INDIANAPOLIS
After five consecutive weeks of out-of-state opposition, Center Grove was due a dose of Hoosier hospitality.
Only at first, host Lawrence Central wasn’t all that hospitable.
It wasn’t always pretty, but the Trojans, the state’s second-ranked team in Class 6A, did what they needed to do to gradually separate itself from host Lawrence Central, winning 31-7 on Friday night.
“It felt great. There’s a lot of familiarity. We’ve seen these teams before, we had a good game plan going into the week, and we’ve just played them for a long time,” Trojans senior linebacker Owen Bright said. “You know what to expect. You know they have great athletes.
“They’re a big-play team. We didn’t play the best, but came out with a win.”
Senior receiver Noah Coy finished with 10 receptions for 132 yards to lead the Trojans (5-1), while senior backs Rylan Cook and Matthew Yoder rushed for 84 and 72 yards, respectively. Quarterback Tyler Cherry completed 15 of 23 pass attempts for 203 yards.
The Trojans’ defense bent, but rarely broke, surrendering just the one touchdown.
Center Grove had won the past five meetings with LC by a combined score of 231-51, the Bears’ last triumph being on this same field midway through the 2017 regular season, 14-12.
The Trojans scored the game’s first 17 points, eventually settling in with a 17-7 halftime lead.
Lawrence Central received the opening kickoff, but three plays in quarterback Bryson Luter threw over the middle, only to have his pass picked off by Trojan defensive back Brody Boswell at the LC 41.
Center Grove capitalized, using only five plays to go the distance. Cook accounted for the final 24, his touchdown burst up the middle coming with 9:11 left in the opening period.
It took two more offensive series for the Trojans to again cash in, this time through the air.
With 2:47 remaining in the first, Cherry threw a screen left to Coy, who cut back toward the middle of the field, eventually made his way to the opposite sideline and taking off for a 50-yard score to make it 14-0.
Senior kicker Patrick Smith split the uprights for a 17-0 cushion at 4:41 of the second, points set up by speedy freshman Drake McClurg’s 29-yard punt return to the Bears’ 13. Lawrence Central responded with a 72-yard drive in only six plays on the ensuing series to make it a 10-point game.
The Bears’ points were on Luter’s 22-yard pass to senior receiver Ahmaad Duff, who used some nifty footwork to free himself for a clear path to the end zone.
Center Grove made itself some breathing room with a 79-yard scoring drive to start the second half, Cherry’s 9-yard TD pass to Cook upping it to 24-7 at 7:15 of the third quarter. The big play was up-man Bright running 25 yards on a fourth-and-4 in which the Trojans were lined up to punt from their own 39.
Yoder scooted 16 yards along the right side for the game’s final points with 9:20 left.
“It was good to get back to the roots of the MIC and play some teams we know,” Trojans coach Eric Moore said. “Lawrence Central is going to be a tough tournament out. They have great athletes, and congratulations to them. Hopefully they have a great rest of the season.
“We made a lot of mistakes tonight that we normally don’t make, but our guys took care of it and made big plays.”
