<p>Way back in September, after Center Grove’s football team lost its first three games, and probably again after it lost a close game to North Central to drop to 1-4 on the year, I can remember the conversations that Mike Beas and I were having in the newsroom.</p>
<p>“It’s going to be pretty funny when (Carson) Steele comes back and they end up winning it all,” one or both of us would say on a given day.</p>
<p>I’m not entirely sure if we <em>realllllly</em> believed it at the time, but I know for sure we weren’t completely joking, either. We’re both seasoned (translation: old) enough to know that it’s never a smart idea to completely write the Trojans off.</p>
<p>And sure enough, they’ve got a chance on Saturday to stick it to everyone who did leave them for dead two months ago.</p>
<p>Folks should’ve known better; watching a struggling Eric Moore team resurrect itself has become about as much a November tradition as turkey or the Macy’s parade.</p>
<p>Last fall, the Trojans dropped their first two and limped to a 2-3 start before ripping off seven consecutive wins and pushing No. 1 Warren Central to the brink before eventually falling in a semistate heartbreaker.</p>
<p>The 2014 team started 1-3 but then won eight in a row to advance to semistate, where it came up short in a 49-45 thriller at Ben Davis.</p>
<p>And in 2011, Center Grove stumbled to three straight losses at the end of the regular season before righting the ship come tournament time, winning four in a row before Carmel got the upper hand in the semistate.</p>
<p>The difference between those teams and this one? This year’s group found a way to get over that semistate hump and make it to Lucas Oil Stadium.</p>
<p>These Trojans seemed like a realistic title contender before the season, and they’ve very much looked the part this past month. With a dominating defense, and an offense that was starting to find itself even before Steele returned two weeks ago, Center Grove has reached the final week of the season having convinced itself that it can win the whole thing.</p>
<p>You’d be crazy not to be convinced at this point.</p>
<p><em>Ryan O’Leary is the sports editor for the Daily Journal. He can be reached at <a href="mailto:[email protected]">[email protected]</a>.</em></p>
