Wins by Ben Davis, Carmel create race with Center Grove for MIC crown
By CRAIG DRAGASH
ISL Correspondent
CARMEL, Ind. — Ben Davis 37, Center Grove 20
Carmel 21, Warren Central 15
We now officially have a race in the MIC conference.
Both of those results had to happen for a race to exist, and both did. As it currently stands, Center Grove is now 5-1 in the MIC with a lone conference game remaining at home against North Central, before traveling to Cincinnati for a non-conference contest vs. LaSalle to finish their season. Ben Davis and Carmel are now both 4-1.
Next week, Ben Davis travels to Lawrence North, winless on the season after being trounced by Pike 57-14. If the Giants take care of business in that one, they will enter their final contest with a 5-1 record.
That contest will be at home against…Carmel. The Greyhounds face a much tougher test next week as they host Pike in a game that will be nationally televised on ESPNU. If Carmel can handle the Red Devils, it would head into their showdown with Ben Davis with a share of the MIC conference title on the line with Center Grove.
Ben Davis looked strong a week ago, as the Giants soundly defeated Lawrence Central 42-12. It looks as though they carried that momentum with them to Center Grove and rolled to a 17-point victory.
Carmel trailed Warren Central 6-0 at the half, then gave up a touchdown on a fumble recovery by Max Hernandez and quickly trailed 12-0 early in the third.
Carmel would gain some momentum in the third quarter, scoring two touchdowns in a matter of 1:37 in the third quarter, on a 66-yard grab by Austin Roberts and a 25 yard run by Chris Perkins.
But what an exciting finish it would be, as Warren Central, trailing 13-12 at the time, drove to the Carmel 30 and had a 47-yard field goal by Hernandez blocked, giving Carmel possession from their 20. Carmel would then go three and out, including a sack that took them back to their 9-yard line, and the Warriors, this time starting from the Carmel 46 with 5:02 remaining, would give Hernandez another shot. He hit from 40 yards this time, and the Warriors led 15-13 with 2:32 remaining.
Things looked bad for the Greyhounds as their next two plays would result in incomplete passes, then on third-and-10 took a sack that backed them up 10 yards. On 4th-and-10 from their 10-yard line, senior John Lampe found Roberts right at the first down marker, and the Greyhounds were in business. After another incompletion from their own 43, Carmel caught a huge break when Warren Central was called for roughing the passer, giving the Greyhounds the ball at the Warren Central 42.
After two more incompletions, Lampe would scramble for seven yards, setting up fourth and three. Lampe would then find Thomas Baldwin wide open down field, and Baldwin scampered to the Warren Central 3-yard line, where Chris Perkins punched it into the end zone on the next play to give Carmel a 21-15 lead with 28.5 seconds left after Lampe hit Baldwin with the two-point conversion. After a touchback on the kickoff, sophomore linebacker Noah Burks would intercept a Jeff George pass two plays later to seal the victory for Carmel, and a shot at a share of the MIC conference title.
Looking at the rest of the conference standings, Pike is the lone conference team with 2 losses at 3-2; Warren Central is now 3-3, Lawrence Central is 2-3, North Central is 1-5, and Lawrence North is 0-6.
