As Whiting coach Jeff Cain said, with a hint of exasperation, the Oilers hadn’t won a sectional title since 1997 when they played in Class A. The smallest class wasn’t kind to Whiting.

Davenport has a long history with Whiting football. When the Oilers reached the state championship game in 2015, he was on the field as a ball boy at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.