Warren Central's Darren Evans 12 carries, 243 yds, 6 TDs

[Irish Envy]

There is no longer an issue of whether Warren Central has the best high school football program in Indiana.

More to the point -- or 76 points, if you must -- is whether Warren Central is No. 1 in America.

This was a match between Class 5A's No. 1 and No. 2, for goodness sakes. Instead, it was a mismatch.

Darren Evans scored six touchdowns as Warren Central crushed visiting Ben Davis 76-7 before a full house of 8,000 Friday night.

Television cameras are documenting the season of Hoover (Ala.), the nation's top-ranked team in several national polls. Maybe TV ought to be on Indianapolis' Eastside.

"I'd love to play Hoover. Are we the best team? I don't know," Warren Central coach Steve Tutsie said. "But we'll play anybody. I'll promise you that."

Warren Central (4-0) is ranked as high as No. 4 nationally, by Sports Illustrated.

Indiana High School Athletic Association rules prohibit teams from as far away as Alabama or Florida or California or Texas from playing Indiana opponents. Limited intersectional play makes high school rankings border on the bogus anyway.

Yet Ben Davis coach Tom Allen said he's never seen a better high school team in Indiana.

"The size and speed that they have, it's just unbelievable," he said. "It's scary, trying to stop them."

Illinois' 2005 Class 8A state runners-up were here a couple of weeks ago and got similar treatment: Warren Central 61, Maine South 12.

"We're a good football team. I don't want to say we're the best," Evans said. "I'm not a real cocky person.

"I'd sure like to prove it."

Evans proved he was worth a scholarship offer from Virginia Tech. He carried 12 times for 243 yards, scoring half the time he touched the ball. He scored four TDs in the second quarter, then opened the third with another.

The TD distances: 11, 62, 55, 5, 26 and 51 yards. He scored on three successive carries in that second quarter.

"I'm just doing what the coaches tell me and running behind the offensive line," Evans said.

This was the Warriors' sixth consecutive victory over Ben Davis, which had come within a touchdown or less in three of the previous five meetings.

The Giants (3-1) twice lost fumbles inside their own 20-yard line to start the game, but they closed within 14-7 on a 65-yard scoring pass from junior quarterback MarQueis Gray to C.J. Stewart.

The Giants recovered a Warriors fumble and were inside the Warren Central 20 with a chance to tie the score. That possession ended with a missed field-goal attempt.

"That changed everything," Allen said.

After that, the levies broke.

Quarterback Matt Upshaw scored on a 65-yard run to begin the Warriors' 35-point second quarter. Then Evans did his wind sprints.

Warren Central rushed 42 times for 523 yards, an average of 12.5 per attempt.

But as explosive as the Warriors were on defense, they were as impregnable on defense. Besides the Giants' scoring play, they had only one other first down in the first half.

Second- and third-team defenders didn't let Ben Davis score.

"One reason our offense is so good is because every Tuesday and Wednesday, they've got to go against our defense," Tutsie said.

The only world the Warriors have left to conquer is a fourth successive state championship. They have won 10 in a row over the past two seasons, and in seven of those games scored 55 or more points.

Warren Central, 2-0 in the Metropolitan Interscholastic Conference, could meet Ben Davis (1-1) again in the regional in nine weeks.

 

[Irish Envy]

I just wanted to share this. BTW, Ben Davis is a very solid squad and they rolled over them like they were a pop warner team. Oh, Ben Davis was rated #2 in the state behind Warren.

 

[KMac151993]

That is absolutly insane....and someone said we have no DI talent in this state....give me a break if a team is beating quality teams by 71 points there are kids that are talented. Like you said Ben Davis is no cream puff....Warren Central=Best High School football team in the nation, hands down.

 

[TDJesus3]

best hight school football team in the nation? come on kmac, this states top team could not play with the big boys, sorry but thats just the way it is, they are good, but overrated because the rest of the state is horrible, a team with a top flight QB would roll them, let alone a team filled with actual DI talent, not a couple of fringe DI kids

 

[ACCIrish]

Just to let you know the top 2 teams in the state in 5a football are usually Ben Davis and Warrnen Central! The games are always close the fact that this team dominated the number 2 team in the state by 71 and defending runner up of illinois by 7 tds thats not overrated at all my friend. I think they could give any one a run for their money and most certainly wouldnt get rolled over!!

