INDIANAPOLIS
Barring any postseason meetings, Center Grove isn’t going to see Pike on a football field anytime soon.
Ranked second in Class 6A, the visiting Trojans waved goodbye to a series that dates back to 2009 by pounding the winless Red Devils, 48-0, on Friday night.
With Center Grove no longer a member of the Metropolitan Interscholastic Conference, a number of its former league rivalries appear to be a thing of the past.
“We played (Pike) before they even got in the MIC, and we’ve always had a pretty good relationship up here,” said Trojans coach Eric Moore after watching his squad improve to 6-1. “I hate not to play anybody in the MIC.
“We needed to get in and out of here and not get anyone hurt. That’s the big thing. I thought we stayed sharp tonight, and it was good for our defense not to give up any big plays.”
Center Grove’s ground game was on point all night, amassing 414 yards on 45 carries.
Seniors Micah Coyle and Jalen Thomeson rambled for 149 and 127 yards, respectively, each scoring two touchdowns. Junior quarterback Tyler Cherry passed for 110 yards, completing passes to five different players.
The Trojans defense limited Pike’s offense to only 94 total yards. Remove a fourth-quarter run by quarterback Avery Douglas that covered 22 yards, and most Red Devil plays were gains between 1 and 4 yards.
A running clock went into effect at 10:28 of the third quarter after the Trojans made it a 36-0 score on a 9-yard touchdown run by Thomeson.
Pike’s refusal to continue the football series is a fact not lost on Trojans players.
“I think we try to give them something to remember,” junior linebacker Owen Bright said. “We kind of find it disrespectful that they don’t want to come play us anymore.
“We’ve had a lot of injuries the past couple weeks. A dead crowd out here, so we didn’t have much excitement. I just think everybody wanted to get in, get the running clock and get out with no injuries.”
Center Grove rolled up 341 yards of offense in the first half to take a 29-0 lead at the break.
Pike, meanwhile, was limited to only 54 total yards prior to intermission. Red Devils punter Keamon Turner stayed plenty busy, sinking his right foot into seven boots in the first two periods alone.
The Trojans cashed in on their second possession, Coyle’s 25-yard blast straight up the middle punctuating a seven-play, 53-yard drive.
Cherry connected with Noah Coy in the back of the end zone for a 7-yard TD strike at 8:45 of the second for a 15-0 advantage.
Coyle’s second score of the half was a thing of beauty, a 64-yard run on which teammate Grant Baldwin ran interference and Coyle made a great cut to the left at the Pike 38 and motored untouched the rest of the way.
Center Grove’s final points of the opening half were with 32.9 seconds remaining, Cherry finding Thomeson over the middle for a 25-yard touchdown pass on what was third and 15.
Junior running back Matthew Yoder found the end zone on a second-half scamper of 53 yards; sophomore Jack Browning scored on a 7-yard run.
Center Grove is at Lawrence North next Friday.
