By Justin Sokeland
WBIW.com
BLOOMINGTON – Improvisation and trickeration. One is an act of ingenuity, with a hint of sheer genius, the other the twisted plot of a sinister mind. Bloomington North’s Luke Freel probably laughs a little dastardly. He played the part of super villain to perfection.
Loki, the Norse god of mischief, would have been proud of the havoc Freel caused against Bedford North Lawrence. His two trick-play touchdowns in the first half, and his victory-clinching score in the fourth quarter, were the perfect antagonist plays to BNL’s super quarterback and his receiver sidekicks.
Freel had his own henchman in speedster Nate Walker, and together they powered the Cougars to a thrilling 29-20 victory on Friday night, giving coach Brett Cooper his first win with his new program. North (1-1) also continued its boggling mastery of the Stars, winning for the seventh straight time in the series and the 17th time in the last 18 meetings.
BNL (1-1) had chances to end that dominance, as senior quarterback Dayson Kirby threw for 414 yards and three touchdowns. But the Stars, backed up in bad field position and thwarted by penalties, were shut out in the second half, and Freel’s breakaway score midway through the final quarter was the death blow.
North had struggled offensively in its opener, but the Cougars discovered the secret to success by delving deeper into the playbook. The first touchdown was a hook-and-ladder connection, as Freel caught a pass in the middle and lateraled to Walker as he flew past. The second was a reverse pass as Freel took a pitch, pulled up and fired a deep touchdown to Walker.
Here’s the kicker about the lateral. It was uncalled, unscripted. When Freel caught the pass from John Bargen, he was the only one who knew what was coming next. His pitch to Walker, who bolted away for the rest of the 66-yard score, was perfect. It also cut some years off Cooper’s life.
“I gave him a hug and told him ‘Don’t do it again,’” Cooper said with a smile. “It was a huge play. That was a Luke Freel special. He improvised. That’s one of the most stellar plays I’ve ever seen.“
“It was a really good play by him,” said BNL coach Brayden Tidd, who suffered his first loss, said, “just heads-up football by a really good player.”
That gave North a 7-6 lead. The next was the reverse pass, which was actually called from the sideline for the first snap of the second quarter and executed to perfection. Walker slipped wide open in the secondary as the ball was changing hands in the backfield, and that 49-yard strike gave the Cougars a 15-6 advantage.
BNL unleashed its own fireworks. Kirby, for the second straight week, was on fire. He hit Jaden Gilbert for 53 yards during the first drive, then found Cam Gates for a 12-yard score and a quick lead. After the Freel frivolity, Kirby came back with two more big plays, finding Parker Kern for 38 yards and Gilbert for a 17-yard touchdown that sliced North’s lead to 15-13.
The Cougars responded with another lightning score, with Bargen hitting Rashon English for a 55-yard bomb and 22-13 lead. Kirby answered that with a 52-yard blast to Malakai Goodman that set up a 10-yard touchdown pass to Kern to cap a wild second quarter.
“They were really chaotic in the first half, making some scramble throws,” Cooper said. “We played into the chaos. We relaxed, did what we’re supposed to do, settled down and finally made some plays.”
North did a lot of threatening, with nothing to show for it, during a tense third quarter. Kellen Bishop stepped into a passing lane for an interception that gave the Cougars a starting point at the BNL 34, but Luke Morris stopped that with an interception of a Bargen deep ball at the 5. After BNL punted, the Cougars took over at the 21, but a fourth-down pass was picked off by BNL’s Driven Axsom at the goal line.
The Stars got out of that hole before getting stopped on fourth down near the red zone. After North’s next possession ended with a failed fake punt, giving BNL the ball at the North 40, but the Stars were thwarted when Kirby was sacked on fourth down by Aden Davis. Three plays later, Bargen hit Freel in the right flat, and he shook free from a tackle before dashing 42 yards to the end zone.
Bargen finished 8 of 21 passing for 205 yards and three touchdowns. Walker had 149 yards on his three touches (two receptions and the lateral).
Kirby finished 24 of 38. Gilbert caught 10 passes for 154 yards, Kern nabbed five for 91 yards, and Gates added four catches for 88.
“Kirby is unbelievable,” Cooper said. “The growth that kid has had from last year, to this year, that’s just different. And it’s hard to defend in high school football. He made some awesome plays.”
“We made a lot of good plays,” Tidd said. “We were unbelievable on third-and-long, I’ve never seen anything like it. But at some point, we’re not going to get one. I thought they played well and fought hard again. I was proud of the guys.”
BNL was dogged by penalties (10 for 68 yards). Both teams were guilty of 18 penalties combined, and that total didn’t include three declined flags against BNL and two offsetting fouls. There was more yellow popping up on the field than dandelions on a spring yard.
The Stars will start Hoosier Hills Conference action next week, hosting Jeffersonville in their home opener.
Bedford NL 6 14 0 0 – 20
Bloomington North 7 15 0 7 – 29
First quarter
BNL – Cam Gates, 12 pass from Dayson Kirby (kick failed), 5:44; BN – Nate Walker, 66 pass from John Bargen (Andres Firacative kick), 4:52
Second quarter
BN – Walker, 49 pass from Luke Freel (Noah Ferree run), 11:51; BNL – Jared Gilbert, 17 pass from Kirby (Aiden Balle kick), 7:20; BN – Rashon English, 55 pass from Bargen (Firacative kick) 6:27; BNL – Parker Kern, 10 pass from Kirby (Balle kick), 3:56
Fourth quarter
BN – Freel, 42 pass from Bargen (Firacative kick), 8:25
Team statistics
BNL – First downs 17 (3 by run, 13 by pass, 1 by penalty); Rushing 28-62; Passing 24-38-1-414; Total yards 476; Fumbles 2 (lost 0); Penalties 10-68
North – First downs 10 (6 by run, 1 by pass, 3 by penalty); Rushing 27-98; Passing 9-22-2-253; Total yards 352; Fumbles 0; Penalties 8-60
Individual statistics
Rushing – (BNL) Kirby 8-(-5), Horton 13-38, Goodman 7-29; (BN) Bargen 3-(-11), Johnson 14-49, English 2-24, Matthew 7-33, Hamidovic 1-3
Passing – (BNL) Kirby 24-38-1-414; (BN) Bargen 8-21-2-205, Freel 1-1-0-49
Receiving – (BNL) Gates 4-88, Kern 5-91, Gilbert 10-154, Goodman 4-62, Axsom 1-19; (BN) Walker 2-149, Freel 3-86, English 3-55, Johnson 1-4.
