St. Edward senior quarterback Casey Bullock was behind center last season when the Eagles won their second straight Ohio Division I state title.
Submitted photo | Kevin Wilker
The historical similarities are eerie — or would that be Erie?
Virtual reflections of one another when it comes to recent big-school football dominance, Ohio powerhouse St. Edward welcomes Center Grove in the season opener for both teams.
The game is Saturday at noon inside 23,000-seat Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton, located little more than a shanked punt from the front doors of the Pro Football Hall of Fame and an hour’s drive south of the shores of Lake Erie.
A state line might be one of the few things separating these schools, located 330 miles apart.
“We’ve obviously heard of (Center Grove),” Eagles coach Tom Lombardo said. “We played Cathedral in 2017 and 2018, so we are familiar with the caliber of team, and I have a lot of respect for them.
“They’re well-coached and disciplined and, honestly, they remind me a lot of us. It’s just two good football teams, and I think it’s going to be a great game.”
Center Grove is the three-time defending Class 6A state champion in Indiana; the Eagles have won the Buckeye State’s last two Division I titles.
Oh, there’s more.
St. Edward, located in the Cleveland suburb of Lakewood, also reigned supreme in 2010, 2014, 2015 and 2018. The Trojans’ run of championships was kicked off by the 2008 and 2015 teams.
“I’m super excited,” Center Grove senior linebacker Owen Bright said. “It’s going to be a really good experience for everybody. It’s definitely more than us versus them. It’s Indiana versus Ohio. But we’re just focused on us right now.”
This marks the first time a Center Grove football team has left the state to play a game in consecutive seasons.
Last year’s club dropped a 29-28 double-overtime overtime decision at Louisville Trinity in Week 3. The Trojans return to Ohio for the first time in a decade, their last visit resulting in a 55-37 victory at Cincinnati LaSalle in 2013.
“It’s a great experience for the kids, and the NFL is letting us go to the Hall of Fame,” Center Grove coach Eric Moore said. “There are a lot of great things about it.”
St. Edward was founded in 1949 as an all-boys Catholic high school staffed mainly by Holy Cross Brothers from South Bend. Since then, Eagles athletic programs have claimed an Ohio-best total of 75 state championships and 11 national titles (wrestling has been crowned state champ 36 times).
This season’s St. Edward football team is led by quarterback Casey Bullock, a 6-foot-2, 205-pound senior who was at the controls last season as well. Bullock, who has verbally committed to Davidson College, can hurt defenses both as a passer and runner.
He has plenty of soon-to-be Division I talent around him — blueblood D-I talent, that is. Loghan Thomas, a defensive end committed to Notre Dame, and massive offensive tackles Devontae and Deontae Armstrong, twin brothers headed to Ohio State, and Ben Roebuck (Michigan).
The Eagles also feature a future Northwestern Wildcat in defensive end Troy Regovich.
Moore, who starts his 25th season at Center Grove, will be on the sidelines for his 311th game as Trojans coach.
Along the way, his program has battled some of the best ball clubs the state has produced, among them former conference rivals Ben Davis (state champions in 2001-02), Warren Central (2003-06) and the previously dominant 2011 Carmel team that had to rally for a 21-17 home semistate win against the Trojans.
On paper, this St. Edward team ranks a notch or two above.
“Oh, yeah. Absolutely. By far. These guys have all kinds of depth, plus they just have superstars,” Moore said. “We’re just going to give our best, and we have eight more (regular-season) weeks of football after that.”
THIS WEEK’S GAMES
Greenwood at Seymour, 7 p.m. today
Whiteland at Jeffersonville, 7 p.m. today
Indian Creek at Batesville, 7 p.m. today
Tindley at Edinburgh, 7 p.m. today
Greenwood Christian at Park Tudor, 7 p.m. today
Southport at Roncalli, 7 p.m. today
New Albany at Franklin, 7:30 p.m. today
Center Grove vs. St. Edward (Ohio), noon Saturday*
* – at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton, Ohio
