The final week of the regular season can make for a gray area for high school football teams, with fall break going on for many and the state tournament bracket already laid out.
Tonight seems different.
Hype surrounding the eighth installment of the Center Grove-Cathedral series began long before the respective No. 1-ranked squads in Class 6A and 5A had been dominant in their first eight games.
Additionally, there is the Whiteland-Greenwood series picking back up after the 2020 contest was cancelled due to COVID-19 contact tracing within the Woodmen program.
In the case of both games, coaches and players aren’t lacking sources for motivation.
“It’s a game for pride sake and for record sake,” said Trojans coach Eric Moore, whose team is ranked ninth nationally by both USA Today and MaxPreps. “Both of us have undefeated seasons going, and pretty soon one of us isn’t going to have that.
“The hardest part is to keep the kids focused. They’re on break this week, and if it’s not Warren Central, Carmel or Ben Davis, it’s hard for our kids to think it’s an impact game because it’s all conference-related. It just happens to be a game between two powerhouse programs in the state of Indiana, at least this season.”
The Trojans must adjust to a grass surface, as the game is being played at the football field at the former Arlington High School. Center Grove has played 39 consecutive games on artificial turf, with their last game on grass a 31-9 loss at New Palestine in Week 2 of the 2018 season.
Cathedral, meanwhile, is 3-0 at Arlington this season, outscoring Penn, Chatard and Hammond Morton by a combined 126-14.
Adapting to a new playing surface won’t be an issue for Whiteland, which is performing its customary October resurgence and looking to take down Greenwood for the seventh time in the past nine seasons.
Warriors coach Darrin Fisher, who is 13-5 against the Woodmen, looks forward to facing Greenwood again. The teams had played annually every year since 1966 prior to last year’s interruption.
Whiteland nails down its fourth straight winning season and ninth in 10 years with a victory. The Woodmen are attempting to regain some semblance of momentum after losing last week at Franklin, 42-14.
“We enjoy the game because it’s a rivalry for us, and we have all the respect in the world for the brand of football Greenwood plays,” Fisher said. “They have improved as the year has gone on, and I think they’re probably maximizing the talent they have.
“The pressure for us as a team is that we’re trying to elevate our play, and Greenwood is a really good test for us this time of year.”
Whiteland has a 3-3 mark against Mid-State Conference opponents and can finish in the top half of the final standings, while Greenwood (1-5 in the league) is intent on sidestepping sharing the bottom rung with Perry Meridian, which hosts second-place Mooresville this evening.
The thing I enjoy the most is that (Woodmen coach Mike) Campbell and I get along really well,” Fisher said. “He’s the same person whether they win or we win, and I’d like to think I’m the same way.”
