Had this chaotic offseason happened a year ago instead of in 2020, Center Grove football coach Eric Moore believes it "would have been a train wreck."
But those young players that had to grow up on the job last fall are now back as a veteran unit that has been prepared for all of the challenges that the COVID-19 pandemic has created. As the season approaches, the Trojans have the highest of expectations, both from the outside (they are the consensus No. 1 team in the state) and within.
Center Grove stumbled out of the gate in 2019, dropping its first three games and four of its first five. But by the time the postseason arrived, the team had found its stride; the Trojans avenged early-season losses to Warren Central and Ben Davis to reach the Class 6A title game, where a late comeback bid came up just short in a 20-17 loss to rival Carmel.
With almost every skill-position player returning on both sides of the ball, Center Grove players expect to not only return to Lucas Oil Stadium, but finish the job. Anything less is unacceptable.
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"I think the fact that we did lose the state championship, I still think that we have that underdog-like mentality to us," senior linebacker Jackson Schott said. "A lot of the guys are working hard, and we’re still pushing because we don’t want to fall short at all."
That push was made harder by the loss of in-person spring conditioning, as well as school weightlifting classes and the boys track season that many Trojan football players often compete in.
Players needed to stay in shape almost entirely on their own until preseason workouts began last month — but having an experienced group made it much easier to clear all of those hurdles and move forward.
"We were just trying to get work on our own time and still communicate," Schott said. "We had some Zoom calls talking about defensive schemes; I’m sure the offense did the same thing. We were just trying to stay locked in and do the best that we could with what we had."
Moore does have longer-term concerns about how that lost time will impact his underclassmen — some of whom he would like to get at least some varsity seasoning for this year, if they’re ready.
"The older guys, they know the map; they understand the road," Moore said. "It’s the sophomores in high school football, that are playing on the field now for teams, that are going to suffer, because they didn’t get the strength, they didn’t get the lifting. I’m sure they did some, but they didn’t get like they would have if they’d been in class and in the summertime. So that’s the biggest difference right now."
A year ago, several sophomores were thrown into the fire early, and the Trojans took their lumps as a result. But those reps paid dividends come tournament time, and they should continue to pay off this fall. Players such as quarterback Tayven Jackson and running back Daniel Weems, both juniors, are now seasoned returning starters from whom big things are being expected.
"There was definitely a lot of guys on the team that maybe weren’t expecting the amount of reps, the amount of responsibility, but definitely got that — and that’s helped us a lot," senior wingback Connor Delp said.
Enough that Center Grove is considered the clear favorite to win it all come Thanksgiving weekend. But for all of the preseason hype surrounding this team, there’s still a hunger and a sense of unfinished business that has been lingering since that season-ending loss almost nine months ago.
The cancellation of the scheduled season opener against Warren Central and the shuffling that ensued — Center Grove will now host Decatur Central Friday and search for a new Week 2 opponent — has only intensified that hunger and added weight to that chip that the Trojan players have been carrying on their shoulders all offseason long.
"I still carry the chip, and I think most of these guys do, because just falling short was the worst thing ever," Schott said. "Just fighting back, and we were playing real good in the playoffs, and it just didn’t go our way.
"We’ve got to finish it off."
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Date;Opponent;Time
Friday;Decatur Central;7 p.m.
Aug. 28;Open
Sept. 4;Carmel;7 p.m.
Sept. 11;at Ben Davis;7 p.m.
Sept. 18;North Central;7 p.m.
Sept. 25;Lawrence Central;7 p.m.
Oct. 2;at Pike;7 p.m.
Oct. 9;at Lawrence North;7 p.m.
Oct. 16;Cathedral;7 p.m.
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Coach: Eric Moore
Last year: 8-6, lost to Carmel in Class 6A state championship game
Key returnees: DE Austin Booker, LB Trey Clark, RB/WR Connor Delp, LB Lucas Hoffman, WR Mason Long, TE Garrett Keith, DB Harrison Roberts, LB Jackson Schott, TE Josh Sims, CB Matt Soderdahl, S Brayton Spetter, RB Carson Steele, OL Brayden Sturm, WR Trenton Veith, K/P Austin Watson and CB Dane Young, seniors; DE Shane Bennett, OL Jordan Cox, DT Bryce Crump, DT Caden Curry, S Mitchell Evans, DT Owen Green, QB Tayven Jackson, DE James Schott, LB Trei Specker and RB Daniel Weems, juniors
Top newcomers: OL Carter DeGraaf and LB Matt Hohlt, seniors; OL Sam Buras, DB Connor Burries, DB Jake Eihler, LB/DB Jackson Griffin and OL Jacob Newlin, juniors; OL Charlie Gardner, OL John Lyon and OL Austin Wiese, sophomores
What to expect: With almost all of the top skill-position players back from last year’s state runner-up squad, including at least five players with Division I scholarship offers, the Trojans have two simple goals — an undefeated season and a 6A title. Steele and Weems lead the state’s most loaded stable of running backs, and the multitalented Jackson has a pair of proven receiving targets in Veith and Delp. The offensive line has five new starters but plenty of size, including 6-foot-6, 320-pound center DeGraaf, a former Trojan who lived in Michigan last year, and the 6-10, 300-pound Buras.
Defensively, Center Grove features a destructive front line led by Curry, who’s being courted by every major college in America, and Minnesota commit Booker. Jackson Schott, a Miami of Ohio recruit with a knack for making big plays, anchors a deep linebacking corps. Opposing teams will likely try to attack the Trojans through the air — but will they have enough time to throw? Even if they do, Center Grove has plenty of experience in the secondary, especially at the corners with Soderdahl and Young. Watson is a reliable kicker and will likely double as the team’s punter as well.
Center Grove may or may not run the table; even without Warren Central, its schedule is a gauntlet that even a great team might not be able to get through unscathed. But on paper, this is clearly the best team in the state of Indiana and perhaps one of the top 10 or 20 in the nation. Unless the season is cut short by the pandemic, nothing short of a state championship will satisfy this crew.
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1. How do you feel like the team has progressed this offseason despite all of the hurdles in your way?
We all stayed in touch and everyone still put in work, lifting weights on their own … running in driveways, going on long runs, so I think we did about as well as possible.
2. How concerned are you about the threat of outbreaks leading to cancellations or cutting the season short?
We obviously know that it’s a possibility, but we can’t do anything about it, so no need to waste our time thinking about that; we’re just thinking about getting better for the season.
3. What one word best describes your team’s mentality going into the season?
Finish. Our slogan this year has been "Start 2 Finish," so that’s definitely a big one.
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