Class 6A state championship
Westfield (12-1) vs. Center Grove (13-0)
When: 7 p.m.
Where: Lucas Oil Stadium, 500 S. Capitol Ave., Indianapolis
Admission: $15. Tickets were sold at participating schools in advance; Center Grove will have approximately 350 left for sale on Friday morning at Door 9 of the high school (Hall of Excellence). All seats are reserved, grouped in assigned pods of varying sizes. Masks are required at all times unless actively eating or drinking.
Gates open: The stadium will be cleared at the end of the Class 4A game before 6A ticket-holders are allowed in.
TV: Fox Sports Indiana
Webstream: IHSAATV.org (live broadcast will only be shown outside of Fox Sports Indiana coverage area)
Radio: KORN Country (100.3 FM)
Recent history: This will be the first meeting between the teams.
Common opponents: Cathedral beat Westfield, 56-20, in Week 1 and lost at Center Grove, 17-13, in Week 9.
Sagarin ratings: Westfield 103.92 (third in Indiana, second in Class 6A), Center Grove 117.99 (first in Indiana and Class 6A)
Players to watch: Westfield — QB Maximus Webster, RB/DB Micah Hauser, WR Mason Piening, WR Reid Schepers, DL Popeye Williams, LB Magwire Graybill, DB Kyle Pape; Center Grove — QB Tayven Jackson, RB Carson Steele, RB Daniel Weems, RB/WR Connor Delp, OL Carter DeGraaf, DT Caden Curry, DE Austin Booker, LB Jackson Schott, LB Trey Clark, DB/PR Mitchell Evans
What to look for: Westfield proved itself as the class of the state’s northern half, winning 12 in a row after a season-opening loss to Cathedral and posting convincing victories over Homestead and Merrillville the last two weeks. Webster is a 2,000-yard passer and also a threat with his legs, and Hauser is a tireless force who leads the team in both rushing and tackles. The Shamrocks are indeed on a roll. And yet few give them a snowball’s chance against a Trojan team that has dominated all season long against a schedule that ranked among the state’s toughest. Center Grove leads the state in scoring defense; it has shut out five opponents and not allowed more than 14 points in any game. It also has no real holes anywhere else; its offense ranks third among 6A teams in scoring, and it boasts perhaps the top kicker in the state in Watson. When the Trojans lost to Carmel in the state final last year, they turned the ball over four times in the first half. It would probably take at least a similar level of self-inflicted damage to give Westfield a chance. Center Grove has been preordained as the champion for a year, and it’s hard to envision a scenario that doesn’t end with the team claiming that trophy at night’s end.