 

[TDJesus3]

first i know there usually the two top teams in the state im from indy and live here in indy

however, think of it this way, put an average DI team into DII football, lets say Michigan State, they would look good, they would score a bunch of TD's, there top kids would be hyped, IN football is average at best, and even the top team in the State is average on the national stage, don't let them beating up on a bunch of average high school football players confuse you with the nations top talent

 

[KMac151993]

best hight school football team in the nation? come on kmac, this states top team could not play with the big boys, sorry but thats just the way it is, they are good, but overrated because the rest of the state is horrible, a team with a top flight QB would roll them, let alone a team filled with actual DI talent, not a couple of fringe DI kids

They already beat one of the top teams in Illinois this year 61-12 what else do you want them to do....regardless of how "bad" you claim the talent is find a team that will put up over 70 to a pretty solid team and I will listen to you until then please TDJesus3 find me a team that will beat them.

 

[ACCIrish]

well maybe we should put colorado in d II and see how they do since there already 0-1 against them... but i think thats a little out there to say the talent is that far apart in indiana highschool football. Obviously this warren team is good or sports illustrated wouldnt have them in there top 5..........

 

[irishfan81]

Top 2 Teams in the nation and Hoover is not one of them. Warren Central and Oaks Christian (Jimmys high school)

 

[TDJesus3]

you guys make me laugh, seriously an IN football team best in the nation? haha

they dont even throw the ball

 

[Irish Envy]

you guys make me laugh, seriously an IN football team best in the nation? haha

they dont even throw the ball

Most good high school football teams listed in the Top 25 are option teams. It's just an easy system to put in and dominate with.

 

[KMac151993]

Most good high school football teams listed in the Top 25 are option teams. It's just an easy system to put in and dominate with.

You beat me to it Svoboda....just because they run the ball a lot doesn't mean they are average. tdJesus you still haven't shown me a team that is better then Warren Central.

 

[TDJesus3]

kmac, your not worth my time in looking it up

but try anyone ranked above them by USA today

i would say they should maybe be top 50 in the country, if that

 

[KMac151993]

kmac, your not worth my time in looking it up

but try anyone ranked above them by USA today

i would say they should maybe be top 50 in the country, if that

So what USA Today has them ranked Top 10 & CNN/SI have them Top 5....so that is like saying ND is only an average football team because they are Independent and that teams above them in the Top 25 are better....your comments have no backing or credibility and obviously your just pissed off at Indiana High School football for some reason.

 

[Irish Envy]

kmac, your not worth my time in looking it up

but try anyone ranked above them by USA today

i would say they should maybe be top 50 in the country, if that

He's not worth your time? You come into the thread and make a baseless claim, and then when asked for proof, you say this?

They (Warren Central) were ranked #12 preseason by The Sporting News. They're currently ranked #10 by USA Today in their Super 25 rankings. Finally, one of the top national pronosticators, Tony Bianco (see the Tony Poll), also has them ranked at #10.

Yes, this is all simply speculative since most won't ever play each other, I think it's a pretty fair assessment given the fact that most of these teams do play 1-2 national games yearly. Warren has kids moving in from out of state now and they have established themselves as a national program.

Personally, I don't think they could hang with Lakeland or Hoover just because they have so many athletes, but they could easily hang and/or beat several of the teams in the Top 10 depending on how the ball bounces.

 

[KMac151993]

He's not worth your time? You come into the thread and make a baseless claim, and then when asked for proof, you say this?

They (Warren Central) were ranked #12 preseason by The Sporting News. They're currently ranked #10 by USA Today in their Super 25 rankings. Finally, one of the top national pronosticators, Tony Bianco (see the Tony Poll), also has them ranked at #10.

Yes, this is all simply speculative since most won't ever play each other, I think it's a pretty fair assessment given the fact that most of these teams do play 1-2 national games yearly. Warren has kids moving in from out of state now and they have established themselves as a national program.

Personally, I don't think they could hang with Lakeland or Hoover just because they have so many athletes, but they could easily hang and/or beat several of the teams in the Top 10 depending on how the ball bounces.

Thanks Svoboda...but I think my post should shut him up for a while.

 

[onenybrother]

I would for them to play Don Bosco Prep in New Jersey. They would kill them. Now here in the Northeast we have some great High School football teams.

 

[KMac151993]

I would for them to play Don Bosco Prep in New Jersey. They would kill them. Now here in the Northeast we have some great High School football teams.

I am guessing what your poorly worded sentence is trying to say is that you would like to see them play Don Bosco Prep from New Jersey.

