In the immediate afterglow of Friday night’s semistate rout of Ben Davis, Center Grove senior Russ Yeast was asked what he was expecting from the upcoming state championship game at Lucas Oil Stadium.
Yeast said he had no idea. His Trojan teammates have been there before, he explained, but he hasn’t.
On Friday, he’ll have his chance — and if past results are a strong indicator of future performance (they often are), it could be a big night for Yeast.
The Louisville recruit has turned in some truly incredible efforts this season, often when the lights have been brightest.
[sc:text-divider text-divider-title=”Story continues below gallery” ]
He hauled in five touchdown passes covering a total of 210 yards against Cathedral in the regular-season finale then scored four more times in the sectional final at Columbus North.
Yeast then rushed for 174 yards and four touchdowns against Ben Davis, including an incredible 83-yard run that saw him complete two spin moves on a wet field only to somehow emerge at full speed and outrun the entire Giants defense.
Anyone who wasn’t convinced before should be now — there is not a better football player in the state of Indiana this fall than Russ Yeast.
Even in 2016, a year that will be forever known for logic-defying election results, it’s difficult to imagine that Yeast will not be chosen as Mr. Football.
Politics can make people do stupid things — and given that Yeast was born in Kentucky and played his first three years of high school football in Ohio, it’s conceivable that some might opt not to vote for him because he’s just not “Hoosier” enough.
But that would be pretty stupid. Because he’s plenty good enough.
As loaded as Center Grove’s senior class was before Yeast arrived here, there’s no way the Trojans would be 12-1 right now without him, especially given all of the injuries they’ve withstood this season.
When returning running backs Titus McCoy and Trevor Hohlt were injured in the season opener, Yeast stepped in and became the main back for much of the year, and he leads the county in rushing yardage by a pretty considerable margin.
As Hohlt and McCoy made their way back into the lineup, Yeast got more of a chance to diversify and show off his array of skills. He’s far and away Center Grove’s leading receiver, and he’s now racked up more than 2,000 yards of total offense between ground and air.
On top of that, he returns punts and kicks for the Trojans, and he’s also shown up on the other side of the ball playing cornerback in late-game passing situations as needed.
Yeast has lined up in about nine different positions during his one year in Center Grove, and he’s been all sorts of awesome in all of them. If he’s not voted Mr. Football, then the people doing the voting need to be switched out for new people.
He’ll have a chance to convince his largest audience yet on Friday, when the Trojans face off against rival Carmel for the second time this season.
In many ways, this will be old hat for Center Grove, which beat the Greyhounds for its first state championship in 2008 and is seeking a repeat title now after a perfect 2015 season. This program has been here before.
It’s all new for Yeast, though. And even if he doesn’t turn in another jaw-dropping performance in his final act, he likes his chances of ending his high school career as a winner.
“I’ve never been on a team this great before,” Yeast said after last weekend’s semistate win.
Given a choice between Mr. Football and a state title, Yeast would no doubt prefer the latter.
He might walk away with both.
