BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Talk to Center Grove High School defensive end Joel Hale and his teammates about the key to slowing a great back, and one phrase will invariably come out.

“Keep him in a phone booth,’’ Hale said.

The Trojans gave Bloomington North star running back D’Angelo Roberts so little room, it felt like he was in a mouse hole.

Roberts, the state’s third-leading rusher with an average of 238 yards per game entering Friday night, finished with just 63 yards on 18 carries as Center Grove rolled to a 48-7 victory in the Class 5A Sectional 7 final, the fifth sectional title in the past 10 years for the defending state champions.

“I’m just real proud of my football team,‘’ said Center Grove coach Eric Moore, whose team hosts Floyd Central in a regional game next week. "This was a tough little sectional for us. It was a tough draw and I don’t know if we were really viewed as the favorite anymore.’’

Center Grove (9-3) can play with nearly any team in the state with defense like that. Roberts rushed for 403 yards in a victory over Whiteland last week, but he had 28 yards on 12 carries in the first half as Center Grove led 34-0.

“We just knew we had to do our jobs and hit our gaps,‘’ Center Grove defensive end Joel Cox said. "We knew if he had nowhere to run, we were going to stop him.’’

Moore noted Center Grove’s defense was as healthy as it has been all season, too. It was a bit banged up when it allowed Warren Central standout Shakir Bell to rush for 305 yards three weeks earlier.

“I knew our defensive line was good and played well, but the difference was our linebackers,‘’ Moore said. "That was a little scary because that’s where Bell broke us down. Tonight, our linebackers were healthy and our corners and our safeties were healthy. It was the team we started with this year and it showed.’’

The Trojans offense did its part as well, rushing for 248 yards and keeping Roberts off the field. Bloomington North (8-4) ran just nine plays in the second and third quarters.

Center Grove led 7-0 entering what turned out to be a wild second quarter. An interception by Zack Mattox set up a 15-yard scoring run by Jimmy Boshears.

The Trojans then put together an eight-play, 85-yard drive, capped by Boshears’ 5-yard run. Bloomington North fumbled the ensuing kickoff to set up a 1-yard touchdown run by Center Grove’s Nolan Weidman — his first of three — and the Trojans led 27-0 with 6.9 seconds left in the half.

North took the kickoff, ran a play and called timeout to run another even though the Cougars were going into the wind. Hale intercepted quarterback Jake Tieken’s screen pass and returned it 25 yards for a touchdown as the clock ran out.

“That’s my first touchdown ever,‘’ said Hale. "I don’t even know what to say. I just knew after I scored all my teammates were there celebrating with me.’’

[chart]
||||||||
|Center Grove|7|27|7|7|—|48|
|Bloomington North|0|0|0|7|—|7|
[end chart]

CG — Jimmy Daggett 9 run (Damiano Mancini kick)

CG — Jimmy Boshears 15 run (Mancini kick)

CG — Boshears 5 run (kick failed)

CG — Nolan Weidman (Mancini kick)

CG — Joel Hale 25 interception return (Mancini kick)

CG — Weidman 1 run (Mancini kick)

CG — Weidman 1 run (Mancini kick)

BN — D’Angelo Roberts 40 pass from Jake Tieken (Connor Fitzgerald kick)

[chart]
||CG|BN|
|First Downs|18|6|
|Rushes-Yards|50-248|26-80|
|Comp-Att-Int|4-6-1|3-12-2|
|Passing Yards|89|74|
|Fumbles-Lost|1-0|2-1|
|Penalties-Yards|6-65|8-70|
|Punts-Avg.|1-47.0|2-29.5|
[end chart]

Rushing - Center Grove: Boshears 10-77, Daggett 12-58, Weidman 13-36, David Dietel 2-22, Chris Flowers 2-22, Spencer Weeks 3-19, Nick Markowicz 7-10, Team 1(-1). Bloomington North: Roberts 18-63, Tieken 2-6, Arvin Wells 1-5, Dylan Anderson 2-4, Sean Breton 2-1, Casey Smith 1-1.

Passing — Center Grove: Kyle Barth 4-6-1 89. Bloomington North: Tieken 3-12-2 74.

Receiving — Center Grove: Flowers 1-45, Boshears 2-28, Andrew Gudeman 1-16. Bloomington North: Roberts 2-65, Smith 1-9