Senior leading Hun football
By: Bob Nuse
Shane Davis knew it was only a matter of time until he finally got his chance.
Davis, a senior at the Hun School, has waited three years to move into the starting quarterback position for the Raiders. His first two years he played quarterback for the junior varsity while Dom Natale handled the position for the Raiders. Last year, Davis started at linebacker for Hun as post-graduate Turner Wembley took over the quarterback job.
But this year Davis is finally playing the position he’s always wanted to play. So far he’s been a success in leading the Raiders to three wins in their first four games, including a perfect 2-0 start in the Mid-Atlantic Prep League.
"It’s nice to be playing quarterback," said Davis, a Ewing resident who also plays baseball at Hun. "My freshman and sophomore year, I was the backup. Last year I played outside linebacker, but I was also the backup quarterback. Now, in my senior year, I’m getting my shot."
Davis hasn’t put up gaudy statistics in his first four games. He’s completed 21 of 60 passes for 229 yards and has yet to throw a touchdown pass. But he’s made an impact on the Raiders this year that can’t be measured by numbers.
"As last year went on, it became very obvious to me that he was a leader for our team both on and off the field," said Hun coach Dave Dudeck, whose team will play at Blair on Saturday. "The players tend to communicate to him. He’s a great leader and a great kid who has always given 100 percent.
"He’s got a very strong arm. It ranks right up there with the various quarterbacks we have had here over the years. He does the things you need to do as a quarterback to win football games. Last week against Lawrenceville, he did a great job on both of our scoring drives."
The win over Lawrenceville kept alive the Raiders’ MAPL title hopes. They have a big game at Blair Saturday and will host Peddie the following week. Wins there would set up a game with Hill and a chance for the MAPL title.
Last year, Davis did his part for the Raiders on the defensive side of the ball. This year, he’s helping an offense with a lot of new faces get better each week. He’s happy that in his final year at Hun, he gets a chance to play the position he’s always wanted to play.
"I feel like the offense is starting to come together," Davis said. "We moved the ball well last week against Lawrenceville. And on the two scoring drives that we had, I thought we had a good mix of run and pass. I think we’re really starting to click.
"Every year I felt like I wanted to play quarterback, but I just do what the coaches tell me to do. If they say the best thing for the team is for me to play linebacker, then I play linebacker. I just want to do whatever I can to help the team win. This year that means playing quarterback."
Dudeck knows Davis is the sort of player who is going to help no matter where they play him. And while he could help on both sides of the ball this year, the Hun coach would rather he just stick to the offensive side.
"He’s a four-year player in the program," Dudeck said. "Last year he played linebacker and a little quarterback. He waited a long time to get his chance at quarterback. He’s been a great leader for us. He’s done very well.
"We need to protect Shane this year and keep him healthy. So we only have him playing one way this year. He could play defense, but we’ve just asked him to play on one side of the ball this year."
As a coach, Dudeck has been thrilled with the job Davis has done. And on a personal side, he’s also glad to see a player he’s seen come through the program succeed.
"His dad, Jerry, and I grew up together and played Babe Ruth all-stars and American Legion ball together," Dudeck said. "I’ve always had a good friendship with Jerry and he went on to play ball in the pro ranks. For me to be able to coach his son, it’s been a real honor for me. And since Shane has been in the program, my three boys have always looked up to him and respected him.
"This year Brendan (Dudeck, a freshman backup quarterback) will come home after practice and we’ll talk about football or playing the quarterback position and he’ll tell me what a great kid Shane is and how much he has helped him. Shane takes the time to talk to him about playing the position, but he’s like that with all the players. That’s the kind of kid that Shane is."
He’s done everything Dudeck could hope for this year. And he’s been as good a leader as the head coach could have hoped.
"He takes the role of captain very seriously," Dudeck said. "I really trust him and know he’ll do the right thing on and off the field and be a leader. I’m sure that will go on through his whole life and he’ll be a success no matter what road he decides to follow."
Added Davis: "It’s a great honor to be a captain. In the three years I’ve been here we’ve had great captains like Myron Rolle and Amir Davis. It’s great to mentioned with players like that.
"We had a lot of new players this year, but a lot of the team leaders have been here. Guys like me, Kevin Gallagher, Randy Mershon and Brian Wills, we’ve been here all four years and that’s made it real special."
Now he hopes that the second half of the season produces more wins and a shot at a MAPL title. It won’t be easy this week at Blair, which opened its MAPL season with a 39-10 win over Mercersburg.
"Every MAPL game is very important no matter who you’re playing," Davis said. "I’m optimistic that we can do well in the league if we play the way we know we can play. If we do that, we should be OK. Every week is tough in our league. It doesn’t matter who you play."

