Stepping away from the customary no-frills home uniform ensemble of the previous 22 football seasons, Center Grove didn’t look like Center Grove on Friday.
Then the game kicked off, and all looked familiar again.
The Trojans, ranked first in Class 6A, piled up 42 first-half points on 5A No. 7 Decatur Central on its way to a thorough 56-7 victory in which the final half was played with a running clock.
As good as the fresh Center Grove attire looked — black pants, black jerseys with red numbers and black numbers on the helmet — it performed every bit as impressively.
“I love them, I’m going to be honest,” Center Grove senior defensive end James Schott said of the team’s new look. “I didn’t think they were going to come out as nice as they were, but they match well. I mean, we’ve got the red and white stripes, and the black numbers on the helmet are crazy.”
Statistically, the Trojans didn’t run up the kind of lopsided numbers the final score would indicate, finishing with 255 yards of total offense to the Hawks’ 188.
The difference was the Trojans’ offense worked with a short field much of the night, and senior Kalen Carroll provided two touchdowns on a 27-yard interception return and an 84-yard return of a blocked field goal attempt in the final seconds of the second period.
“(Decatur Central) competed and came out and played hard,” Trojans coach Eric Moore said. “My thing was, let’s keep getting the ball back because we’ve got to put some points on them early. A team like that has so many talented kids.
“I was happy with the speed we played at and just our ferociousness in downhill play. We didn’t have to motivate guys to go make big hits and big plays. And our special teams were out of this world.”
Center Grove used two touchdown passes from Tayven Jackson, a 10-yard scoring run by the senior quarterback and Carroll’s runs to paydirt in dominating the first half.
Decatur Central opened the game with an onside kick, but it drifted out of bounds and the Trojans started their opening drive at midfield. Six plays were needed before senior running back Daniel Weems motored through a huge hole for a 19-yard touchdown at 10:15 of the first period.
The Hawks fumbled the ensuing kickoff, with Schott recovering for Center Grove. Jackson’s scoring run to the right made it a two-TD game before DC had a chance to run its first offensive play.
At 1:33 of the first, Jackson found senior tight end Shane Bennett for a 5-yard TD. Jackson’s other touchdown strike was a 42-yarder over the middle to senior Brandon Wheat at 4:26 of the second quarter. Jackson passed for 82 yards on the night and became the program’s career leader in passing yardage.
Decatur Central averted the shutout midway through the third quarter when Javon Tracy scored on a 6-yard run. The Trojans tacked on two more touchdowns of their own, both coming on runs from senior Austin Green, who wound up the game’s leading ground gainer with 60 yards on 10 carries.
Weems picked up 51 yards on nine carries but, like the other Trojans starters, was an observer in the second half as Moore began using younger players.
“Obviously, we love when our sophomores and juniors get in,” Schott said. “That will help next year when (the seniors) are gone and then they come in. It’s good for them to get all the experience they can get.”
Center Grove next attempts to keep hold of the Copper Kettle next week when it plays at 6A No. 2 Carmel.
