MaxPreps Indiana Team of the Week: Ben Davis football

Down 17-0 in the state championship game, the Ben Davis (Indianapolis) football team had Carmel just where it wanted.

The Giants scored 42 of the next 49 points to win their eighth state title, a 42-24 6A state crown, the team's first since 2002.

The deficit was par for the course for Ben Davis, which fought from behind in four of the five playoff games to finish 12-2 and No. 1 in the state, according to the MaxPreps Computer Rankings.

The win also avenged a 37-14 loss to Carmel on Oct. 13, two weeks after the Giants avenged a 28-21 loss to Warren Central with a 40-36 victory in the quarterfinals.

"It is always rewarding when you get a chance to play great teams again and reverse the outcome," Ben Davis coach Mike Kirschner said. "Warren and Carmel are two powerhouses in Indiana, have great coaches, and play the game the right way. We were fortunate to be able to play well against them the second time around."

For their penchant for comebacks and reversal, the Giants are the MaxPreps Indiana Team of the Week, presented by the Indiana Army National Guard.

"(The comebacks) show the character of the young men we coach," Kirschner said. "They believe in the system and they believe in each other. They never knew they were down, and always played with passion."

In the championship game Chris Evans, a junior back, rushed for 131 yards and a 38-yard touchdown late for the Giants.

Quarterback Kyle Castner threw a touchdown pass to Stori Emerson, and Dorian Tate added a touchdown run to cut the lead to 17-14. Castner also ran for a touchdown off a fake field goal, to make it 35-17 with 5:38 left to seal the win.

Tate finished the season with 1,282 rushing and 18 touchdowns. Evans had 1,249 yards rushing and 18 scores.

Castner finished with 3,410 passing yards and 34 touchdowns and completed 277 of 437 passes.

"Kyle is a great student-athlete," Kirschner said. "He ranked 13th (academically) in a class of 1,019 students. He demands as much from himself as the coaches demand of him. Kyle has a great work ethic and passion for the game."

He spread the ball beautifully, with five receivers catching between 45 and 52 passes, a remarkable feat.

Leading the way was Emerson (56-883) and Brennan Gillis (57-685), along with Trew Smith (52-571), Evans (51-676) and Rashawn Bond (47-526).

"It is a combination of the system and a quarterback who can read defenses and get the ball to the right guy," Kirschner said. "It also takes a group of unselfish receivers who worked as a group to make each other better."

Defensively, the team was led by Asmar Bilal (155 tackles) and Dallas Pitts (91 tackles, 13.5 for losses). Omar Beasley had 109 tackles with 11 for loss. Pitts led the team with 10.5 sacks. Jailyn Harden and Chaz Stringer had six interceptions apiece. Bilal has committed to Notre Dame.

"Asmar is very balanced," Kirschner said. "He does not get real emotional and is not very vocal, but loves to play and hit. When being recruited nationally he said to me, ‘I want it to go away so that I can just play football.'"

Kirschner doesn't want this current group of Giants to go away any time soon.

"We were led by 45 seniors who have great character, great work ethic on and off the field, and are great students," he said. "Their leadership helped the young players develop and helped keep us balanced when times were tough." Managing editor Colin Ward-Henninger contributed to this report.