October 8, 2021

2 Spotlight Ben Davis High School Indianapolis, IN October 8, 2021
‘Larger than life’
Head coach, players reflect on famous season 30 years later
By Lexie Bordenkecher
editor
On November 30, 1991,
the Ben Davis Giants
became state champions
for the fourth time
in five years.
But something was different
that year -- the Giants were
named ESPN National High
School Football Champions.
Dick Dullaghan, a Cathedral
High School graduate and Butler
University alumnus, coached
at Bishop Chatard High School,
Carmel High School, and even
earned a spot as the wide receiver
coach at Purdue University from
1980-1982. In 1984, he took the
head coaching position at BD,
and stayed through the 2003 season.
He led the Giants to seven
state titles in his 20 seasons at
BD. After winning back-to-back
state titles in 1990 and 1991, the
Giants had already proved their
dominance.
Coach Dullaghan claimed,
“We had all these guys coming
back who had won state as juniors,
and they were all just really
good players.”
In the 1991 season, the Giants
won every game by an average
of over 37 points. They finished
with a record of 14-0.
Quarterback and senior leader
Chris Ings has fond memories of
that season, and said, “It wasn’t
just about winning a state championship
again, it was about going
undefeated.”
According to Ben Davis radio
teacher and 1993 graduate, Jon
Easter, “This group of Giants set
a record for most points scored
in the history of Ben Davis Football
(a record that was passed by
the 2017 team) and still holds the
school record for total margin of
victory (526 points).”
The team dominated everyone
they played, with the closest
game being a 24 point victory
over Penn in the state championship
game.
“It was just a really good team,
they gelled, they worked together,
they played hard. And
they were easy to coach,” said
Dullaghan, now retired and living
in Florida. He also remembered
specific players who made
big impacts on their team including,
Ings, Chris Stevens, Larry
Langlois, Keith Walton, Steven
Holman, Charles Alexander, and
many more.
In the preseason, the Giants
were ranked in the top 20 in
the nation. Though they moved
up throughout the season, they
hadn’t hit their peak until the
state championship.
“There were other states that
had schools that were ranked
higher than we were, but to be
honest, they kept getting beat,”
Dullaghan remarked.
As the team approached the
Holiday break, all of the teams
across the country that had
been ranked higher than Ben
Davis, had lost. ESPN notified
Coach Dullaghan that Ben Davis
had been named National High
School Football Champions.
A ceremony was held in the
Ben Davis gym, officially crowning
the Giants national champions.
ESPN came to the school and
filmed a show, presenting the
trophy to the team.
“The gym was packed,” Ings
recalls, “We got to parade in.”
Ings also remembers the immense
support in the community
that year.
Dullaghan went on to coach
at Ben Davis for 12 more seasons
after that championship year. He
led the Giants to five more state
championship games, winning
Pages from the 1992 Keyhole recognizing the 1991 National
Champion Giants
three of them.
Matt Moore, a 1993 graduate
and guard/defensive end, said,
“You knew it was a good Friday
night when Coach D started
singing The Crazy Song.”
Many good memories came
out of those years, for both
Dullaghan and the players. The
1991 football season is legendary.
They did what had never been
done before, and hasn’t been
done since. Perhaps one day, the
Ben Davis community will get
the opportunity to celebrate a
national championship again, but
for now we celebrate the legacy
that was established 30 years ago.
Is the 1991 Ben Davis football team the best in state history?
Record: 14-0
Points scored 663 (47.4 per game)
Points allowed: 125 (8.9 per game)
Only Indiana high school team to be named National Champion
Two Indiana All-Stars in Steve Holman and Chris Ings