Center Grove goes back-to-back with another state championship win over Westfield
GREENWOOD, Ind. (BVM) — Anyone who follows high school football in Indiana knows how dominant Center Grove High School has been over the past two seasons. As the clear team to beat in the state, the Trojans again made it to the IHSAA Class 6A state championship game, and once again would be facing off with Westfield.
Although they rolled through many of their contests this season, the Shamrocks gave the Trojans a true test in what ended up being a classic state championship game.
Last season, coming off a 2019 state championship loss to Carmel, Center Grove finished a perfect 14-0, earning a 38-14 win over Westfield in the state championship behind the legs of Indiana’s Mr. Football, Carson Steele. With a ton of talent returning including starting quarterback and Tennessee commit Tayven Jackson, Indiana Football Hall of Fame coach Eric Moore’s guys were seen as a favorite to repeat in 2021.
During the regular season, Center Grove was dominant. The team’s greatest challenge came against 5A state champion Indianapolis Cathedral, a game the Trojans still won 21-6. The postseason saw more of the same, although Lawrence North — a team Center Grove beat by 24 in the regular season — did challenge the Trojans in a close 29-19 contest.
Yet, the following week, Center Grove easily defeated Ben Davis to set up a championship game rematch with Westfield.
The win against Ben Davis was the 27th consecutive victory for Center Grove, and 23 of those wins were by 20 points or more. During the streak, the Trojans averaged nearly 42 points per game, and were allowing less than nine points per contest thanks to their elite defense.
Still, Westfield was going to prove to be a tough test as the Shamrocks came in as hot as any team in the state. Despite an opening-week loss to Cathedral and a couple of close calls against Brownsburg and Hamilton Southeastern, Westfield came into the state title game at an impressive 12-1.
Westfield boasts many stars on both ends, including edge rusher and Louisville commit Popeye Williams, as well as Ball State quarterback commit, Maximus Webster.
With Center Grove featuring Jackson on offense along with a defense littered with Division I commits in Caden Curry (Ohio State), Kalen Carroll (Cincinnati) and James Schott (Michigan State), there was plenty of talent set to do battle at Lucas Oil Stadium last weekend.
The heavyweight battle began as a bit of a back and forth affair. Despite Curry and Jackson each punching in short touchdown runs for the Trojans, they still found themselves down 14-13 midway through the second quarter thanks to two touchdown runs from Westfield’s Micah Hauser.
Being in a rare trailing position, Center Grove quickly answered on a 30-yard touchdown strike from Jackson to wide receiver Harrison Stomps. Coming out with another scoring drive to start the second half that was capped with a five-yard score from Micah Coyle, it looked like the Trojans were beginning to pull away.
However, Westfield fought back yet again. Hauser scored on another short touchdown run late in the third quarter to cut the score to 27-21. A defensive battle ensued until the final stages of the fourth quarter, when Webster and the Shamrocks mounted a drive that was all the way down to Center Grove’s 11-yard line.
With a 27-game win streak on the line, the Trojans yet again made a big play. Webster would attempt to complete a pass near the goal line, but it was intercepted by sophomore Owen Bright to preserve the victory, win streak and earn back-to-back state championships.
Congratulations to our Center Grove Trojans, the 2021 6A Back-to-Back Undefeated State Football Champions! #TrojanPride #UndefeatedStateChamps #BackToBack pic.twitter.com/i4YTVh32yz
— CG Sports Network (@CGSportsNetwork) November 28, 2021
“I’m proud of our guys for finishing the job off,” Moore said in an interview with Bally Sports Indiana after the game. “It was ugly, we didn’t do things the way the Trojans normally do.
“You don’t win state championships unless you have good quarterbacks and great defenses … defenses win championships and our defense has been unbelievable all year long.”
The loss sent Westfield home with an impressive 12-2 record. While there are no moral victories, the Shamrocks can come away knowing they played Center Grove as well as any opponent during this impressive win streak.
“Tonight was a great high school football game, played by two great communities and two great high schools,” Moore said. “Westfield played so hard and did as good a job as anyone has in two years playing us.”
For Center Grove, the state title is the fourth in program history, as they also won state championships in 2008 and 2015 in addition to the last two seasons. The Trojans are also the first team at the Class 6A level to ever win back-to-back state championships, and just the third IHSAA team since 1973 to go undefeated in two consecutive seasons.
“This is 28 straight wins for our team and our program,” Moore added. “It’s tough to win in high school each week, let alone 28 times. I just can’t say how proud I am of our kids.”
Earlier this week, Center Grove moved up to No. 6 in the USA TODAY Sports Super 25 high school football rankings, and are the only team from the Midwest to be ranked.
Although the finish against Westfield may not have been easy, Center Grove got the job done as it always has during its incredible streak. The past two years are seasons to remember forever for the Center Grove community, and will go down as one of the most impressive stretches in Indiana high school football history.
