Back to back to back to back

HENRYVILLE

Several teams saw their fortunes turn for the worse on the back nine at Champions Pointe on Thursday, but while those teams headed south, Center Grove kept on coasting in the other direction.

The Trojans pulled away from the field during the second half of the Providence Regional, finishing with a team total of 290 to finish a comfortable 18 strokes ahead of runner-up Floyd Central and secure a chance at defending its state title next week at Prairie View Golf Club in Carmel.

“I think it fits us,” senior Noah Gillard said of the course’s challenging second nine. “On the front nine, there’s a few tee shots that just don’t fit our eyes, but on the back side we just tear it up every year.”

Gillard led the field with a 3-under-par 69, two strokes better than anyone else on the course.

Franklin came up just two strokes shy of advancing itself, finishing up in fifth place at 316. The Grizzly Cubs were one shot back of Madison and Columbus North, both of which would have had the advantage over them in a tiebreak. Madison wound up claiming the final state berth.

Center Grove led after nine holes, but only by three shots and with only Gillard under par. Once they made the turn, however, the Trojans quickly found another gear and pulled away.

“We hit our stride probably around 11 or 12, and some birdies finally started falling,” coach Matt Rodman said. “I think Noah birdied three holes in a row, Logan (Anderson) started throwing in a couple of birdies, Alex (Heck) threw in a birdie or two. We started to see some putts fall on the back nine.”

Luke DeHaven, one of four Trojans in the red on the back side, finished with a 73, while Heck and Sam Jean each came in at 74 and Anderson carded a 75.

“I hit the ball real well today,” DeHaven said. “On the front nine I struggled a bit with the putter, and then toward the back I started rolling in a few putts.”

The Grizzly Cubs very nearly battled from behind to advance as a team, with senior No. 1 Matt Jordan aggressively going for a ninth-hole birdie that would have clinched a state berth. The gamble didn’t pay off — Jordan bogeyed the hole — but the senior finished with a solid 77, second on the team behind freshman Damon Dickey.

Ian McCullough turned in an 81 out of the No. 5 spot for Franklin, and Quin Edwards came in with an 82.

“We had a good season,” Franklin coach Andy Findley said. “We really did. The freshmen came through good, Matt did a great job at the finish. I think we improved. … We got on a good roll here the last two or three weeks.”

Center Grove’s season will again go on for another week, and while the top-ranked Trojans will go in as the favorites, Rodman sounded like a man who isn’t feeling any pressure.

“The mindset is to go out there and to play the best two rounds we can on Tuesday and Wednesday,” he said. “They’re ready. This has obviously been our goal all year, and now the pressure’s off that we’re there. So now we’re just going to go out and have fun and do the best we can.”