By Justin Sokeland
WBIW.com
JEFFERSONVILLE – For Jeffersonville, the wait was worth it. Not just a 90-minute lightning delay prior to its home opener and Senior Night celebration, but a four-year interval between two-game winning streaks.
For Bedford North Lawrence, the wait continues. The Stars weren’t stressed by the pop-up storm that caused the electrical flashes, but they were shocked by self-inflicted problems and Jeffersonville’s lightning speed on the perimeter. Now they’re off to their first winless start in 10 years.
The racy Red Devils waded through the pre-game delay and a torrential downpour of penalty flags to conquer BNL 33-12 on Friday night at Blair Field. Jayden Berkley scored twice and starting quarterback Rico Wright accounted for two scores as Jeffersonville (2-1) ended a three-game series skid against BNL and took the early lead in the Hoosier Hills Conference for the first time since 2016.
Jeffersonville did the bulk of its damage during a three-score second quarter. BNL (0-3, 0-1 in the league) finally scored a real-time touchdown, and went the distance, but the Stars could not overcome nine quarterback sacks and a fumble that set up the final touchdown of the first half.
The Devils are now in unfamiliar territory. They’ve won back-to-back conference games for the first time since 2020, and they could be on track for their first winning season since 2015. So for once, that blasted end-zone cannon that barks and shakes the ground when Jeffersonville scores is making a lot of legitimate noise.
“Ask somebody that’s been here a long time, how they feel about it,” first-year coach Joe Washington said. If this success continues, he would be a runaway winner in a Jeffersonville mayor’s race. “Hopefully we’re making them proud.”
The Devils, coming off a last-drive rally for a win last week, dominated the first half. They scored on their first drive, with Berkley bolting outside for a 33-yard score, and turned away BNL when it marched to the red zone in a response. They went up 14-0 on Wright’s 7-yard scamper, then scored twice in the final two minutes.
After pinning the Stars deep (thanks to two BNL penalties and a fumble), the Devils struck quickly after a short punt. Berkley darted around the right end, broke through unenthusiastic tackles and scored from 26 yards. Three plays later, Jeff’s Cayden Andres scooped up a fumble after another BNL bad snap, and Wright found Cameron Hollaway from 19 yards for a 27-0 lead.
BNL converted its final drive of the half when Dayson Kirby lofted a perfect-strike bomb to Driven Axsom for a 44-yard touchdown. Axsom had the first highlight of the second half with an interception near the goal line to temporarily keep BNL in range, but the Devils converted their next chance as second-half quarterback Cordell Thomas hit Ray Laird for a 30-yard score.
BNL added a late TD when Lucas Ira, making his belated season debut, found Parker Kern for a 24-yard touchdown with 1:54 left.
“In the second half, we showed what kind of team we can be,” BNL coach Derrick Barker said. “We responded well and saw some things to build on. Driven makes plays. He’s not the biggest kid on the field, but he always brings energy.
“In the first half, we missed some plays, we had some bad throws because we were getting heated up. We missed opportunities to keep ourselves in it.”
Berkley paced the Devils with 74 rushing yards. The two quarterbacks combined to complete 14 of 23 passes for 182 yards, with Robert Tucker snagging six for 75 yards. Jeffersonville was flagged 12 times for 110 yards. The long delay while waiting out the storm was of no consequence.
“It was an unknown,” Washington said. “We were loose, so we didn’t know what to expect. They got focused when it was time to go. Jayden was really a key. He did a wonderful job on the jet sweep, getting to the outside, on the perimeter, showcasing his speed. And the defense keeps answering the call. That’s a wonderful thing, to have a defense that’s playing well, playing confident.”
Kirby was 8 of 15 passing for 135 yards, but he was under constant pressure from the relentless rush. The nine sacks were the reason BNL totaled negative-14 yards rushing.
“That’s definitely the elephant in the room,” Barker said. “Right now, our playbook is limited. We’re operating on about 10 percent because we can’t get into a drop-back pass game, we can’t establish the run.”
BNL (0-3 for the first since since 2014) will visit New Albany next week. The Bulldogs bested Jennings County 33-7 for their second straight win.
Bedford NL 0 6 0 6 – 12
Jeffersonville 7 20 0 6 – 33
First quarter
J – Jayden Berkley, 33 run (Max Schoonover kick), 5:42
Second quarter
J – Riko Wright, 7 run (Schoonover kick), 6:48; J – Berkley, 26 run (Schoonover kick), 1:43; J – Cameron Hollaway, 19 pass from Wright (kick failed), 1:02; BNL – Driven Axsom, 44 pass from Dayson Kirby (kick failed), 0:23
Fourth quarter
J – Ray Laird, 30 pass from Cordell Thomas (kick failed), 4:33; BNL – Parker Kern, 24 pass from Lucas Ira (pass failed), 1:54
Team statistics
BNL – First downs 9 (2 by run, 5 by pass, 2 by penalty); Rushing 23-(-14); Passing 10-18-0-149; Total yards 135; Fumbles 4 (lost 1); Penalties 9-75
Jeff – First downs 16 (9 by run, 6 by pass, 1 by penalty); Rushing 34-144: Passing 14-23-1-182: Total yards 326; Fumbles 0; Penalties 12-110
Individual statistics
Rushing – (BNL) Kirby 12-(-25), Horton 8-10, Gilbert 1-0, Engleking 2-1; (Jeff) Wright 5-3, Kelley 6-26, Berkley 3-74, Hughes 13-52, Thomas 4-(-14), Gray 3-3
Passing – (BNL) Kirby 8-15-0-135, Ira 2-3-0-14; (Jeff) Wright 7-14-0-81, Thomas 7-9-1-101
Receiving – (BNL) Short 4-50, Kern 2-34, Axsom 3-60, Gilbert 1-5; (Jeff) Hollaway 3-55, Berkley 3-24, Laird 1-5, Tucker 6-75, Gray 1-23
