The Indiana Football Coaches Association is looking at its proposal for revamping the football playoff system as a way to improve the sport, while IHSAA Commissioner Bobby Cox wants it to transcend to multiple sports.INDIANAPOLIS – It was the kind of game – and outcome – that Brandon Davis didn’t get a whole lot of in high school.
Davis’ North team beat the South 24-21 in double overtime Friday at North Central High School in the North-South All-Star Classic.
“I have been playing on a team at Wayne High School, and we have had our struggles,” said Davis, who played defensive end. “We ended the season well, but I have never been on a team like this. It feels so good to actually win something big. I have never won anything big like this. This is real big to me.”
Eric Shorten hit a 24-yard field goal in the second extra session to redeem himself after two missed field goals in regulation.
“(Shorten) was amazing,” said Homestead’s Colin Harruff, who caught a touchdown pass in the first overtime. “He was hitting them in practice, and we were banking on him to hit that one.”
It was only the second overtime game in the game’s 44-year history. The South leads the overall series 23-21, but the North was won the last two.
In the first overtime, Harruff hauled in a 5-yard scoring pass to give the North a 21-14 advantage, but Charles Torwudzo caught a 6-yard touchdown pass for the South to send the game into a second overtime.
The North overcame a 14-0 halftime deficit.
“We just started shoving it down their throat, and they couldn’t stop it,” Harruff said of the second-half comeback. “Once they lined up to stop the run, and we just went spread and passed it.”
Harruff finished with a team-best five catches for 33 yards.
After getting outgained in the first half, the North finished with 385 total yards to the South’s 258.
“I started out playing offense, and they switched me to defense,” said Davis, who had three sacks and two tackles for loss. “I love defense, that’s my heart. At first, I was happy. But that kind of impact? I didn’t think I would get loose like that.”
The North’s Daniel Wodicka, Indiana’s Mr. Football, switched from quarterback to receiver and almost completed a miracle finish when he caught a 50-yard bomb from Chris Mills as time expired.
But Wodkicka fell short, ending up at the 1-yard line after pulling in the tipped pass.
The North’s Adam Harmon helped tie the score at 14 with 2:39 left on a 1-yard run.
The North was lined up to go for the two-point conversion, but a delay of game penalty made Eric Shorten kick the extra point and tie the game.
Wodicka was the MVP for the game and the North, while Kofi Hughes won it for the South.
Players from Indiana included North Side’s Andy Webster, Southern Wells’ Tyler Roush, Bellmont’s Connor Emenhiser, Norwell’s Klay Fiechter, Bishop Dwenger’s Landon Feichter and Snider’s Devon Rush.
