By Justin Sokeland
WBIW.com
NEW ALBANY – Bedford North Lawrence football should come with one of those government-required warning labels. Anyone with a heart condition, or receding hairline, should not watch. No second-half advantage is secure. View at your own risk.
For the third straight week, the Stars squandered a hard-earned, comfortable lead, this time it disappeared in only 30 seconds. Head coach Brayden Tidd aged a year with every tick of the clock during that span. And if the hairs on his head were numbered, that total shrank exponentially as New Albany threatened to take years off his lifespan.
Once again, for the second consecutive road game, with adversity at its peak as the headwinds of momentum buffeted, BNL rose to the challenge with huge plays, clutch touchdowns and a pass-rush defense that defined the stabilizing for a key Hoosier Hills Conference triumph on Friday night.
Malakai Goodman, a thoroughbred with workhorse power, blasted his way for 268 rushing yards and three touchdowns as BNL survived another unexpected late battle for a 40-24 victory over the gritty Bulldogs. Beau Allender threw two touchdown passes, including a clinching bomb to Jackson Jones, as the Stars (3-1) continued to live on the edge of disaster – yet thrived in those moments.
After New Albany (1-3, 0-1 in the league) cut into a 21-0 deficit with two shocking scores late in the third quarter, BNL responded with impressive touchdowns. Goodman broke free from 20 yards for the first to calm the nerves on the BNL sideline, and Allender connected with Jones for a 47-yard strike midway through the fourth quarter to finally muzzle the loud-barking Dogs.
Unable to stand prosperity, the Stars were at their best when it mattered most. Tidd would rather not go through that every week, preferring to keep his curly locks and add more years to his timeline, rather than subtracting.
“We want this young 29-year old coach to lose all his hair before he’s 30,” Tidd said. “That’s exactly what’s happening. I’ll be 49 and bald.”
Yes, it got a little hairy.
BNL was cruising, with Goodman running wild at will, when everything changed in a heartbeat. With the Stars pinned deep in their own territory, Goodman got blasted in the backfield as he took a handoff, with New Albany recovering the loose ball at the goal line. New Albany’s Allen Ray scored on the next play and converted a two-point conversion.
Then came the shock to the system. The Bulldogs recovered an onside kick, and on the next snap, quarterback Grady Mayfield hit Ray on a wheel route out of the backfield for a 48-yard touchdown. In only 29 seconds, BNL’s lead was 21-16, and anyone with a pacemaker was in jeopardy.
“Obviously, the past couple of games, in the third quarter we got a little sloppy,” BNL’s Jaden Gilbert said. “We have to clean that up. But it shows our team has a lot of potential.”
Answering with considerable grit, BNL countered with a three-play drive. Allender hit Cam Gates for 25 yards, and Goodman exploded for his third touchdown for a 27-16 lead. Later in the fourth quarter, New Albany came back again, with Mayfield hitting Carter Rice for 35 yards, setting up his own 7-yard touchdown run that got the Bulldogs within 27-24 with 8:13 left.
New Albany could not pull off another onside kick, touching the ball before it went the required 10 yards. That gave BNL quality field position, and the Stars took advantage with Allender’s deep heave to Jones for a 34-24 lead with 7:12 remaining.
“Two ballplayers making a ball play, at the right time,” Tidd said, after revealing the call was a choice route, with Jones whispering his intention to Allender in the huddle and choosing to go deep. BNL added a late score as Gilbert carried four times during an eight-play drive, crashing over from a yard.
”That’s these kids,” Tidd said. “We have so many guys going both ways, and I know it’s hard. I’m proud of them for fighting. If we can get rid of the yip in the third quarter, I think the sky is the limit.”
BNL’s start was electric. Second snap, Goodman erupted for a 51-yard touchdown burst. Two series later, following a fumble recovery, Allender fired a sideline pass to Gilbert, who raced past a defender and sprinted the rest of the way for a 45-yard touchdown and 14-0 gap. BNL’s third score was a beautiful Goodman gallop around the left side, hurdling over a tackler on his way to a 20-yard touchdown with 1:24 in the half.
“Jaden did what he does, makes guys miss and got in the end zone,” Tidd said.
Goodman, one of the state rushing leaders despite his late move to the position, had 29 carries while going over 200 yards for the third straight game.
“When you have a guy like that, and the way the offensive line has been playing, it’s hard to not keep calling that,” Tidd said. “The way those guys are playing, they’re locked in right now. When those guys are clicking, and you have that dude in the backfield, what else are you going to do?”
“I can’t take credit,” Goodman said. “Our line, they work. I just take what I can get. They come and help me, that’s all I need.”
Mayfield completed 17 of 37 passes for 234 yards, with Rice snagging 7 for 107 yards. But BNL also recorded five quarterback sacks (Nathan Hildum, Drake Sargent, Cale Prince and Holton Nicholson doing the honors).
”Our defensive line has been playing really well,” Tidd said. “They’re playing at a whole other level. They were getting pressure with only three guys. That was huge.”
”We started to figure out that outside pressure was a lot better,” said Nicholson, who also tipped a pass. “We got them on their heels. You realize you have to keep pushing.“
Ray ran for 110 yards and added four receptions for 75 more.
BNL improved to 2-0 in the league as it chases the HHC title. The Stars have only one of those since 2006.
“It feels good, especially against an HHC team, just to start out 2-0. It’s just a good feeling,” Gilbert said. “Our offense, in my opinion, we know we can go to pretty much any guy, and they will follow through with what Coach wants us to do.”
”We keeping moving forward,” Tidd said.
The Stars will return home to celebrate Homecoming and face Seymour next week. The Owls dropped to 0-4 with a 42-0 loss to Floyd Central.
Bedford NL 14 7 6 13 – 40
New Albany 0 0 16 8 – 24
First quarter
BNL – Malakai Goodman, 51 run (Aiden Dralle kick), 11:13; BNL – Jaden Gilbert, 45 pass from Beau Allender (Dralle kick), 2:40
Second quarter
BNL – Goodman, 20 run (Dralle kick), 1:24
Third quarter
NA – Allen Ray, 1 run (Ray run), 4:39; NA – Ray, 48 pass from Grady Mayfield (Jordan Carrasco run), 4:20; BNL – Goodman, 20 run (kick failed), 3:13
Fourth quarter
NA – Mayfield, 7 run (Ray run), 8:13; BNL – Jackson Jones, 47 pass from Allender (Dralle kick), 7:12; BNL – Gilbert, 1 run (kick failed), 1:56
Team statistics
BNL – First downs 17 (14 by run, 1 by pass, 2 by penalty); Rushing 45-341; Passing 4-11-1-121; Total yards 462; Fumbles 3 (lost 2); Penalties 5-32
NA – First downs 11 (6 by run, 5 by pass); Rushing 25-120; Passing 17-37-0-234; Total yards 354; Fumbles 1 (lost 1); Penalties 6-38
Individual statistics
Rushing – (BNL) Allender 11-31, Gilbert 5-42, Goodman 29-268; (NA) Ray 13-110, Mayfield 8-(-21), Rice 3-18, Greene 1-13
Passing – (BNL) Allender 4-11-1-121; (NA) Mayfield 17-37-0-234
Receiving – (BNL) Gilbert 1-45, Gates 2-29, Jones 1-47; (NA) Loesch 2-14, Coates 1-(-2), Rice 7-107, Greene 2-28, Kiper 1-6, Farmer 1-16, Ray 4-75
