When Center Grove’s school board approved the installation of an artificial turf field last winter, the soccer players in the 2019 graduating class weren’t sure whether they would ever get to play on it.
“We all thought we were going to have to play down there (on the practice fields) for our senior season,” Jack Neal said, “but they really kicked it into gear. It’s just been really fun to watch, driving past here as the field’s progressively getting made.”
Work crews have been putting the finishing touches on the field this week, and it’s expected to be ready for action when the Trojans host Roncalli in their season opener on Saturday.
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Click here to purchase photos from this gallerySeeing the turf field become a reality has injected quite a bit of excitement into the team, which had concerns about what the atmosphere would have been like if matches were pushed onto the practice fields.
“It’s a huge difference, just because you’ve got the intercom and you’ve got the student section and the parents,” senior Jake Youngstafel said. “If you’re sitting down there, there’s a couple of bleachers; it’s not really the whole gig. Up here, it feels a lot better to be playing on a real game field. The atmosphere is so much different.”
More important to the Trojans than the atmosphere is the playing surface itself. The previous incarnation of the soccer field had taken a beating over the years, leaving a surface that was often uneven and usually cramped the team’s preferred playing style.
“On the turf, you can expect how the ball’s going to play,” senior Luke Boha said, “but when we’re playing out on the concrete of our field with the big tufts of grass missing, you have to react to the ball instead of anticipating what’s going to happen.”
“When you have a field like we will have, it really steps up the way you can play that short passing game and it helps our speed,” Center Grove boys coach Jameson McLaughlin added. “I think this year we’re going to have a lot of team speed, and it’s going to be very evident when we play our home games.”
McLaughlin had been lobbying for a turf field for years, and he finally got his wish when the school board voted to put $794,000 leftover funding from the new Walnut Grove Elementary School toward the new playing surface.
Having seen his team play on field turf elsewhere — in previous seasons at Carmel and at several sites over the summer — McLaughlin is eager to have the Trojans play at least half of their matches on it going forward.
“We played preseason games already on field turf at Westfield High School, and it’s awesome to see how well we can play on that,” he said. “We prefer a short passing game, which on field turf is very nice to play. We don’t like to play a lot of long ball.”
“It’s going to be great out here,” Boha added. “It’s going to play into our game real well, and we’re going to be able to attack quickly, which is good for the pieces we have up top.”
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A look at Johnson County’s high school boys soccer teams:
Center Grove Trojans
Coach: Jameson McLaughlin
Last season: 12-4-1; lost to Perry Meridian in Class 3A sectional opener
Key returnees: Luke Boha, Jack Neal, Drew Sauter, Nick Shirer, Garret Wade and Jake Youngstafel, seniors; Colin Parry, Josh Williams and Nick Wilson, juniors
Top newcomers: Cooper Livermoore, junior; Aaron McDaniel, sophomore
Outlook: Center Grove will be eager to reclaim its status as the top team locally after an upset loss in its sectional opener last year. The Trojans sustained some heavy graduation losses, especially on defense, but as usual, there are plenty of capable bodies ready to fill in. Boha heads up a solid core of veterans, while McLaughlin expects big things from McDaniel, who cut his teeth at the JV level a year ago.
Franklin Grizzly Cubs
Coach: Tony Harris
Last season: 13-4-1; lost to Roncalli in Class 3A sectional semifinal
Key returnees: Owen Atkison, Dylan Bastin, Drew Beasley and Garrett Snyder, seniors; Yobany Lopez-Perez and Owen Mahin, juniors; Ethan Pheifer, sophomore
Top newcomer: Nick Woods, sophomore
Outlook: Though the Grizzly Cubs lost some key pieces to graduation, they still return plenty of offensive firepower, with reigning Player of the Year Atkison, Mahin and Pheifer leading the way. Harris feels good about his starting lineup; whether Franklin can challenge for its first sectional title may depend on whether it can cultivate some more depth over the course of the season.
Greenwood Woodmen
Coach: Dan Weber
Last season: 1-16; lost to Roncalli in Class 3A sectional opener
Key returnees: Bryan Gonzalez, Jonathan Graber and Cole Mahan, seniors; Sullivan Cisco, Yael Lugo and Hudson Welliver, juniors
Top newcomers: Eli Gottman and Josh Harris, freshmen
Outlook: After getting some of his top players some club experience during the offseason, second-year coach Weber believes he has enough veteran talent to win as many as six matches this fall — which would represent a major leap forward for the Woodmen. Gonzalez and Lugo will be counted on to control the midfield, while Graber anchors the back line in front of goalkeeper Mahan.
Greenwood Christian Cougars
Coach: George Huizinga
Last season: 14-4-1; won sectional championship, lost to Covenant Christian in Class A regional semifinal
Key returnees: George Apgar, Griffin Huizinga, Jack Kovacs, Josue Muir, Dan Wilson and Brady Wright, seniors; Gabe Vessely, junior; Jonathan Amador, sophomore
Outlook: Hopes were sky-high for the Cougars before the unexpected departure of four projected starters who are either moving or chose not to play. But while the team’s depth took a big hit, particularly on defense, there is still a good deal of offensive talent left that should help GCA remain competitive at the Class A level. Amador, Griffin Huizinga and Kovacs were all among the team’s leading scorers during last year’s regional run, and Vessely provides a veteran presence in goal.
Whiteland Warriors
Coach: Justin VanHorn
Last season: 6-11; lost to Franklin in Class 3A sectional opener
Key returnees: Alec Given, Jair Moreno and Shawn Sullivan, seniors; Dalton Spangler, junior
Top newcomer: Nolan Ferguson, freshman
Outlook: The Warriors return a large number of seniors and juniors, led by one of the county’s best all-around players in Sullivan. The Mid-State Conference will be even tougher with the addition of Perry Meridian, but VanHorn believes his squad is capable of contending for a league title. Ferguson is set to battle with sophomore Chris Dawalt for the starting goalkeeper job.
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