By Justin Sokeland
WBIW.com
GALENA – Ever try the trick of pulling the tablecloth from under the dishes? Floyd Central performed it in reverse. Every time Bedford North Lawrence had the place settings in order for a stunning showdown victory, the Highlanders yanked the linen. The crash of glass was the shattering of championship dreams.
The Highlanders, with the reputation of a soul-crushing, relentless attack, ripped the Hoosier Hills Conference lead – and likely any chance for BNL to share the league title – away with explosive, heart-breaking plays in the first half. Each was a gut punch, and BNL could only stand so many before it went down.
Two pass bombs and a shocking kickoff return for a score powered Class 5A No.10 Floyd Central to a 41-22 victory over the stubborn Stars on Friday night. Floyd quarterback Jack Mull was not efficient, just electric while throwing for two big-play touchdowns, and safety Jaxon Stone intercepted three passes as the Highlanders (6-1 overall, 4-0 in the league) took over the top spot in the conference race.
Floyd hasn’t won anything yet, with two conference games remaining on its schedule, but it would take a near-miracle for BNL (5-2 overall, 4-1 in the HHC) to salvage any part of the title. The Highlanders have the bottom two teams in the league left to contend with, and that’s a big ask for BNL to get any help. The Stars had their chance. Floyd jerked it away.
The first bomb, a 90-yard stunner, got Floyd started. The kickoff touchdown followed BNL’s field goal for a 10-10 deadlock. The second huge touchdown pass, this one 88 yards, came one play after BNL scored late in the second quarter. Each one by itself was damaging. Packaged together, along with a clinching breakaway touchdown by power back Sebastian Robertson in the fourth quarter, they were devastating.
“Every time they got momentum, we took it away,” Floyd coach James Bragg said. “We had big plays on offense and defense that kept us ahead. Every time they got off the mat and punched us, we knocked them right back down.“
Give the Stars credit for getting up, even when their morale was screaming “stay down” to limit the punishment. BNL quarterback Dayson Kirby kept slinging the ball, throwing for 310 yards and three touchdowns, but the picks (and four total turnovers) and four sacks were too much to overcome. When Robertson smashed away against a tiring defense for his 56-yard touchdown early in the fourth quarter, the drama was done.
“Big plays killed us,” BNL coach Brayden Tidd said. “I thought we shot ourselves in the foot all night, especially offensively. We had mistakes across the board, even me. We had them on the ropes, and we would make one big mistake and take ourselves out of position.”
Floyd took an early lead on Owen Gerlach’s 30-yard field goal. Then came the one-touch turning points. Pinned at the 10 by a BNL punt, Mull fired a deep ball to Zenel Lawless, who fought off a defender for the ball and raced the rest of the 90 yards for a 10-0 lead.
The Stars got up once. Chase Rynders alertly covered an onside kick, setting up a 54-yard scoring drive. Kirby connected twice with Jaden Gilbert, then found Parker Kern for a sliding 27-yard touchdown catch.
BNL got a big break when Mull hit Stone behind the secondary for what looked like a 44-yard touchdown. But before Stone crossed the goal line, his premature exuberance caused him to fumble the ball out of the end zone, giving BNL the ball back. The Stars capitalized with a scoring drive, capped by Parker Beeson’s 39-yard field goal for a 10-10 deadlock.
Then came the next jolt. Donovan Taylor took the BNL kickoff, met resistance at the 20, broke two tackles and took off, winning a race down the right sideline for a 90-yard touchdown return.
“That was electric,” Bragg said. “That’s why a lot of teams decide not to kick to him.”
The Stars got up twice. Kirby located Gilbert for 26 yards, then zipped a 15-yard touchdown pass to Gilbert that got BNL within 17-16. Next play, Mull fired the 88-yard bomb to Stone, who held on the entire time for a 24-16 advantage. That staggered the Stars.
