settled on a final design for the state championship on Monday morning, and has been busy producing several hundred shirts to get them ready for sale before Friday’s game.

Coffey Connection will open its store about 2 miles north of the high school on Morgantown Road an hour early today at 10 a.m.

Store hours typically go until 6 p.m., but Coffey isn’t sure yet when she will close the store. All she knows is that she will keep the doors open until all Trojans fans have had a chance to get what they need for the game.

“We won’t leave until everyone is dressed,” she said.

While Black Friday is a busy shopping day, Coffey expects a large rush from Center Grove fans, and the store will be open from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. to accommodate fans grabbing gear at the last minute for the 7:05 p.m. game.

Shirts also will be available for sale at the high school athletic office from 8 a.m. to noon, today through Friday, where fans can also pick up tickets for the game.

Because of the short window of time between the semistate and championship game — seven days — Center Grove High School isn’t making any official gear for the tournament, athletics director Jon Zwitt said.

The task of supplying gear for championship games is often left to local vendors, he said.

While all types of clothing with the school’s logo, mascot and colors can be purchased online, that doesn’t allow fans to get the items in time for the final football game of the season, Zwitt said.

Besides a set of shirts specifically for the state championship game, Coffey Connection also has school gear, including jackets, hoodies, hats, scarves, headbands, car decals and flags.

Should the Trojans prevail on Friday, Coffey plans to make commemorative shirts, which would likely include a schedule of how the team fared throughout the season, she said.

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Center Grove fans looking to gear up for the state championship game can head to:

Where: Coffey Connection, 1000 Morgantown Road, Greenwood

When: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. today; 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday

Where: Center Grove High School athletic office, 2717 S. Morgantown Road, Greenwood

When: 8 a.m. to noon, today through Friday

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