The tricycle race around the track during halftime was the closest thing to a competitive event at Center Grove on Friday night.
Sure, those in attendance were there to watch a Class 6A sectional football final, but that game didn’t offer much in the way of drama.
The host Trojans dominated from the opening kickoff, overwhelming Franklin Central in every which way en route to a 49-14 victory and a ninth consecutive sectional championship.
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Center Grove (6-5) will play a regional game next week at MIC rival Warren Central. The two teams met on that same field in the season opener, with the Warriors pulling out a 21-14 win in that contest — but the Trojans are a much different team than they were three months ago.
“At the beginning of the season, we lost three or four games,” Center Grove coach Eric Moore said. “Not because we weren’t competing in the games; we just didn’t finish the games. We didn’t finish a third and 1 or a fourth-down play or something, and when we got rolling this year, it’s because we were finishing.
“The difference now is our kids know how to win. Back in early August, this was a young team and they didn’t know how to win. Now they know how to win.”
It didn’t take the Trojans long to march upfield for the first points of the game, with Brandon Wheat leading the way. The diminutive sophomore returned the opening kickoff to the 31 and followed with a 19-yard run to midfield. Wheat ran 27 yards to the 13 three plays later, then finished the drive with a 7-yard run at the 9:09 mark.
Franklin Central then fumbled the ball away on its first play from scrimmage, and Center Grove took immediate advantage with a 42-yard touchdown pass from Tayven Jackson to Connor Delp.
After forcing a punt, the Trojans looked to be on their way to another score, but an ill-advised throw was picked off by the Flashes’ Cruz Reed and returned 55 yards the other way, cutting the Center Grove lead in half.
That momentum shift was short-lived. On the second play of the ensuing drive, Wheat wiggled his way out of a couple of dead ends along the right sideline and then cut back inside for a 69-yard touchdown, making it 21-7 with 5:46 still to go in the first quarter.
“He had like the fifth-fastest time in the 200 this year in the state of Indiana,” Moore said of Wheat. “He’s got speed. He doesn’t look like it, maybe, but he’s got speed, and now people are starting to say, ‘Hey, we’ve got to figure that out.’”
Center Grove ended the period on the Franklin Central 1, having gained 278 yards in the first 12 minutes while holding the Flashes to minus-3.
Daniel Weems bulled into the end zone on the first play of the second, then added touchdown runs of 15 yards and 1 yard to build the Trojans’ lead to 42-7 with 3:22 to go in the half. After a 53-yard interception return by Brayton Spetter gave Center Grove the ball back on the Franklin Central 10, Lucas Hoffman scored on a 3-yard run.
“It was pretty good to get off quick,” Weems said. “Just to get them off their feet, keep pushing and have them quitting by the end of the first half like we did.”
The second half was a merciful blur, with the running clock in effect and the Trojan reserves on the field the whole way. The lone action was a meaningless touchdown by the Flashes’ Aataeveon Jordan on the final play of the third quarter.
Wheat finished with 122 yards on just four carries for Center Grove, with Wheat adding 118 yards on 16 attempts. Delp had 48 yards rushing, 42 receiving and 42 more on a punt return.
With another sectional trophy in their possession, the Trojans turn their attention toward trying to win their 10th regional title in 12 years. That might have seemed unlikely when they were sitting at 1-4 in late September, but Center Grove has found its mojo at the right time.
Again.
“You hate to lose,” Moore said, “but you learn from it, and these kids, they didn’t pout and quit. They rallied and said, ‘You know what? We’re going to have our time.’”
