Six years ago, the current group of Center Grove football seniors defeated Carmel for a state championship as sixth-graders.
On Friday night, the Trojans will attempt to cap their high school careers in similar fashion when they face the Greyhounds in the Class 6A state final at Lucas Oil Stadium.
“When we played in the state in sixth grade, it was like a dream to everyone on that team for the Trojans to go back in high school and play them as seniors,” Center Grove senior linebacker Bailey Bennett said. “And what do you know? We are. So it’s pretty cool.”
This will mark the third week in a row that the Trojans are facing a repeat showdown with a Metropolitan Interscholastic Conference rival. Center Grove avenged its lone loss by beating Warren Central in a regional game, then defeated Ben Davis for a second time in last week’s semistate. Next up is Carmel, who the Trojans defeated back on Sept. 2, 19-6.
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Click here to purchase photos from this galleryCenter Grove is ranked first in the state by Jeff Sagarin’s computer, and it has eight victories in nine games against the teams ranked second through 11th. Another win against Carmel, currently rated fourth, would make it nine for 10.
The regular-season schedule that the Trojans face is tough enough. Going against these three league foes for a second time — and in consecutive weeks — is a Herculean labor.
“This is like ‘Nightmare on Elm Street’ three weeks in a row for us with Warren Central, Ben Davis and Carmel, who are the three hardest, most physical, well-coached teams on your schedule,” Center Grove coach Eric Moore said. “Even in our conference, we might play two in row, then you have a break, but three in a row?”
“It’s definitely been tough,” Bennett added, “but I think it’s prepared us so well for Carmel, because we’ve obviously had the toughest road to go to the state finals, so I think we’ll be a lot more ready than they are.”
Bennett said he has relationships with a couple of Greyhounds players through his 7-on-7 team, but he’s not talking to them this week. The rest of the Center Grove players are on that same page — that is, if they even had any Carmel friendships to begin with.
“I try to stay away from them, you know?” senior defensive lineman Dan Root said.
As difficult as the three straight repeat engagements have been, there is a silver lining — because of their familiarity with Warren Central, Ben Davis and Carmel, postseason preparation has actually been a little bit easier.
“It’s been exhausting,” senior offensive lineman Clay Hadley said, “but we’ve practiced for the teams earlier in the year, so we have a basic understanding of what they do. So now we can just fine-tune everything and roll.”
Regardless of how true that might be, there’s no denying that the Trojans have had one heck of a gauntlet to run this season. If they end it with a second consecutive championship, that trophy will have been hard-earned.
Root says that one of the keys is staying healthy through a draining slate that requires going against big opponents every week — and while everyone is beat up at this point in the season, he says he feels good about where the Trojans are heading into Friday.
Moore just hopes his team is the last one standing.
“For us trying to go back-to-back, this is the most mentally exhausting thing I’ve been a part of,” he said, “and it’s got to be physically exhausting for the kids, because it is for me. It’s a high-contact, knockout NFL season every Friday night.”
Only one more to go.
