By Justin Sokeland
WBIW.com
BEDFORD – The empty stomach growls, the head spins, concentration wanes, irritability surfaces. Those are classic signs of hunger. Bedford North Lawrence displays all the symptoms. According to Virginia Woolf, one cannot think well or sleep well if one has not dined well.
The Stars need to feast on a victory. They’re four weeks deep into the 2024 campaign, still winless at this point for the first time since 2013, and now it’s Homecoming. With all these invited guests on the way, BNL needs to eat. Happiness rarely keeps company with an empty stomach.
BNL, with the trends still pointed positive, will seek its elusive breakthrough triumph when it hosts Seymour on Friday night, and the Owls (1-3, 0-3 in the Hoosier Hills Conference) are also in need of a Snickers to quell their “hangry” attitude. Seymour has lost three conference games in a row, so one win-starved team is going to finally get a taste of success.
“Somebody will get their first conference win of the year,” BNL coach Derrick Barker said. “It should be two hungry teams that want to scrap it out.
“We’re trending in the right direction in everything except the win column. That’s the last one we have to figure out how to crack. We’ve seen improvement. There is hope and reason for optimism. We just have to put it together for four quarters, in all three phases of the game.”
Indeed, BNL has surrendered fewer points each week, even scored two rushing touchdowns at New Albany. That’s two phases of football. The third – special teams – is where the Stars have had the most issues. Bad snaps and blocked punts have been too common.
“Special teams is one thing that’s hard to get high school kids to buy into, really understand its importance, until it’s really bad – as it has been at times this year,” Barker said. “They’ve learned that lesson. We’ve made changes in schemes and personnel. We’re on the right track.”
Seymour started with a 23-20 win over Greenwood, then fell flat when the league battles began, suffering losses to Jeffersonville (giving up a 99-yard drive late in the fourth quarter), Columbus East and Floyd Central (when a 22-7 lead was erased by six straight FC touchdowns).
The Owls have dangerous offensive weapons, starting with senior quarterback Mikey Wright, who has thrown for 550 yards and 5 scores after stepping into the void created by graduated standout Bret Perry. HIs top target is one of the best in southern Indiana. Jaylan Johnson, a four-year starter, has caught 21 passes for 279 yards, and he’s a two-way difference maker with a team-best four interceptions as a defensive end.
“Jaylan has solidified himself as the best player on the field each time he goes into a game,” Seymour coach Tyson Moore said. “For four years, I have watched opposing defenses change their schemes to adjust to him. On the defensive side, he has shown the ability to set the edge in the run game and be a threat in the pass game. He’s one of the top players in the state for a reason.
“It’s hard to replace a three-year starter at quarterback, so you know going in there will have to be some adjustments. The good thing is Mikey has four years of varsity experience. He’s got a good football IQ and is a huge threat in the run game. I think the guys around him have really started to trust him and the toughness he plays with.”
Wright is Seymour’s rushing leader and scored two TDs against Floyd.
“They lost a tremendous quarterback, but they have a really good athlete back there who can run and throw,” Barker said. “And Jaylan is a kid who seems to have been there for eight years. He’s a tremendous player.”
BNL’s offense has been pass heavy, with quarterback Dayson Kirby throwing for 628 yards. Dax Short (14 catches for 121 yards), Parker Kern (10 for 149) and Jaden Gilbert (11 for 106) have been his main targets since the season-ending injury to Gavin Pedersen. Brody Horton got the rushing totals to the plus side with his two scoring explosions last week. Gibson Crane (23 tackles, 7 for loss in three games), Brady Byers (23 tackles, 3 for loss) and Driven Axsom (18 tackles, 1 interception) have been the defensive leaders.
“Bedford always has a tough offense and defense,” Moore said. “They typically always have something up their sleeve we haven’t seen defensively that they throw at us. Last year they gave us trouble that no one else had given us to that point.
“With a rebuilt offense this year, my biggest concern is preparing for their fronts and alignments and making sure we are getting guys blocked. Defensively, stopping the run is always difficult against them but our defensive front has played a lot of football together. If we can force them off schedule, we give ourselves a chance. If we can defend the pass better and continue to improve up front on the offensive line, we give ourselves a solid chance to be successful.”
In a rare statistical anomaly, the visitor has won the last five games in the series. Last year at Seymour, the Stars won a 36-28 thriller. Memphis Louden scored twice and hit Cal Gates with a 45-yard touchdown pass for the game winner late in the fourth quarter. BNL intercepted three passes and Maddox Ray blocked a punt.
Perry threw for 315 yards, with Jack Pennington totaling 116 yards receiving with two touchdowns.
SEYMOUR at BNL
Kickoff: Friday, 7 p.m.
Records: Seymour 1-3 (0-3 in HHC); BNL 0-4 (0-2 in HHC)
Coaches: Tyson Moore, 20-25 in fifth season at Seymour; Derrick Barker 17-19 in fourth season at BNL
Sagarin ratings: Seymour 48.27; BNL 35.22
Series: Seymour leads 26-23
Last meeting: Last year at Seymour, the Stars picked off three passes and blocked a punt, and Cal Gates scored the game-winning touchdown with two minutes left as BNL escaped with a 36-28 win. Memphis Louden ran for two scores for the Stars. Bret Perry threw for 315 yards for the Owls.
Previous game story: Stars take deep breath, stop Seymour
Game notes: Seymour has not lost four straight games since 2020. BNL has not started a season 0-5 since 2003 (Bret Szabo’s first year as head coach). The road team has won five straight in this series.
