INDIANAPOLIS
When North Central quarterback Harry Abell is good, he’s really, really good.
The senior was when it counted most Friday night, teaming with dangerous wideout Richard Hamilton in leading the host Panthers on the game-winning drive in a thrilling 24-20 victory over Class 6A No. 10 Center Grove.
Center Grove’s record drops to 1-4 overall and 1-3 in the Metropolitan Interscholastic Conference. The Trojans play at Lawrence Central next Friday.
The winning points came with 41.7 seconds remaining in the game when Abell lobbed a perfect 14-yard fade pass to sophomore Keyshaun Pipkin in the back of the end zone. It was Pipkin’s lone catch of the game and the Panthers’ first lead.
Center Grove had 35.4 seconds to work with starting from its 38 on the ensuing drive. Quarterback Tayven Jackson teamed with junior receiver Trent Veith for three pass completions to move the football to the Panthers’ 20 with 5.7 ticks showing.
With one play left, Jackson rolled right after being chased out of the pocket and threw an interception near the North Central goal line. Even had he completed the pass, it would have come back as the Trojans were holding on the play.
Center Grove’s three MIC losses have now come in dramatic, down-to-the-wire fashion.
Friday’s game didn’t start until 7:54 p.m. as medical personnel attended to a man in the North Central cheering section who appeared to have a heart attack. They attempted to revive him for approximately 25 minutes before he was taken to a nearby hospital.
Following a moment of silence and the playing of the national anthem, the teams came back out on the field for warmups at 7:40 p.m. In time, the somber mood that enveloped the facility for an hour was broken by the start of the game.
Austin Watson was good on two of three field goal tries in the first half to help give the Trojans a 13-3 halftime lead. Center Grove’s other points came on Jackson’s 21-yard touchdown pass to a diving Connor Delp to cap the Trojans’ six-play, 76-yard drive to open the game.
Watson misfired on a 46-yard boot on the team’s second series, but converted on attempts covering 42 and 36 yards to put Center Grove ahead, 13-0, late in the second quarter. North Central got on the board with 43.5 seconds left before the half on a 22-yard field goal from senior Scott Hoeg.
Delp’s 3-yard touchdown run around left end at 10:20 of the final period gave Center Grove what looked to be a comfortable 20-10 lead. The momentum was short-lived, as Abell connected with Hamilton for a 71-yard touchdown pass.
North Central won at Center Grove last season, 26-14, to break a six-game losing streak in the series. The Trojans’ last three visits to the Northside of Indianapolis had resulted in lopsided wins by a total count of 129-27.
The Panthers last defeated Center Grove here in 2006 by a score of 49-21. The teams played at Lucas Oil Stadium in 2010 and 2015.
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