A 2-2 record doesn’t sound great for a program like Ben Davis. But the nature of both losses — by one point (at Class 5A No. 1 Penn) and in overtime (23-17 to 5A No. 4 Warren Central last Saturday at Lucas Oil Stadium) — and the margin of both victories (71-7) makes the 5A No. 7 Giants’ situation more encouraging.

Even to coach Mike Kirschner.

“We’re OK,” Kirschner said Monday. "We’re just not hitting on all cylinders. We play well at times, and then we have mental letdowns. We’ve got to get it cleaned up.

“The kids are fighting like dogs and they’re working hard every day, and I’ve got no complaints. We’ve just got to get a little more consistent, get over the hump here a little bit.”

Kirschner said not one aspect has ailed Ben Davis, instead pointing to “little things on offense, defense, special teams.” The Giants might have an easier time of addressing them, with Terre Haute North (3-1, 1-1 Metropolitan Interscholastic Conference) and Terre Haute South (1-3, 0-2) on the schedule before the next MIC power (5A No. 3 Center Grove). Health wise, too, the Giants are “in good shape,” even after Saturday’s “very hard, physical game for both teams.”

Of course, the coach refuses to take the two Terre Hautes for granted, especially after North played Ben Davis close last year (26-17 at Ben Davis).

“We can’t look past anybody,” Kirschner said. “We’re focusing on ourselves, and that’s kind of the way we approach each and every week.”

Speedway

Speedway’s run at 2A No. 1 didn’t last long, with the Sparkplugs falling hard (57-29) against Cardinal Ritter last Friday. Coach Denny Pelley never expected things to be easy, so he was far from devastated by the result — which, he said, was exaggerated a bit by a few big plays.

“They played real well,” Pelley said, “and we made some mistakes. . . . We’ve got some holes (in) places, and Ritter’s a good football team.”

Pelley’s main refrain, though, is this: “We’ll bounce back.”

It won’t be easy, as Speedway (3-1, 2-0 West Central Conference) next travels to Monrovia. The Bulldogs are 4-0 overall and 3-0 in the WCC and have yet to give up a point while scoring 201.

Speedway beat Monrovia twice in 2008, including 34-16 in the sectional final (the schools since have been aligned in different postseason brackets). They also are two of the three undefeated squads in the WCC (North Putnam is 2-0).

“(It’s) real big,” Pelley said of the matchup. “I think it’s the (conference) frontrunner, whoever wins this game.”

Cardinal Ritter

As for 2A No. 2 Ritter (3-1), the Raiders seem righted after falling the previous week to Brebeuf 25-7 . The Raiders have won 22 of their past 24 games and could make it 23 of 25 Friday at home against Guerin Catholic (0-4).

Coach Ty Hunt isn’t content with his team after its big rivalry win over Speedway.

“With 29 points getting scored on (us),” Hunt said, “we’ve got some work still to do.”

Decatur Central

It’s only four games in, but first-year Decatur Central coach Justin Dixson “couldn’t be happier” about where his team (2-2, 1-1 Mid-State) is headed — especially after a 35-14 win over Martinsville (3-1, 1-1) that followed a loss at Mooresville (3-1, 2-0) by the same score.

“It was a big conference win,” Dixson said, “and not only that, but the way our kids responded last week after our loss to Mooresville . . . was great for our kids and our staff.”

The play of junior quarterback Brandon Ledford has been key. Ledford is 30-of-41 passing for 450 yards, five touchdowns and no interceptions. Rushing, he has 299 yards and five touchdowns on 69 carries.

“Brandon’s a special, special athlete,” Dixson said. “(But) he’d be the first one to tell you — he’s a special athlete that makes special plays, but there are a lot of other guys around him. He’s got a good group of linemen up front and a slew of backs to where defenses can’t just focus on him, which allows him to use his athletic ability a lot better.”