CARMEL, Ind. – All of Indianapolis (Ind.) Ben Davis’s standout players contributed, and a prospect-to-watch emerged, in Friday night’s 13-7 victory over host Carmel, in a battle of two state heavyweights.
Indiana commit Antonio Allen forced two fumbles and intercepted a pass to lead the Ben Davis defense.
The win gave the Giants a share of the Metropolitan Interscholastic Conference championship, one of the Midwest’s premier leagues, along with Carmel and Center Grove.
Indiana safety commit Antonio Allen led the way with two forced fumbles and an interception. The hard-hitting senior was all over the football field as Ben Davis limited then top-ranked Carmel to just 153 yards of total offense.
“He’s just a great player,” Ben Davis coach Mike Kirschner said. “He keeps doing the same things week in and week out.”
So does junior defensive tackle Albert Williams who said after the game that he’s hearing from Indiana and Iowa among other programs.
“He’s (6-foot-2) 264 pounds, he’s 4.8 in the 40, he squats 500 pounds and can two-hand dunk a basketball standing underneath the rim,” Kirschner said.
Ben Davis had a lot of weapons contribute on offense in gaining 325 total yards. The most impressive performance came from a new name in sophomore receiver Montel Swanson. The 6-foot-4, 180-pound Swanson was playing in his first game of the season after not being eligible because of state transfer rules. He made his impact felt to the tune of five receptions for 72 yards. Three of those grabs were of the one-hand variety and Swanson was also a factor in the return game. The way he played in his debut, Swanson is a bonafide BCS prospect down the road.
“There is no question,” Kirschner agreed. “He’s a young one. He’s going to be pretty good. Has a lot to learn but his ability to go up and get a football. He goes up and gets the football. He gives us a 6-4 guy on the edge to complement our smaller receivers and that’s a big difference.”
One of those other receivers is junior Michael Beaty, who caught seven passes for 94 yards. Kirschner sees the 6-foot-2, 190-pound Beaty playing on the Division-I level.
It won't be long before sophomore WR Montel Swanson has several college suitors.
“He stepped up,” Kirshner stated. “He stepped up big and played big.”
So did running back Jamie Akin, who rumbled for 100 tough yards on 26 carries and a touchdown. It was the 5-10, 180-pound Akin’s first game in four weeks.
“We think he’s going to be pretty special,” Kirschner said. “He’s quick and he’s a 4.39 in the 40 electronic timed.”
Carmel had things going early, scoring in the first quarter to go up 7-0 and then getting a forced fumble from Iowa linebacker commit John Kenny. However, Allen and Ben Davis quickly answered back as he forced one of his two fumbles. Beaty then hauled in a 45-yard reception and the drive was capped off by Akin’s short scoring run.
The Greyhounds struggled to get anything going and touted junior receiver Austin Roberts was held in check most of the evening. Ben Davis junior cornerback O’Shea Heard (5-10, 165) covered Roberts most of the evening.
“He has six picks on the season,” Kirschner said. “He’s fifth on the team in tackles. He has unbelievable ball skills. I think he’s a MAC player. They’re going to say he’s a little undersized but when you watch him play there is nothing undersized about him. We put him on 88 who everybody thinks is a major recruit, and he is, but he covered him pretty well.”
Ben Davis sophomore quarterback Kyle Castner (6-3, 195) is a signal-caller to keep an eye on. On the big stage, he was a very efficient 15-of-19 for 215 yards.
- Steve Wiltfong
- National Recruiting Writer - 247Sports