By Justin Sokeland
WBIW.com
BEDFORD – Ever wish life had a reset button? Erase mistakes and alter history with just a quick flick of a switch? Bedford North Lawrence has been awarded that opportunity.
After a regular season of struggles, the Stars will start fresh in the postseason. For all the bad bounces and misfortune of the first nine weeks, the IHSAA’s blind draw for Class 4A’s Sectional 23 broke perfectly for BNL. In a sectional with an obvious favorite and seven tough sloggers, BNL got the best possible path forward. The Stars (1-8) drew a first-round home rematch with their only victim thus far.
BNL will face Jennings County (0-9) on Friday night with a chance to make history. Since the current all-inclusive playoff format was introduced, BNL has never won postseason games in three consecutive years. That would go a long way toward resetting this season’s legacy.
In fact, the Stars have a chance for a deep sectional run. The BNL-Jennings winner will face either Shelbyville (1-8) or Greenwood (2-7) in the semifinal. That means a likely collision with No.3 Martinsville (8-1) wouldn’t happen until the championship. The Artesians will clash with Charlestown (2-7), while Silver Creek (4-5) will meet Connersville (2-7) in the other half of the bracket,
First things first. BNL must dispose of the Panthers, and the Stars have already done that once, posting a 41-14 win at Jennings on Sept. 28.
“That’s the plus side of the state tournament,” BNL coach Derrick Barker said. “Everybody gets a chance to reset back to 0-0. That’s promising for us. And it helps to have a team we’ve played, we’re familiar with them, we had some success against them. We know we will have to play our best game, but there are things we can take advantage of and hopefully get a win.”
BNL dominated the regular-season battle. Brody Horton scored three touchdowns, the secondary intercepted four passes (including an electric pick-six score by Cutler Chastain), and the Stars triggered the running clock midway through the third quarter. The Panthers managed only 50 yards of offense until a late touchdown breakaway by freshman Brady Franks, and they added a fumble return for a score on the final play.
The danger this time? BNL can’t take this one for granted. That leads to disaster.
“If we overlook them and mess around, we have a chance of getting beat,” BNL junior defensive back Luke Morris said.
“There’s always a danger, with high school kids, of not taking every game as serious as it could be,” Barker said. “We’ve been on them. We know we will get their best game. We beat them, but by no means did we totally dominate the whole game. We can’t overlook anybody.”
Jennings will look a little different this time. Franks will start at quarterback, and the Panthers have added some new alignment wrinkles. However, Jennings is averaging only 7.2 points per game (while allowing 45.6). Franks has completed 24 of 51 passes for 165 yards in limited duty, while Brandan McCory is the leading rusher with 283 yards.
BNL has quality passing stats with Dayson Kirby (94 of 169 for 1,122 yards and 7 touchdowns) and his receiving corps. Jaden Gilbert has caught 30 for 341 yards and two scores, Dax Short has grabbed 25 for 256 yards, and Driven Axsom has added 22 for 312 yards. BNL’s issue has been a lack of a ground game (Gilbert is the leader with 223 yards, while Horton has four TDs).
Take away the Franks’ 67-yard touchdown run, and BNL allowed only 45 yards rushing against the Panthers.
“The defense played really well,” Barker said. “We had energy, we had enthusiasm and we were playing a lot faster. We were proactive and on the attack. We have to do that again. We have to be the aggressor.”
Other numbers favor BNL as well. The Stars lead the series 45-7 with eight straight wins, and they’ve never lost to the Panthers in two postseason meetings. Jennings hasn’t won a sectional game since 2016, while BNL is chasing the threepeat history.
“It would be pretty cool to do that,” BNL senior Garrett McDuffee said. “Obviously our season hasn’t gone the way we wanted, so coming out with something like that would be great. We’re not overlooking them, for sure. We are pretty confident.”
CLASS 4A SECTIONAL 23
First round
JENNINGS COUNTY at BNL
Kickoff: Friday, 7 p.m.
Records: Jennings County 0-9; BNL 1-8
Coaches: Jason Burton, 0-9 in first season at Jennings (1-28 in third season overall); Derrick Barker, 18-23 in fourth season at BNL
Sagarin ratings: Jennings County 14.62; BNL 30.33
Series: BNL leads 45-7
Last meeting: On Sept. 28 at Jennings, the Stars rolled to a 41-14 victory. Brody Horton scored three touchdowns, and BNL intercepted four passes en route to a mercy-rule win.
Previous game story: Stars wash away winless grim
Game notes: BNL is seeking a postseason win in the third straight season for the first time in program history. BNL is 2-0 against Jennings in sectional games. The Stars have won eight straight in the series. Jennings is 7-39 in its postseason history, with its last win coming in 2016.
