Glimpses of brilliance displayed by Drake McClurg in the past were eclipsed by how the Center Grove’s slot receiver performed Friday night.
The sophomore caught 11 passes for 238 yards and a pair of touchdowns to lead the Trojans, ranked sixth in Class 6A, to a 24-10 victory at Louisville Trinity.
The game, which was delayed 75 minutes due to storms in the area, eventually became McClurg’s time to shine.
“The kids were awesome tonight. They all played really well, but Drake was the difference,” Center Grove coach Eric Moore said. “He made catches that were out of this world.
“All the receivers made at least one big catch, and the offensive line did a really solid job.”
Senior quarterback Gabe McWilliams had time to pick apart the Trinity defense, completing 21 of 34 pass attempts for 365 yards and three scores — the other an 18-yard strike to senior Brevin Holubar to start the scoring.
“It gives us a lot of confidence that we can throw the football against great competition,” Moore said.
McWilliams’ 14-yarder to McClurg made it a 14-0 game before Trinity got on the board on a 14-yard touchdown run from Zach Floyd. The Trojans countered with a 24-yard field goal by Dallas Cornpropst for a 17-7 spread.
Trinity kicker Carson Hilbert made good from 32 yards out to make it a one-score game, but McWilliams and McClurg hooked up for a 79-yard TD pass to close the scoring.
Senior Brady Dicken caught three passes for 59 yards for Center Grove; Tristan Baxter had two receptions for 50 yards. Senior running back Austin Hennessy led the Trojans’ ground attack with 52 yards on 18 carries.
Center Grove (2-1) returns to action when it travels to defending 6A state champion Ben Davis for a Week 4 rematch of last season’s semistate, a game the Giants won in overtime.
