By Justin Sokeland
WBIW.com
BEDFORD – Growth spurts are most apparent when a youngster reaches puberty, when a child starts the physical transformation to adulthood. Bedford North Lawrence football coach Derrick Barker hopes his team has reached that point.
Growing pains were expected when the Stars started the 2024 campaign. Youth and inexperience is a tough combination. BNL had to mature in a hurry, while under fire from hostile enemy forces. Barker is growing weary of that excuse.
After three rough weeks, with signs of improvement sprinkled amongst the glaring issues during a winless start, BNL faces a coming-of-age road test when it travels to New Albany for its second Hoosier Hills Conference battle. There will be plenty of obstacles. The remnants of Hurricane Francine are predicted to impact the area, and the Bulldogs (2-1) will challenge BNL’s collective manhood with their style of play.
“The name of the game will be physicality,” Barker said. “They’re an old-school type team, they run a lot of power, they’re pretty big on the line, they have guys that run the ball really hard. So it will test our physicality at the point of attack on defense, our ability to tackle.”
New Albany has won two straight, conquering South Bend Washington 28-18 while rushing for 278 yards, and smacking Jennings County 33-7 in its league opener last week.
“Our team is playing well,” New Albany coach Steve Cooley said. “We’re fighting injuries like everyone else. But our depth has improved and some key young guys have stepped up. Right now we’re running the football pretty well, and throwing it when we need to, or want to. A key for us is our defense is improving daily at tackling and fundamentals. Our best football is ahead of us.”
BNL believes likewise, its best is yet to come. That would start with establishing its own running game. That has yet to happen. In three losses, the Stars have a combined total of 4 rushing yards on 60 carries, a ghastly number that includes sacks allowed (14) and bad snaps. Junior quarterback Dayson Kirby has been effective considering the constant harassment, completing 41 of 70 for 506 yards (with five interceptions), and his top targets have been Dax Short (14 catches for 121 yards), Parker Kern (7 for 84) and Driven Axsom (6 for 145). But there’s no balance.
“We have to get the running game going,” Barker said. “We have to protect the quarterback so that we can open up the offense. It comes down to fundamental things – blocking, taking care of the ball, even simple things like good snaps and exchanges.
“The time for some of those mistakes is over. There’s no more ‘my bad’ or just a bad play. We have to execute the fundamentals. We have to man up and block, instead of being stuck on quick passes and screens.”
Despite those struggles, and a minus-4 turnover differential, Cooley is concerned about BNL’s explosiveness.
“BNL has the potential to score on every play,” he said. “They have talented receivers and their quarterback keeps improving since Week One. We will have to play solid coverage and have a good pass rush.”
New Albany’s main weapons include Klay Kaiser (two TD runs against SB Washington plus a blocked punt for a score at Jennings) Kenny Watson (touchdown passes to Gavin Rand in both wins) and running back Damian Castillo.
BNL has won two straight in the series, including last year’s blowout. Cal Gates scored four times, Memphis Louden threw three touchdown passes, and BNL’s defense forced three-and-out possessions on nine of New Albany’s first 10 drives. That equaled a 52-14 runaway for the Stars, who triggered the running clock with 7:54 left in the third quarter. That represented the largest BNL win in the series since 1978.
Now the Stars seek to avoid the opposite in trends, looking to halt the losing skid.
“There is certainly progress being made,” Barker said. “We saw a lot of good things in the second half (at Jeffersonville last week). Getting more experience, getting more familiarity with playing varsity-level football against good teams has helped some of that. Hopefully we’re through some of those pains and ready to play our best game.
“We have to do a better job of coaching them and putting them in positions to succeed. It’s not for lack of effort on anyone’s part. We still believe there is a lot of talent and ability there.”
BNL defensive lineman Gibson Crane is expected to return this week after missing the Jeffersonville game with an injury.
BNL at NEW ALBANY
Kickoff: Friday, 7 p.m.
Records: BNL 0-3 (0-1 in HHC); New Albany 2-1 (1-0 in HHC)
Coaches: Derrick Barker, 17-18 in fourth season at BNL; Steve Cooley, 35-40 in eighth season at New Albany (157-155 in 30th season overall)
Sagarin ratings: BNL 39.67; New Albany 45.21
Series: BNL leads 25-21
Last meeting: Last year at BNL, the Stars blasted the Bulldogs 52-14. Cal Gates scored four touchdowns and Memphis Louden threw three TD passes as BNL posted its largest margin of victory in the series since 1978.
Previous game story: All phasers set to destroy for BNL
Game notes: BNL is seeking to avoid its first 0-4 start since 2013. New Albany won its last conference title in 2021.
