INDIANAPOLIS
Surround a heated conference football rivalry with walls and a retractable roof and the stakes immediately go up.
Way, <em>way</em> up.
Modeling a bulls-eye since August, defending Class 6A state champion Center Grove attempted to pick up a second consecutive championship trophy Friday night.
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Click here to purchase photos from this galleryThe Trojans fell short in dramatic fashion, losing 16-13 in overtime to Carmel at Lucas Oil Stadium.
A 27-yard field goal by junior kicker Conner Coghlan on first down were the winning points as the sea of blue-shirted fans on the stadium’s west side broke into celebration.
Center Grove (12-2) forced six Carmel turnovers, but could only produce 217 total yards on offense.
Eighteen-year Trojans head coach Eric Moore is now 2-2 in title games.
“You’ve got to give Carmel credit for having a great drive at the end of the game, and to our guys for fighting back and tying it for overtime,” said Moore, who watched sophomore Luke Eckert’s 50-yard field goal make it over the crossbar as time expired in the fourth quarter.
“We made way too many errors on offense tonight, and our defense again was absolutely phenomenal. I’m just real proud of our guys’ effort. We’re tired. It’s been a long run, man, playing Columbus North, then Warren Central and Ben Davis. I just really appreciate the kids and their effort.”
An 11-yard touchdown run by Greyhounds senior running back Jerome Halsell with 46 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter gave Carmel its first lead at 13-10.
Center Grove started on its own 27 and managed to get to the Carmel 33-yard line with one second showing.
Eckert’s field goal as time expired sent the game to overtime with each team getting an offensive possession from the opponent’s 10-yard line.
Center Grove started on offense first.
Senior Titus McCoy started with a 9-yard run up the middle to the Carmel 1, but appeared to sustain a leg injury before limping off the field under his own power.
Russ Yeast on the next play attempted to dive across the plane, but the ball was jarred loose while he was in midair. Greyhounds’ cornerback Austin Newland snatched the football out of midair and Carmel was in business.
Instead of risking a turnover with running or passing plays, Carmel coach John Herbert opted to send his kicking team onto the field on first down.
Coghlan, who coming into Friday’s game had booted 11 field goals this season, snuck No. 12 just right of the left upright to seal the program’s first 6A title and the program’s eighth state championship overall.
Senior linebacker Nick Arbuckle’s 12 tackles led Center Grove defensively, while end Dan Root and linebacker Bailey Bennett added eight and seven, respectively.
The Trojans led 10-3 at the half as the defense set up both of the team’s first-half scores by forcing fumbles.
Midway through the opening stanza, Bennett stripped the football from Greyhounds’ back Camari Hunt. Junior defensive back Brett Boswell scooped it up and advanced it to the Carmel 33.
Unable to cash in with a touchdown, Center Grove settled for a 25-yard field goal by Eckert from the right hash mark with 2:14 remaining in the first.
Later in the half, Corbin Laque forced a Carmel fumble with senior defensive back Logan Bontrager falling on the pigskin at the Greyhounds’ 25.
This led to the Trojans’ first touchdown of the game, a 1-yard blast up the gut from McCoy 2:52 before halftime.
Aided by a personal foul on the Center Grove defense, Carmel on the ensuing possession made it into field goal range late in the second quarter. Coghlan drilled a 42-yard field goal with two seconds left to make it a 10-3 score at intermission.
The Greyhounds marched 61 yards in 12 plays on the first series of the third period, but got only to the Trojans’ 5 before settling for Coghlan’s 22-yard field goal.
This made it a 10-6 Center Grove advantage with 7:43 remaining in the third quarter.
Yeast’s 54-yard kickoff return then put the Trojans at the Carmel 45. They got as far as the 30, but a sack by the Greyhounds’ defense took Center Grove out of field goal range.
