A deep Center Grove team took advantage of three South turnovers to win Week 9 showdown.
BLOOMINGTON ― Walking off the field, Center Grove football head coach Eric Moore noted to Bloomington South's head coach, Gabe Johnson, how physical the Panthers had played.
The Trojans have become one of the Midwest's premier football programs, so there's no better measuring stick in Indiana. That is why Johnson signed up to play Center Grove. His team has championship aspirations in Class 5A and wanted to see how those match up with a program that's always in the final four of 6A.
The Trojans were big, strong, fast and deep, just what Johnson wanted his team to see on the final week of the season on Friday, Oct. 17, in a 33-12 win. South had to be almost perfect to win, and three turnovers and a run game that never emerged did them in.
"We're going to be able to handle physicality with anyone," Johnson said. "I stand by our players, the way we practice and what we do in our weight room. That alone isn't enough.
"Good teams make you play really good football, and we didn't play good enough football for long enough. I thought our defense held up fairly well at times. I think we played probably too many snaps. We had to sustain some drives and they're a tough out. We struggled running the ball. They're just good."
Center Grove's only loss is to a potential semistate foe for South in Cathedral, which will likely face No. 1 New Palestine in a sectional final and be the favorite for a semistate matchup for whichever team comes out of the south.
"It was a great experience," South defensive end Ross Ogden said. "Especially leading into the tournament. We came out and fought and a few things didn't go our way, but speaking defensively, we definitely fought today. I'm super proud of our defense and what we can do in the playoffs."
And that is why this game was scheduled, their first in the regular season since 1997.
"I don't think we'll see a bigger, more physical team than that," Johnson said. "There's nothing we won't be prepared for."
Center Grove football, by the numbers
Center Grove (8-1) provided challenges on both sides of the ball and plenty of Division I talent for South (8-1) to butt heads against. The roster has duplicate numbers, like a college program, with over 100 varsity players.
A solid sophomore quarterback who threw for 221 yards while connecting with 10 different receivers. The Trojans, with a stable of five quality running backs, used three of them to pile up 180 yards on 41 carries behind a front five that went 6-foot-6, 330 pounds (IU commit CJ Scifres); 6-6, 250; 6-4, 300; 6-5, 285 and a 6-4, 230 at tight end.
"I think, as a whole, we prepare really well," Ogden said. "I think we were able to physically hang with them."
South's run game was limited to just 87 yards on 27 carries, just six went for more than three yards, with a long of 17. It didn't help that starting right tackle Wes Fulford left with an injury.
"We go as our run game goes, and it probably wasn't where we wanted it today," Johnson said. "Then you become a little predictable."
Defensively, the front four and linebackers had a real nose for the football, deflecting six passes. Three passes were picked off by a lineman, a linebacker and a cornerback.
"We'll have to take a look at it," Johnson said. 'We've got a 6-5 quarterback. I think they're pretty good up front and timed some things up. Good teams pose problems, and we've got to make sure we get better from it.
"Scheduling Center Grove was a very deliberate thing for us, deliberate in how we want to prepare for the tournament. Not that we didn't want to win the game, but the only thing we lost was a game."
Time to move on
That said, South had plenty of moments. Ogden's interception led to the first South score to get the Panthers within 7-6 late in the first quarter.
The Panthers sacked Sloan twice and gave up just four runs of more than five yards. They held the Trojans to just two field goals in the final nine minutes of the first half after Jalen Williams' 50-yard TD catch made it 14-12.
But trailing just 20-12, the defense was on the field just a bit too long in the second half as South gained just 51 yards and had two first downs.
The Panthers got the stop they needed, kicking off the third quarter, but the offense went three and out and the punt left Center Grove in great field position at the South 45. Two minutes later, CG led 26-12.
"Halftime, we felt great," Ogden said. "We knew the first drive out of half was going to be a big drive and we set the tone and got a good stop"
There was no quit, but CG put it away after the last interception, scoring with 4:58 left.
"I'm proud of the kids," Johnson said. "They fought. The key now is, we've got to learn from it. Learn and grow watch the film, make the adjustments, stay after it and go. And I know our guys will do that."
CENTER GROVE 33, BLOOMINGTON SOUTH 12
Center Grove (8-1) 7 | 13 | 6 | 7 — 33
Bloomington South (8-1) 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 — 12
FIRST QUARTER
CG: Jayden Biggerstaff 54 run (Dallas Cornpropst kick), 9:18. CG, 7-0.
BS: Braylen Townsend 3 run (kick blocked), 2:10. CG, 7-6.
SECOND QUARTER
CG: Dominick Berry 27 pass from Oscar Sloan (Cornpropst kick), 10:39. CG 14-6.
BS: Jalen Williams 50 pass from Duncan Combs (pass failed), 8:59. CG, 14-12.
CG: Cornpropst 34 FG, 3:22. CG 17-12.
CG: Cornpropst 29 FG, :00. CG 20-12.
THIRD QUARTER
CG: Ricky Lange 16 pass from Sloan (kick failed), 6:23. CG 26-12.
FOURTH QUARTER
CG: Brodie Tilton 2 run (Cornpropst kick), 4:58. CG 33-12.
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING
Center Grove (45-173): Jayden Biggerstaff 10-79, Brodie Tilton 19-52, Ricky Lange 12-49, Nolan Rees 1-3. Oscar Sloan 3-(-7).
Bloomington South (27-87): Shaun Cooper 10-47, Braylen Townsend 15-41, Duncan Combs 2-(-1).
PASSING
Center Grove (17-29-1-221): Sloan 17-29-1-221.
Bloomington South (8-21-3-138): Combs 7-20-3-138; Jonathan Winstead 0-1-0-0.
RECEIVING
Center Grove: Dominick Barry 3-41, Aiden Francis 3-30, Charlie Annee 2-32, Biggerstaff 2-27, Cade Timmons 1-46, Lange 1-16, Evan Wischmeier 1-14, Elijah Williams 1-11, Rhys Oliver 1-5, Roman Youngs 1-(-4).
Bloomington South: Jalen Williams 4-102, Sam Giles 4-37.
This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: Bloomington South football finds lessons in loss to Center Grove
Category: General Sports