 

[tommy]

something is wrong when you rush for over 240 yards on 12 carries that just tells me the comp isnt there

 

[TDJesus3]

sure kmac you shut me right up

man this thread is funny

you go ahead and wait and see how many of these warren central boys turn out to be any good at all, then talk to me about the IN football talent

i mean seriously how many guys each year are recruited to big schools out of this state? How many indiana kids go to the USC's of the world? Evans with all his numbers couldnt even get ND or ohio state to offer him, wow he must be great

if he was any good he wouldnt be leaving the midwest

and sure finch and robinson got good offers, but come on a safety and an over grown wideout who should be a tight end don't make you into a powerhouse

who else in the state of IN has a big time offer?

what happened to james banks man he was a monster, he ran rough shot over all the competition, ben davis was great when he was there and he couldnt even cut it at tennessee

im sorry but the teams in florida, ohio, california, and texas, to name a few turn out talent that goes to big time programs, and these kids play against each other, this great Warren Central team is playing against a bunch of kids who will end up at the ball state's of the world, and thats if there lucky, there more likely to end up at even smaller schools than that

people knock clausen because he plays in a lower small school division in Cali, but his team would crush Warren central, why? because they can throw the ball and warren central does not have the athletes to match up, it would look like USC Navy if they ever played

you ever wonder why IU blows? Why its best football player is a ex-basketball player? because there is no in-state talent level to feed that school, purdue does ok because they leave the state for players. Aldridge moved here and was the best player in the state, LS was ok but he was probably the second best player in the state and hes not even that high of a recruit

if the talent level was as good as you all are making it then it could atleast support one school, but there isnt even enough talent in this state to keep one school going, purdue gets some indiana kids but is that what we are really going to call a big time program? Ohio keeps ohio state going, texas always has texas kids, california fills three schools, and we know about michigan, while florida fills three schools...but IN the great football state can't even make IU respectable and barely keeps purdue afloat and i would say that because tiller does a good job leaving the state and getting average kids from other places

how much does ND focus on IN? If this was such a great football state don't you think we would have more IN players, sure we got a couple and sure the other schools do, but not near the talent level or number of DI capable kids are produced by the state of IN, and why is that? because this states high school football is average at best, and the best team in an average state should not be treated like the best team in the country. Week in and week out they do not see DI talent and therefore i find it hard for anyone to sit here and believe they are the best team in the nation.

 

[KMac151993]

No you are funny...you still have yet to prove to me or anyone else that Warren Central is not one of the best teams in the country. Your arguements are weak....you want to compare USC to Navy then thats like saying the 2000 Oklahoma team sucked because they only had a couple guys do anything in the NFL....so by your arguement you judge a team by how well their players will do at the next level then actually evaluating, get this, the current team. I will agree that Indiana is not a football hot bed and doesn't hold a candle to places like Texas, Florida, California, Ohio, or Oklahoma.....but this Warren Central team is no Pop Warner club either and both CNN/SI and USA Today agree with me.

 

[IrishCPA]

To hear that a Ben Davis team got crushed like that is unbelievable...

 

[TDJesus3]

ok KMAC you win they are the greatest team ever!

watch out for that team from north dakota i hear they really dominate that state too

come on if you really think IN football is any good you need help

IN basketball I will give you, but football stop kidding yourself

and yes i think the talent level of the kids matters, you are talking about a state filled with kids who will be lucky to play division II football

there are other better states, with better teams end of argument, good luck with your warren central kids, since you will probably never see any of them get any significant time in college, but all hail the might team from warren central, 3 fringe DI players, and a bunch of kids who will be lucky to ever play football again, they can beat anyone

how about you give me some facts to prove they are the best team in the country? No one ranks them number one, they have good stats but im sure the best team in montana has great stats, so what proves to you they are great? They dont have great players, they dont come from a state that produces great players, but you still want to think they are the top team in the country? You want proof from me, how about you show me proof?

thats right you can't, its subjective, you can either go by the talent they play against and the talent on the team, or you can just go by stats, stats done against a ben davis team who has no talent players of any significance

sure there ranked, but thats because they keep beating up on the horrible teams, they are the TCU of college football, beat a bunch of horrible teams and keep winning and guess what you will get ranked

 

[Batch]

they dont even throw the ball

Haha...dude seriously and I mean dude because I think its appropriate, you lost all credibility with that statement...

 

[KMac151993]

You want proof from me, how about you show me proof?

