IHSAA football: Homecoming court plays its role in Ben Davis' rout of Carmel
Mark Zackery can do a little bit of everything.
"If he's on your fantasy team, he probably scores a lot of points," Ben Davis coach Russ Mann said.
The four-star recruit, who has a bevy of offers from Power 5 schools, plays on both sides of the ball for the Giants. Last week, he had two interceptions and a touchdown in Ben Davis' 62-14 rout of Lawrence North. This Friday, in the Giants' homecoming game, he had a fumble recovery in the second quarter and a 63-yard receiving touchdown in the third, heavily contributing to Ben Davis' 45-16 victory over Carmel.
But first, he had to fight through some adversity. He rolled his ankle on his first catch of the game and left to get it taped up. After that, he dropped a pass. That drop rattled him a little but, but he tries to have a live-in-the-moment mentality.
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"My teammates were uplifting me, and my dad is a coach also," Zackery said. "So when he tells me to catch the ball, you better catch the ball. It's always fun out here competing, and my teammates uplift me, so it's always fun."
Zackery finished the night with three catches for 77 yards and received another big haul — winner of junior class homecoming prince.
"It's always a blessing, just being though of as a well-rounded person by my peers is always fun, and then coming out here and getting a win," Zackery said. "Homecoming tomorrow, it's going to be a fun weekend."
Ben Davis never trailed Friday, scoring 24 unanswered points — including a 43-yard pick-six from Elijah Hurns.
Carmel didn't get on the board until the third quarter, as Norvil Tucker broke through multiple tackles to complete a 52-yard rush to the end zone. The Greyhounds got another three points quickly after that, as Joshua Placzek converted a 30-yard field goal.
But the Giants didn't let that faze them. Instead, it ignited them.
"Defense, they showed up today, all 11 players," Zackery said. "Our second group came in, they gave up a touchdown, but that's something we got to couch them up on as well next practice. Focusing on getting the defense better to allow zero points."
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Ben Davis responded with three touchdowns in the fourth quarter. Starting quarterback Thomas Gotkowski threw two of those touchdowns — a 16-yard lob to Malik Williams and a 5-yard pitch to Jei Horton. Ten seconds later, linebacker Toreeq Oyesigi (the senior class homecoming king) recovered a fumble on the Greyhounds' 21-yard line, setting up a pass from backup quarterback Isaiah Rodgers to Michael Searcy. Carmel drove down the field in the final minutes, putting in a touchdown as time expired.
Ben Davis' victory put the Giants at 6-1 this season, and they have scored over 40 points in five of those wins.
"Not a bad way to back up last week," Mann said "... Our guys are all on the same page. It took a while to get going tonight, but we eventually got going."
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Ben Davis football continues momentum in homecoming rout of Carmel
