Pike Red Devils
City: Indianapolis, Ind.
Head coach: Derek Moyers (3rd Season)
Team overview: Pike is 2-2 this season, getting to .500 with a big win over Lawrence Central last Friday. For many years, Pike has been known as a basketball powerhouse but Moyers has done a great job getting the football program in gear. In his first year at Pike, the Red Devils finished 14-1 and runner-up in class 5A. Last season, Pike was 9-2 and lost to Avon in the playoffs.
Prospect history: Pike sent linebacker Stanford Keglar to Purdue, where he had a fine college career and is now playing for the Tennessee Titans. Defensive lineman Greg Middleton played at Indiana and is tied for third in career sacks. Linebacker Robert Martin plays for Cincinnati. After taking a redshirt in 2008, offensive tackle Cameron Lowry has started 27 consecutive games for Ball State. Wide receiver Anthony McClung is a freshman wide receiver at Cincinnati and DyJuan Lewis also committed to Cincinnati last February.
Top prospect(s): Running back Cameron Crabtree drew raves from all of the coaches that I spoke with in Indianapolis. The 5-foot-6, 170-pounder is quick, strong and shows great balance. He's already being compared to Pitt running back Dion Lewis. Crabtree benches 300 pounds, squats 400, runs a 4.4 40 and has a vertical leap of 40 inches. "I say that Cameron is more like the running back at Oregon State (Jacquizz Rogers)." Moyers said. Senior defensive tackle
Kody Woods (6-2, 300 pounds) shouldn't be overlooked.
New face: Junior wide receiver
Aloyis Gray (6-4, 180 pounds) is a transfer from Brebeuf Jesuit, where he was a quarterback. Gray may be moved back to quarterback next season but Moyers feels that Gray is a natural wideout with big-time talent.
Keep an eye on: Junior tight end Pierre Aka (6-3, 245 pounds), who projects as a defensive tackle at the next level. Also in the class of 2012 is cornerback Jonathan Reed. The 5-10, 170-pounder is already getting looks from MAC schools.
The future: Freshman running back Jawan Self is set to take over for Crabtree next season. "Jawan is the real deal ," Moyers said. "We didn't feel the need to move him up to the varsity this season because we have Cameron and we wanted Jawan to get as many reps as he could this year. Next year though, Jawan will be one of the guys we look at to step up and be our starting tailback."
Pike fun fact: Penske racing President Tim Cindric is a graduate of Pike.
