By Justin Sokeland
WBIW.com
SEYMOUR – Football games are not won with style points. This is not gymnastics or synchronized dance, where fluid movements are rewarded. Flash attracts attention and pleases the camera, but sometimes it’s the brutal ugliness that produces the desired result.
See the smile with the missing tooth? That was Bedford North Lawrence’s group photo following a rough victory over Seymour. Key word – victory. The Stars have looked prettier, but winning solves a lot of problems and covers blemishes. That scoreboard, a 34-13 road triumph over Seymour and a third straight Hoosier Hills Conference conquest, looked great on Friday night.
Once the Stars found their focus In the second half, they were picture perfect. Dayson Kirby threw three touchdown passes, and BNL’s defense pushed the Owls backward 11 times with backfield penetration as the Stars (4-1 overall) maintained their position as a co-leader in the league race while photobombing Seymour’s Homecoming celebration and queen crowning.
BNL coach Brayden Tidd cringed when looking ahead to the film study, but it will show some positives. Big plays on offense, a new weapon unleashed in the kicking game, a defense that draped on Seymour quarterback Max Coates like an old coat. The Stars have, in the last two weeks, surrendered the fewest points in back-to-back wins since starting the 2016 campaign with two shutouts. That’s beautiful in the eyes of any beholder.
“Unbelievable,” Tidd said. “Wow. This unit is really good. We’re actually doing our jobs.”
BNL’s defensive scheme centered on stopping Seymour running back Traysean Hawkins. He got loose a couple of times, including a 29-yard touchdown run in the first half that caused a lot of sideline angst. But the Stars also totaled five tackles for loss at his expense. Coates was sacked four times. BNL linebacker Noah Strauser probably should have huddled up with the Seymour offense, because he spent a lot of time back there once the ball was snapped.
“Strauser had a heck of a game,” Tidd said. “He was back there all night. They couldn’t pick up his blitz.”
There were offensive explosions. The Stars scored in only two plays on their first series. Jaden Gilbert, who missed last week after suffering a concussion against Jeffersonville, made a huge impact in his return. First touch, 38-yard swing pass. Second touch, 35-yard touchdown blast. Perhaps it came too easily.
For the next three possessions, BNL struggled. And Seymour (0-5) pulled even when Hawkins crashed up the middle early in the second quarter. The fingernail chewing on the BNL sideline indicated the Stars were the first team in history to trail 7-7. At least that was the obvious mindset at the moment.
One big blast changed that. Kirby connected with Malakai Goodman for an 86-yard touchdown and a 14-7 advantage at the half. That did not spare the Stars from Tidd’s wrath in the outside team huddle while Seymour’s enormous marching band entertained at the break.
“We didn’t come out ready to play, we were a little lethargic and slow out of the gate – which isn’t like us,” Tidd said. “We got complacent, we weren’t concentrating.“
BNL took control midway through the third quarter. Tidd found Gilbert for a 33-yard touchdown. On the following kickoff, Parker Beeson’s boot sailed deep toward the goal line, and the Seymour kick returner assumed the ball would bounce into the end zone. It did not. That crazy oblong ball kicked straight left and danced down the goal line toward the corner. BNL’s Luke Morris won the race to the free ball, setting up a Beeson field goal and 24-7 advantage.
“I thought I scored,” Morris said. “It was huge. We had some slow offense, but that kickoff turned it around. We started making plays.”
BNL got the ball back immediately two plays later, when Dax Short drifted back off the defensive line in coverage and made a spectacular one-handed interception. That led to another Beeson field goal. BNL’s finishing touchdown came when Kirby hit Parker Kern for a 23-yard score with 6:18 remaining.
Kirby, the state leader in passing yards, probably kept that title for another week while completing 18 of 30 (even with a troubling collection of dropped passes) for 283 yards. Seymour’s Alexx Milliken had two interceptions. Gilbert had 4 catches for 82 yards while Kern grabbed 7 for 79 yards.
“It was a long two weeks, it’s good to be back,” Gilbert said. “It felt like I was getting back into the rhythm, two good plays right away. There was some frustration for a while, but we got through that and put up some points.”
”We started focusing and actually playing football,” Tidd said. “If we stay patient in this offense, it will open up.”
The road team won for the seventh straight time in the series. Seymour’s suffered its seventh straight loss, a skid dating back to last season. The Owls are 0-5 for the first time since 2015.
Back to the defense. Hawkins finished with 74 yards rushing, but a lot of that was negated by the sacks (including hits by Brady Byers, Gibson Crane and Driven Axsom). The Stars allowed only 131 total yards, and the players were quick to credit defensive coordinator Heath Snider.
“We have a great coordinator, he’s getting us ready all week,” Morris said. “The key was stopping Hawkins. We just did our job.”
“He puts us in places to make plays. It showed,” Short added. “Everyone on the field trusts the person across from them to do their job.”
BNL kept pace with Floyd Central (a 34-12 winner over Jeffersonville) and Columbus East in the league race.
“It’s only up from here,” Gilbert said. “We’re chasing that title.”
”That’s all that matters,” Tidd said. “Let’s get there, one game at a time.”
Next is Jennings County. The Panthers defeated Madison 41-20 for their second win.
Bedford NL 7 7 10 10 – 34
Seymour 0 7 0 6 – 13
First quarter
BNL – Jaden Gilbert, 35 run (Parker Beeson kick), 9:54
Second quarter
Sey – Traysean Hawkins, 29 run (Jackson Fox kick), 11:30; BNL – Malakai Goodman, 86 pass from Dayson Kirby (Beeson kick), 3:13
Third quarter
BNL – Gilbert, 33 pass from Kirby (Beeson kick), 5:08; BNL – Beeson, 32 field goal, 3:02
Fourth quarter
BNL – Beeson, 29 field goal 11:54; BNL – Parker Kern, 23 pass from Kirby (Beeson kick), 6:18; Sey – Hawkins, 2 run (kick failed), 4:58
Team statistics
BNL – First downs 12 (6 by run, 6 by pass); Rushing 22-126; Passing 18-30-2-283; Total yards 409; Fumbles 1 (lost 0); Penalties 7-65
Seymour – First downs 7 (4 by run, 1 by pass, 2 by penalty); Rushing 29-77; Passing 7-13-1-54; Total yards 131; Fumbles 1 (lost 0); Penalties 7-58
Individual statistics
Rushing – (BNL) Kirby 1-19, Horton 10-54, Goodman 1-(-3), Ja. Gilbert 3-54, Crane 2-1, Je. Gilbert 2-1, Axsom 1-2, Hildum 2-4, Chastain 1-(-6); (Sey) Coates 7-(-23), Hawkins 17-74, Milliken 4-26, Wallace 1-0
Passing – (BNL) Kirby 18-30-2-283; (Sey) Coates 7-13-1-54
Receiving – (BNL) Ja. Gilbert 4-82, Kern 7-79, Axsom 1-11, Gates 3-22, Goodman 2-89, Short 1-0; (Sey) Fox 4-44, Hawkins 1-9, Smith 1-(-4), Bruce 1-5
