FORT WAYNE, Ind. (SummitCitySports) — In the past decade, the Blackhawk Christian boys basketball team has become one of the top programs in Indiana. Though their first season in Class 3A ended Saturday in a 45-43 loss against Delta, the Braves dominated through sectionals 24-3.
The talent and growth of the Blackhawk Christian boys’ basketball team began their meteoric rise in 2019 after the late Coach Marc Davidson led the school to its first 1A state title. In 2021 and 2023, the Braves secured two more state championships in Class 2A.
Contributing to two of those accolades, was current Purdue Basketball forward Caleb Furst, who was also Indiana Mr. Basketball in 2021.
Coach Matt Roth is now filling the shoes of Davidson after the beloved coach died of cancer in 2022. “I got a phone call from Coach Davidson — he had just taken the Blackhawk job and was moving down to Fort Wayne,” Roth told us. “He just wanted to get together and talk hoops, talk life — little did I know that would turn into a three-year assistant coaching job.”
“I learned a lot about coaching, but I learned a lot more about being a young man,” he added, of his former mentor.
The small private school has an enrollment of 270 kids. During the basketball team’s first season in Class 3A, the Braves were ranked #7 and won a sectional championship. Coach Roth would split from Davidson for several years, as he and his wife pursued other career opportunities. In 2022, as Davidson’s cancer became worse, he made the tough decision to step down to focus on his health and family. The school recognized his contributions with the new title of Head Coach Emeritus, and the search for a new person to lead the program began.
“I was sitting in my office at the desk when news broke over Twitter that he was stepping away,” Roth continued. “And the job posting came open, like it does in the business world, within a day or two.”
“It took me several days to get to the point where I could apply,” Roth said. “I tell my staff here during our devotions my plan was to be his assistant again… but God had other plans.”
In September 2022, a few months after his death, Blackhawk Christian renamed their home court in Davidson’s honor. By then, Roth and his family had decided to return to the tight-knit community.
“The more I prayed about it, the more I talked with my wife, the idea that if I’m going to be a head coach,” he explained, “you can’t handpick a better place to raise a family.”
“The school, the culture, the religion, the faith side of who we are is so important,” Roth shared, “that basketball is just a little spec on that radar.”
Three years later, Roth is keeping the culture and legacy that Marc Davidson built at the school, very much alive. His family is wholeheartedly dedicated to Blackhawk. In addition to teaching and coaching himself, Roth’s wife Lindsay is an assistant principal at the school, while their three kids attend as well.
“Basketball, while a great game that we get to play, it’s simply a tool,” he told us. “There’s been so many times in my life and my playing career, where basketball was taken away.”
“If that was my only identity, I would’ve been broken — I would’ve been lost… and at times I was,” Roth added.
Now, he encourages his student-athletes to use the platform to share their faith. After a heated and competitive game against Northrop on Blackhawk’s senior night, the Braves and Bruins gathered around and prayed together, as hundreds of spectators silently bowed their heads as well.
“When you look at our games, you see behind our bench is darn near every third, fourth, and fifth-grade boy who is dreaming about their opportunity,” Roth explained. “So when they finally get that as high school boys, they’re eager and hungry.”
“We try to stress how important it is to invest in our young people,” he continued. “And if our players can do that, and our players who have been here before do it as well, it makes the next generation that much more excited to have their turn.”
“Ultimately, it’s God’s plan for this place — and He has big things in store… bigger than me, bigger than the program,” Roth concluded. “And it’s just our job to shepherd these young men well, turn them out, and watch them go.”
Local author Blake Sebring documented Marc Davidson’s life story in-depth, prior to his death in the book Brave at Heart: A Christian Coach’s Journey through Life & Cancer.