Just because maybe you can't read or just that you missed Svoboda's or my posts but USA Today and CNN/SI both have them ranked Top 10 in their High School Football Top 25....so unless you know some magical fact that these three publications don't please present your facts.

 

[TDJesus3]

That is absolutly insane....and someone said we have no DI talent in this state....give me a break if a team is beating quality teams by 71 points there are kids that are talented. Like you said Ben Davis is no cream puff....Warren Central=Best High School football team in the nation, hands down.

now when did number 10 become number 1?

1. Lakeland (Lakeland, FL)
2. South Panola (Batesville, Miss)
3. Byrnes (Duncan, S.C.)
4. Hoover (Hoover, AL)
5. Lufkin (Lufkin, TX)
6. St. Edward (Lakewood, OH)
7. Carroll (Southlake, TX)
8. John Curtis (River Ridge, LA)
9. Oaks Christian (Westlake Village, CA)

pretty sure all 9 of those teams would beat them and even your polls believe that

so i guess when you said they were the best hands down you meant tenth best hands down

they shouldnt even be there but if they keep winning they wont lower them, even if you disagree with that you can't say they are the best, the only evidence you have relied on is the polls and that ranks them as ten. 10 does not equal 1

you may think i can't read but i have just proven you can't do math

 

[orlando_nd]

lakeland is # 1

lakeland is # 1

fl has great highschool teams.

 

[TDJesus3]

no doubting that

FL is loaded

 

[KMac151993]

now when did number 10 become number 1?

1. Lakeland (Lakeland, FL)
2. South Panola (Batesville, Miss)
3. Byrnes (Duncan, S.C.)
4. Hoover (Hoover, AL)
5. Lufkin (Lufkin, TX)
6. St. Edward (Lakewood, OH)
7. Carroll (Southlake, TX)
8. John Curtis (River Ridge, LA)
9. Oaks Christian (Westlake Village, CA)

pretty sure all 9 of those teams would beat them and even your polls believe that

so i guess when you said they were the best hands down you meant tenth best hands down

they shouldnt even be there but if they keep winning they wont lower them, even if you disagree with that you can't say they are the best, the only evidence you have relied on is the polls and that ranks them as ten. 10 does not equal 1

you may think i can't read but i have just proven you can't do math

OK you may have got me on that point but those rankings also don't reflect the beating they put down on the state's number two team and I believe the CNN/SI have them higher....plus what does this most recent post by you show....that Warren Central is the 10th best team in the country, ok so there are 9 better teams in the country....the way you talk they would get beat by a Junior High team. Your arguements are still very weak and lacking any credible evidence proving me or Svoboda wrong.

 

[TDJesus3]

im saying if you don't take my arguments the best they are is 10 in the country, and i dont believe they are that good, but remember what started this you saying they were the best in the nation, which i think now we can all admit is not true, maybe they are 10 maybe they are top 20, i think lower, but thats all speculation, i just look at amount of talent in the state and i don't see it in IN, but agree or disagree with that, they are not the top team in the country

sure they beat ben davis, but ben davis is not ranked, and yes they are second in the state but not a national powerhouse especially this year

thats all im trying to say, i think they get ranked that high because they are the best in the state and haven't been beaten, personally i just do not think they could play on a night in night out basis in some of the better leagues in other states, thats my opinon and you can disagree, but please don't tell me they are the best team in the nation hands down

maybe they are a good team, but talent matters, especially in high school ball where one dominate kid can make a team great, do you think they could really match up with Clausen's team? or all the talent on that lakeland team? be honest with yourself, look at the number of good kids on those teams, or even just the superstars on those teams, and ask yourself if warren central matches up, sure they will roll everyone in IN, they are better than everyone in IN, but im not so sure thats saying much, thats all im trying to say

look at jimmy's stats, he is a college qb right now, with good wideouts and the nations top tailback, would they not score all day on WC and how does WC's running game even attempt to keep up with that? thats what im saying about they don't even throw the ball (even though the guy that couldnt stop saying "dude" in his post didn't get that)

Oaks is ranked 9th and i just do not see how WC could even come close to matching up with them, the guys up the list are just as good as Oaks they are powerhouses in big time high school football states

i think you have to admit IN is not a good high school football state, not on the level of the big boys thats for sure, so i think its safe to say that the number two teams in a few of those states CA, FL, OH, TX, will be better than WC, they just arent as good as them top team in there state so they get overshadowed in the polls, now do you see where im coming from? Im not saying its not a good football team, im just saying nationwide i think they are overrated, and that IN high school football is not that good overall