Floyd kept coming. Stone’s second interception, on the first drive of the second half, led to a Gerlach field goal and 27-16 advantage. BNL got up one last time, with Cam Gates snagging a 20-yard touchdown pass. But Floyd answered with two knockout scores. Mull found Stone for 21 yards, and a BNL penalty set up first-and-goal. Stone dashed home on fourth down from 2 yards. The next series featured the Robertson rumble for the final score.
Robertson, held in check until the fourth quarter, finished with 173 rushing yards. Mull was only 9 of 27 passing (with BNL’s Jackson Jones intercepting him twice), but the two chunk plays contributed to his 291 passing total.
“We got tired and they beat the brakes off of us,” Tidd said. “That’s a really good ballclub. It’s just toughness, a bunch of hard-nosed kids. You can tell they want to win with every rep they have. They’re playing hard with a lot of effort and energy. A lot of respect for that. We’ve done a good job of that this year as well.”
Kirby, who was second in the state in passing yards, used multiple targets. Kern caught 6 for 95 yards, Gilbert collected 5 for 70. Driven Axsom caught a 65-yarder but lost the ball at the goal line while battling multiple defenders in an extra-effort bid to score late in the fourth quarter. When Kirby missed, Stone was lurking, like a center fielder tracking down a fly ball.
“I asked a lot of him,” Tidd said. “We got behind the sticks, and I had to call deep stuff. They did a nice job of getting pressure.”
“We knew we had to take away the seams and the fades,” Bragg said. “We had to bring pressure. We could not let him wait back there and pick us apart. That got them out of their rhythm. Stone just happened to be on the right side and got all the picks. I could not be prouder of him, especially after the mess-up early. That shows a lot of maturity and courage.
“Overall, it was a great win. The biggest thing for us was the adversity, We had a kid who fumbled the ball out of the back of the end zone, and he didn’t pout about it. It was good to see those kids take the adversity and never let them get back up.”
BNL will look to bounce back next week on Senior Night, hosting Monrovia. The Bulldogs (3-4) dropped a 42-6 decision to Tri-West. Floyd Central can clinch a share of the HHC when it hosts Jennings County.
Bedford NL 7 9 6 0 – 22
Floyd Central 10 14 10 7 – 41
First quarter
FC – Owen Gerlach, 30 field goal, 6:07; FC – Zenel Lawless, 90 pass from Jack Mull (Gerlach kick), 4:20; BNL – Parker Kern, 27 pass from Dayson Kirby (Parker Beeson kick), 2:03
Second quarter
BNL – Beeson, 39 field goal, 7:36; FC – Donovan Taylor, 90 kickoff return (Gerlach kick), 7:18; BNL – Jaden Gilbert, 15 pass from Kirby (kick failed), 4:39; FC – Jaxon Stone, 88 pass from Mull (Gerlach kick), 4:18
Third quarter
FC – Gerlach, 35 field goal, 8:38; BNL – Cam Gates, 20 pass from Kirby (pass failed), 7:15; FC – Stone, 2 run (Gerlach kick), 2:32
Fourth quarter
FC – Sebastian Robertson, 56 run (Gerlach kick), 10:29
Team statistics
BNL – First downs 17 (3 by run, 11 by pass, 3 by penalty); Rushing 22-30; Passing 19-38-3-310; Total yards 340; Fumbles 1 (lost 1); Penalties 7-68
FC – First downs 13 (8 by run, 3 by pass, 2 by penalty); Rushing 37-193; Passing 9-27-2-291; Total yards 484; Fumbles 2 (lost 1); Penalties 10-80
Individual statistics
Rushing – (BNL) Kirby 3-(-39), Horton 15-68, Gilbert 2-1; (FC) Mull 4-(-16), Robertson 24-173, Jacobi 6-29, Stone 2-7, Taylor 1-0
Passing – (BNL) Kirby 19-38-3-310; (FC) Mull 9-27-2-291
Receiving – (BNL) Kern 6-95, Gates 4-57, Goodman 3-23, Gilbert 5-70, Axsom 1-65; (FC) Polk 1-9, Lawless 1-90, Stone 4-149, Jacobi 1-8, D. Taylor 2-17, Do. Taylor 1-18
