By Justin Sokeland
WBIW.com
BEDFORD – For Bedford North Lawrence, three of a kind was a winning hand.
For the third consecutive season, for the first time in program history, the Stars started the postseason with a victory. Dealt a great hand for the sectional opener, BNL played the cards perfectly while advancing to the sectional semifinal.
Dayson Kirby was dealing the football and BNL’s defense was trumping every move Jennings County made during an all-in, 38-6 triumph on Friday night. Kirby threw four touchdown passes, and Jaden Gilbert scored four times, as BNL (2-8) cruised to a repeat mercy-rule win over the clawless Panthers (0-10). The Stars will visit Greenwood (a 37-0 winner over Shelbyville) for the second round of Class 4A Sectional 23 next week.
BNL scored four touchdowns in the second quarter to create ample space, then triggered the running clock with an explosive score on the first play of the third quarter. Kirby threw for 231 yards, and BNL’s defense had Jennings backed up into negative offensive numbers until late in the third quarter. The Stars held all the aces in the deck.
“That’s a nice feeling,” BNL coach Derrick Barker said. “It was a lot more fun than some of the other weeks we’ve had. It’s good for the kids, good for the seniors and juniors who have been here. It’s good to be playing football next week.
“We’re not in the position to overlook anybody and take a week off. It’s too crucial. It’s the playoffs. At any time, your season could be ended. We have to cherish the opportunity.”
BNL, which already owned a 41-14 road win over the Panthers during the regular-season clash, was never in jeopardy of an upset. After a Cutler Chastain interception, Kirby hit Jaden Gilbert – a common theme – with a 7-yard touchdown pass to finish the first drive, then found Gilbert again for an 11-yard scoring strike on the first play of the second quarter.
While Jennings could not counter with any offensive thrust, BNL kept up the attack. Kirby connected with Gilbert for 21 yards, then finished the drive with a 14-yard slant pass to Dax Short for a 20-0 lead midway through the second. After a Jennings fake punt was smothered by Brady Byers, the Stars struck again in three plays, with Kirby finding Short for 20 yards over the middle and Brody Horton scampering home from the 2 with 3:19 left in the half.
The Stars added a final score with quick precision, covering 49 yards in less than a minute. Kirby fired an 18-yard pass to Parker Kern, Gilbert dashed 22 yards to the 9, and he scored from there on the next snap as the Stars stormed to a 32-0 lead at intermission.
BNL capped its scoring with emphatic flair. On the first snap of the second half, Kirby escaped pressure, rolled left and found Gilbert in the secondary. He darted outside, won a race to the left sideline, powered through a tackler and roared home from 78 yards for a 38-0 advantage.
“We were reading each other,” Gilbert said. “I see him as my duo. When he feels the pressure, he dumps it down to me, and I go to work.”
“We knew we had to take advantage of some stuff in the pass game,” Barker said. “The line gave him enough him to extend some plays, find guys down field. The receivers have done a good job all year of staying alive and finding the open spots. In the playoffs, when you get weather likes this, you have to be able to make some explosive plays.”
Kirby completed 15 of 21 passes en route to his four scores. Gilbert caught six for 120 yards.
“He’s so fast, they have to play so far off,” Kirby said. “I’m just getting him the ball and he makes it work. It’s all him.”
Other targets offered plenty of options. Driven Axsom had four catches for 46 yards and Short added three for 39.
“They were giving me a good pocket, and I just rewarded them,” Kirby said.
The Panthers had only one first down (by a BNL penalty) in the first half, and had totaled minus-11 yards until the Stars relaxed, allowing a 30-yard pass to Tristan Dutton. Two plays later, Cam Patterson crashed 20 yards to the 2, and he scored untouched from there for the only Jennings touchdown. The Panthers finished with a running clock in nine of their 10 games this season.
“We didn’t know what we would get out of them,” Barker said. “I felt pretty good about us stopping the run.”
“We did really good against the run,” Byers said. “Our line really held up.”
BNL recorded only its 14th postseason win in school history. But the more important number was the threepeat. The Stars started this streak with a win at Shelbyville in 2022, then stopped Evansville Harrison in the first round last season.
“It was good night for the team all around,” Gilbert said. “It’s exciting for us to go into the postseason and win our first game. We have some good motion going for us. It’s a big deal for our team, for our history. We’ll use that for motivation for next week.”
“It leads on,” Byers said.
“It’s a huge morale boost,” Kirby added. “Coming in here and making history, it’s a huge boost.”
In the other half of the Sectional 23 bracket, Silver Creek (5-5) conquered Connersville 40-20, while No.3 Martinsville (9-1) crushed Charlestown 56-0. The Artesians will travel to Silver Creek for that semifinal.
Jennings Co. 0 0 6 0 – 6
Bedford NL 6 26 6 0 – 38
First quarter
BNL – Jaden Gilbert, 7 pass from Dayson Kirby (pass failed), 8:15
Second quarter
BNL – Gilbert, 11 pass from Kirby (kick failed), 11:51; BNL – Dax Short, 14 pass from Kirby (Kirby pass to Parker Kern), 6:37; BNL – Brody Horton, 2 run (kick failed), 3:19; BNL – Gilbert, 9 run (pass failed), 0:23
Third quarter
BNL – Gilbert, 72 pass from Kirby (run failed), 11:31; JC – Cam Patterson, 2 run (kick failed); 0:34
Team statistics
JC – First downs 5 (2 by run, 1 by pass, 2 by penalty); Rushing 29-38; Passing 3-5-1-32; Total yards 70; Fumbles 2 (lost 0); Penalties 3-21
BNL – First downs 10 (3 by run, 6 by pass, 1 by penalty); Rushing 24-79; Passing 15-23-2-231; Total yards 310; Fumbles 1 (lost 0); Penalties 10-99
Individual statistics
Rushing – (JC) Franks 8-(-16), McCory 2-1, Cole 4-0, Patterson 12-55, Hernandez 2-2, Harrison 1-(-2); (BNL) Kirby 1-5, Ira 3-15, Horton 10-20, Gilbert 5-31, Axsom 1-8, Engleking 2-(-2), Hildum 1-2, Allender 1-(-2)
Passing – (JC) Franks 3-5-1-32; (BNL) Kirby 15-21-1-231, Ira 0-2-1-0
Receiving – (JC) Dutton 1-30, Wilson 1-2; (BNL) Axsom 4-46, Short 3-39, Gilbert 6-120, Kern 1-18, Jones 1-7
