A time for cheer: Cheerleaders prepare for state championship game

A lot of practice goes into making a moment as big as this special.

The Center Grove High School Trojans could become the first Class 6A team to win back-to-back football titles in Indiana history. The team is undefeated in 27 games during those two seasons. Behind the scenes, Center Grove’s cheerleaders — like everyone else in the tight-knit community — are preparing to cheer on the team, and if they’re lucky, share in the big moment Saturday. The only difference is, they’ll be right there on the field with them.

To prepare the cheerleaders for what could be a historic day at Lucas Oil Stadium, Gabby Lowry, who cheered for 10 years and graduated from Center Grove last year, is helping with choreography.

“You have to be tight in your dancing so every move looks crisp, it engages the crowd and goes along with the music,” Lowry said. “Obviously, there’s triple the amount of people at least (at the game). The stadium’s huge. You got to get the nerves out of the way and perfect everything.”

Preparation isn’t just practicing the same moves. It’s continual adjustments to the routine, said Nicole Delp, varsity cheer coach.

“Something I really appreciate about the girls, they brought game-day cheerleading to life with Center Grove with the crowd involvement and bringing the community in,” Delp said.

“The cheerleaders have a role of connecting the team to the fans, and I don’t think people understand how hard they work or how difficult it is to lift people the same size as you. You have to be really strong.”

Jasmine Cangany, Margo Gardner and Makena Wallace may very well be cheering at their last football game this weekend, when the Trojans take on the Westfield High School Shamrocks in the title game.

The high school seniors have been cheering together for years, first on the freshmen squad, then on the junior varsity squad as sophomores, and now on the varsity squad. In fact, they have all been cheerleading since about the time they started kindergarten, the girls said.

“My mom was a high school cheerleader growing up, so I was exposed to the positivity cheerleaders could bring to the crowd,” Gardner said.

As a varsity cheerleader, Gardner has been able to cheer at both home and away games for Center Grove, something she couldn’t do in junior varsity as an underclassman, when she was limited to home games. While Lucas Oil Stadium is a neutral field, the atmosphere is unmatched, as both teams are within close grasp of the state title. Last year, as students were on staggered schedules due to the coronavirus pandemic, the community rallied around the football team even more, and the Trojans won the state title.

“This is where the Colts play, like ‘wow, we’ve made it, we’re at state,’” Gardner said. “The energy was ecstatic. The school really came together in such an off-year. We came together, even though we didn’t get to see each other (often). We supported our team to the state finals.”

Wallace, like Cangany and Gardner, will be cheering in her very last high school football game Saturday, though she may pursue cheer in college, she said.

“It’s honestly amazing, it’s a whole different atmosphere. Being on that big of an indoor stadium field is breathtaking,” Wallace said. “It’s very bittersweet for me. Football cheer is everything to me, and this will be my last ever (high school football) game.”

For Cangany, Saturday will be the last time she ever plans to set foot on a football field as a cheerleader.

“The bonds you create with your teammates are special. You’ve had friendships with them for years on end,” Cangany said. “As a senior, it’s sad. This is the last football game I’ll cheer ever. I hope the team comes out and does its best and we win the championship.”