Avon High School senior running back Charles Davis® led the Orioles to a 24-21 victory over host Pike High School Red Devils in the Sectional 6 semifinals.
Davis rushed for 186 yards on 28 carries and scored a touchdown in what turned out to be one of the best games of last weekend.
Games of the Week:
Carmel vs. Warren Central:
After a brutal MIC conference schedule and two tournament games in maybe the toughest sectional in the state, both teams are ready and battle tested in what most are calling “the true state championship game.”
On Sept. 30, both teams played in the Circle City Classic high school challenge at Lucas Oil Stadium. In that game, Warren jumped out to a 19-0 first half lead and seemed to be on their way to blowing the Greyhounds out of Lucas Oil Stadium. The Greyhounds senior running back Jalen Duncan answered with a 78-yard touchdown run on the first play of the second half. Carmel went on to score 20 unanswered points in the second half and was up 20-19 with 1:10 left in the game.
Warren Central got the ball back on its own 41-yard line with no timeouts left. An 18-yard run by senior running back Deionte Buckley and a facemask penalty helped the warriors move the ball to the Carmel 22. After gaining only two yards on the next two plays, Warren coach John Hart sent out his kicker Max Hernandez for a game winning 37-yard field goal.
Almost a month later both teams will be playing each other for the sectional championship. What has changed in a month? The Carmel game could have served as a wake up call to the talented Warriors. Since the Carmel game, Warren is 4-0 and has won by a combined score of 199-40.
Did Carmel gain confidence from the week 7 Warren game? Carmel proved they could go toe to toe with the No. 13 team in the nation (Warren) and felt as though they did everything to give the game away with penalties and turnovers. The Greyhounds finished the game with 320 total yards while the Warriors finished with 213 yards.
Ben Davis vs. Avon:
Both schools share a thin border line; the kids have played against each other since 4th grade and they are both proud of their physical and disciplined style of play.
The 2011-12 Ben Davis Giants are a battle tested and mentally tough team. In week one of the season they beat Cathedral 24-21 by keeping them out of the end zone after three plays from the 1-yard line.
In the sectional semifinals last week, they came back in double overtime to beat a solid Brownsburg team 38-31. The Giants will face an equally battle tested Avon team that has won nine games in a row after losing its week one game against Hamilton Southeastern.
Avon has a physical running attack led by running back Charles “Fast” Davis and an offensive line that averages 6’3″ and 290 pounds. The Giants play an aggressive style of defense and blitz about 75 percent of the time on defense.
