By Justin Sokeland
WBIW.com
BEDFORD – In the Old Testament, the stubborn Egyptians faced 10 plagues. Bedford North Lawrence was cursed with a few – from a pregame rain squall that was the only blip on the radar within three hours, to a nasty bug storm that made life miserable, to a late-game fog that was ominous – during the IHSAA-sanctioned scrimmage.
While the locusts (or whatever those insects were) caused a lot of swatting, the most damaging plague was the mystical misdirection offense of Brownstown. This was the first-ever meeting between the programs that are separated by only 25 miles, and it showed as the Braves caused a lot of chaos with their single-wing shotgun. Give Brownstown the edge, just from that fact alone, although the Stars showed some promise during the final preseason workout on Friday night.
BNL displayed some offensive explosiveness, especially during the goal-line portion of the controlled, scripted session, while Brownstown sliced up the BNL defense with its multi-dimensional attack that relies on ball fakes and backfield confusion.
Overall, it was a typical scrimmage – some good, some not.
BNL’s positive points came from junior quarterback Dayson Kirby, who threw for 103 yards and four touchdowns. Brownstown’s best was a running game that accounted for 243 yards as the Braves scored five times during their three sets. It would have been more worrisome if there was nothing bad exposed as both teams head toward the regular-season opener next week.
“By no means was it great,” BNL coach Derrick Barker said. “We’re not happy or satisfied with it. There are things we did well that we can build on.”
BNL’s offensive issues were sustaining movement, ball security, and the lack of a ground game. The Stars finally clicked during the first-and-goal segment, when Kirby connected on three consecutive touchdown passes (to Parker Kern, Gavin Pedersen and Brody Horton). He also hit Pedersen for a 36-yard touchdown strike in the final series. But BNL will have to add a running attack as balance. The Stars totaled only 11 rushing yards on 16 carries (that total was diminished by two sacks) and dropped three fumbles.
“That’s the most encouraging thing,” Barker said of the big-play passes, “but also the most frustrating. Next week, we have to put balls in the end zone and get points out of those drives. We saw some good things, we broke some big runs and big passes. We just have to clean up some of the mistakes.
“If you want to win big games, important games, against good teams, you have to run the ball, to sustain drives. We have to figure out the best guys on the line, where we gel the best. We’ve come a long way the last two weeks, so it’s all about development.”
Pedersen was the main target with five receptions for 75 yards.
For the Braves, their focus was on improvement after a lackluster performance during their intrasquad scrimmage last week. Hall of Fame coach Reed May noted that during his postgame analysis.
“Compared to our scrimmage, this was a lot better,” May said. “Our offense was terrible last week. We did move the ball a lot better. It was good competition. We should have a pretty good defense. We have seven starters returning there, so I liked that we flew around. I wanted to see us execute and fly around.“
Then he prefaced his breakdown with an obvious fact. BNL does not scout prior to a scrimmage, and has never faced the vaunted single-wing. That does not excuse some of the poor tackling.
“In their defense, if you don’t game-plan for us, it’s hard,” May said. “The double handoffs and misdirection killed them. But if they’re playing us in a regular-season game, it wouldn’t hurt them. That was our advantage. They don’t practice against what we do. Teams that play us know what we do.”
Brownstown’s rushing leaders included Greg Hutcheson (6 carries for 76 yards and a touchdown) and Preston Garrison (6 for 50 yards and a score). Trevor Branaman, Jack Pace and Mason Cowan also had scoring bursts in the balanced assault.
“We were OK, for the most part, at reading our keys,” Barker said. “Our starting group, with as many guys as we have playing both ways, you can’t leave them in there for more than about four or five plays. It was good that it took us back to base fundamentals. You have to read the key, have your eyes where they need to be, and be disciplined. At times, we did that. But they’re very good at it, and have been for decades.’
BNL will now prepare for the season opener against Martinsville, while the Braves will start May’s 32nd season at the helm at Corydon.
SCRIMMAGE STATISTICS
BNL – Passing: Kirby 9-21-0-103. Rushing: Horton 6-33, Axsom 2-(-5), Free 1-(-1), Hildum 1-(-1), Engleking 2-3, Kirby 3-(-15), Gilbert 1-2. Receiving: Pedersen 5-75, Free 1-6, Kern 1-10, Horton 1-10, Gilbert 1-2
Brownstown – Passing: Shaffer 2-6-0-8; Rushing: Hutcheson 6-76, Garrison 6-50, Branaman 3-9, Sweany 3-24, Shaffer 1-(-7), Pace 3-23, Ault 2-8, Dean 2-34, Cowan 1-23. Receiving: Garrison 1-2, Sweany 1-6
