By Justin Sokeland
WBIW.com
BEDFORD – Success breeds success, but it does not guarantee it. The danger of contentment, which can quickly blur into complacency, is a real threat.
Bedford North Lawrence has every right to be joyous following Week One. The Stars, motivated by revenge against a historic nemesis, blasted their way to a 33-27 victory over Martinsville, a triumph that ranked high on the satisfactory scale. Now it’s Week Two, the cycle starts anew, and the next opponent actually has been a greater thorn for the Stars.
Seeking a 2-0 start for the first time since 2017, BNL will clash with Bloomington North on Friday night, and there’s peril. The Cougars (0-1) opened with a tough 44-6 loss to crosstown rival South, but recent history has proven the hazard of taking for granted what has yet to be earned. North has dominated the series with BNL, winning seven straight and 17 of the last 18 meetings. That’s hard to fathom, two decades of defeats.
The message is simple: be prepared to prevail, or prepare to be humbled.
“Getting that first win is cool,” BNL coach Brayden Tidd said. “But we know, from last year, winning the first doesn’t mean you will win the second one. It doesn’t matter what kind of team you think you are or what kind you have, winning the first one will never win you the second one. You have to take it one week at a time. We have to wipe the memory and move on.”
Funny how Tidd mentioned last season. That’s the case study for this clash. A year ago, the Stars were flying high following a stunning win at Martinsville in that opener, feeling confident and brash. BNL crashed back to earth rapidly, suffering a 29-20 setback at North as trick plays and big-yardage plays did the damage against the flat-footed Stars. That sounds familiar. BNL does not want that scenario to repeat itself.
“The issue last year was we were kind of full of ourselves,” BNL senior Case Stiles said. “We had not beaten Martinsville in a long time, so when we watched film on North, thought they were not as good as Martinsville, and kind of slept on them. We cannot do that this year. We want to make history.”
How good is North now? That’s hard to quantify. The Cougars have a new head coach – their fourth in four years – with Andy Harding returning to his alma mater. His resume was built as a defensive coordinator at North Carolina power Tarboro, which has won 10 state championships at that state’s Class A and 2A levels. He succeeds Brett Cooper, who left to take over at Ben Davis.
North also starts a freshman at quarterback, which immediately signals growing pains. Fisher Pugh completed 9 of 23 for 97 yards against the Panthers, but his two interceptions were returned for touchdowns. The Cougars will feature talent at running back with Brayden Johnson and Carter Matthews (who combined for 130 yards on 20 carries against South).
“They have one of the better running backs we will face all year long, they have all kind of athletes at receiver,” Tidd said. “This will be one of the faster defenses we will play, so it will be a nice challenge.”
BNL will counter with its new-look running game. Senior quarterback Cutler Chastain was stellar in his starting debut, running for 119 yards and two touchdowns while also throwing for 166 yards. Brody Horton also crashed the century mark with 100 rushing yards and two scores. The Stars totaled 244 on the ground.
“We take a lot of pride in that,” said senior Chase Rynders, who moved from the offensive line to tight end, adding another body to the blocking scheme. “As a lineman, that’s our bread and butter. It’s a different type of mentality. You have to be a lot more aggressive, and it’s a lot more fun to go hit some guys.”
Injury issues have already hit the program. Senior linebacker Grady Dalton is out for the year after suffering a partially torn labrum in his right shoulder. Senior receiver Parker Kern is still battling a foot problem, and junior starting cornerback Sam Gratzer went down with a right knee injury during Wednesday’s practice. BNL cannot afford many more of those subtractions on the depth chart.
As former Indiana coach Bill Mallory always said, lock the jaw and tighten the chin strap.
“Next man up, we preach that all year long,” Tidd said. “And we have confidence in the guys.
”We have to control what we can control, just play fast and physical football. Last week was the first time in a while I’ve seen us just continuously out-physical the other team. That’s what we want BNL football to get back to.”
Looking back at last year once again, it was the North trickery that caught BNL off guard. Luke Freel connected with Nate Walker for a hook-and-ladder catch and lateral that went 66 yards for a score, then he completed a reverse pass to Walker for a 49-yard bomb. North quarterback John Bargen also hit Freel with a 42-yard touchdown pass, and found Rashon English for a 55-yard touchdown.
Those bursts offset the passing of BNL’s Dayson Kirk (414 yards and 3 TDs) and catching of Jaden Gilbert (10 receptions for 154 yards). The Stars didn’t score in the second half.
BNL’s defense was much more sound against Martinsville last week. The Stars made the Artesians take smaller chunks of yardage rather than surrendering the shock plays.
“We have a lot of confidence,” Stiles said. “It’s schematically beautiful. Coach (Heath) Snider (BNL’s defensive coordinator) cooks, I know that.” Which begs the question, can you smell what the Rock (or in this case, the Heath) is cooking? The Stars hope it’s the recipe for the first win over North since a 55-38 victory in 2018.
”It would mean everything,” Rynders said. “In my four years, we’ve been overlooked. So it would mean a lot to prove a lot of people wrong. That would be awesome.”
BLOOMINGTON NORTH at BNL
Kickoff: Friday, 7 p.m.
Records: Bloomington North 0-1; BNL 1-0
Coaches: Andy Harding, 0-1 in first season at North; Brayden Tidd, 9-4 in second season at BNL
Series: Bloomington North leads 24-14
Last meeting: Last year at North, Luke Freel accounted for three touchdowns, two on trick plays, as the Cougars stopped the Stars 29-20. Dayson Kirby threw for 414 yards and 3 TDs, while Jaden Gilbert caught 10 passes for 154 yards for BNL.
Previous game story: Freel the real deal
Game notes: North has won seven straight in the series and 17 of the last 18 meetings. BNL’s only win in the span was a 55-38 shootout victory in 2018. BNL has not started a season 2-0 since 2017. North alum Andy Harding is the fourth coach in the last four years for the Cougars.
