By Ryan Pallencer, Hendricks County Flyer
11/6/2008
In a matchup of two of the hottest teams in Class 5A, Avon (9-2) travels to Ben Davis (8-3) for the Sectional 6 title at 7 p.m. Friday.
“It looks like it’s going to be a good game,” Avon coach Dave Shelbourne said. “Ben Davis has a great team and excellent tradition and we’re having a good season. Both teams look like they’re playing pretty good football this time of year, so we’re looking forward to a good game.”
After beginning the season 2-2, Avon has won seven games in a row, including sectional victories over Indianapolis Tech and Southport.
The Orioles are led by running back Darren Oliver (1234 yards, 23 TDs) and quarterback Jake Harris (1645 yards and 14 TDs). Shelbourne thinks that balance is the key to the Oriole offense.
“Darren (Oliver) is a good football player, but as I’ve told people many times previously, Darren would be the first to tell you that a lot of his success is because the offensive line has blocked well,” Shelbourne said. “We also, for the season, have had a relatively balanced attack. The fact that we’ve had success passing the football this season has made it a little easier on the running game, as well.”
Equally as blistering is Ben Davis. Following consecutive losses to Center Grove and Lawrence North, the Giants rebounded by going on the road and defeating, at the time, Class 5A No. 1 Carmel. Since the road victory, Ben Davis has scored sectional victories over Pike and Brownsburg.
Offensively, Ben Davis is led by a quartet of rushers — Miles Wright (912 yards, 14 TDs), Donte Asher (416 yards, 8 TDs), and Phillip Dudley (563 yards, 7 TDs). Quarterback Greg Rice is a double threat for Ben Davis — both rushing (690 yards, 13 TDs) and passing (797 yards, 4 TDs).
“(Ben Davis) is a good football team,” Shelbourne said. “They present a lot of problems for you. They have good team speed and size. They obviously have a very competitive schedule in the (Metropolitan Interscholastic Conference). Their quarterback is a very fine player. He has the ability to run and throw. We know that they have some big strong linemen.”
In order to slow down the Giants, Avon will be relying on leading tackler Tyler Boyd (55 tackles, 8.5 sacks); Auburn commit Montez Robinson (47 tackles, 7 sacks); linebacker Pat Serak (50 tackles, 4 sacks); and defensive back Armonze Daniel (50 tackles).
“We’re going to try to continue the kind of defense that we’ve been playing lately,” Shelbourne said. “I think that our defense has gotten better as the season has gone on. We have some excellent football players and we just hope we can go out there and execute the game plan and slow them down as the best we can.”
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